Dorset Museum & Art Gallery

Dorset Museum & Art Gallery’s vision is to inspire people everywhere to connect with 250 million years of Dorset’s stories through its world‐class collections. These include the natural world, archaeology, history, art and culture.

Founded in 1845, the museum’s literature, fine art, textiles, costume, local history, and photography collections grew over time. The Thomas Hardy collection was a major bequest in 1937.

Today the museum looks after an incredible four million objects.

Contact

Telephone: 01305 262735

Email: enquiries@dorsetmuesum.org

Address: Dorset Museum, High West Street, Dorchester, DT1 1XA 

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ART.2219 Credit: Courtesy Dorset Museum & Art Gallery - Seascape, Rocky Shoreline by James Fry

Seascape, Rocky Shoreline

Seascape, Rocky Shoreline Oil painting by James Fry (1911 – 1985) From: Dorset Museum & Art Gallery This painting is by James Fry, an artist who lived and painted in

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Elisabeth Frink: A View from Within

Elisabeth Frink: A View from Within Dorset Museum & Art Gallery  Museum & Art Swindon The Salisbury Museum  Supported by Wessex Museums, Dorset Museum & Art Gallery presents an extraordinary

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Looking at collections at Wiltshire Museum, Virtual collection

Search the collections

Virtual Collection Search the database featuring over 250,000 collection items from Wessex Museums’ partners. The database centralises records from Dorset Museum, Poole Museum, The Salisbury Museum, and Wiltshire Museum. View the

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Atrium and Fordington Mosaic at Dorset Museum

Fordington mosaic 

Fordington Mosaic Unearthed in 1903, the mosaic originates to the 2nd century. From: Dorset Museum & Art Gallery From floor to wall The mosaic on the Atrium wall at Dorset

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Sawfish are also called carpenter sharks...but they are rays, not sharks!

There’s also a species called a sawshark, but that’s, well, a shark!

What the heck is a lek?

Males great bustards perform spectacular courtship displays, gathering at a ‘lek’ or small display ground to try to impress the females.

Road Runner!

The great bustard has a dignified slow walk but tends to run when disturbed, rather than fly.

Belly Buster!

The hen-bird on display at The Salisbury Museum was one of the last great bustards to be eaten in the town!

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