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Founded in the early 1990s, the Collection challenges the underrepresentation of women artists in museums and galleries. The Collection began in the late 1980s when the American artist Mary Kelly was selected as the first artist-in-residence at New Hall (as the College was known then) and whose work Extase (1986) was subsequently acquired.

Valerie Pearl, the College President during this period, curator Ann Jones, and a group of academics launched an ‘artist appeal’ whereby they wrote to a selection of women artists inviting them to donate a work that could be a source of inspiration to students, researchers, and visitors. This appeal marked the Collection’s foundation in 1991, and within two years the College had received over 70 donated artworks — an extraordinary act of collective generosity.

Since then, the Collection has grown through donations from artists, alumnae and supporters, and now has over 600 art works by over 300 artists.