Government Art Collection makes first trip outside London

Works of art from the Government Art Collection are going on show at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, in the collection's first ever public exhibition outside London.

Government Art Collection Revealed opens on 17 November and runs until 24 February 2013.

From Elizabeth I to Warhol

The exhibition brings together an eclectic selection of works, from a formal portrait of Elizabeth I by an unknown 16th-century artist to Andy Warhol's pop art screenprint of the present Queen.

It combines works from five displays held at the Whitechapel Gallery in London over the last 18 months. For each of those displays, a guest selector chose works from the collection, including the historian Simon Schama and the artist Cornelia Parker.

A hidden collection

The Government Art Collection, founded 114 years ago, is made up of works of art that hang in government buildings and British embassies around the world, rather than in public galleries. Most of its works are rarely seen by the public, making this exhibition a rare chance to see them together.

The collection includes paintings, prints, photographs and sculpture, spanning several centuries of British art. Many of the works are chosen to promote British art and culture overseas.

The Birmingham venue

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, in Chamberlain Square, is one of the country's leading regional galleries, famous for its collection of Pre-Raphaelite art. It is now run by Birmingham Museums Trust, an independent charity that took over the city's museums in April.

The museum is also home to the Staffordshire Hoard, the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found.

On tour

After Birmingham, the exhibition will travel to the Ulster Museum in Belfast, where it will be on show from March to June 2013.

Why Birmingham

Choosing Birmingham as the first stop outside London reflects the city's importance as a centre for the arts. The museum attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors a year, and its free entry means the exhibition will be open to a wide audience.

The exhibition is expected to be popular with visitors in the run-up to Christmas, when the city centre is busy with shoppers and visitors to the Frankfurt Christmas Market in Victoria Square, just a short walk from the museum.

A season of culture

The opening caps a busy year for culture in Birmingham, which included the world premiere of Stockhausen's opera Mittwoch aus Licht by Birmingham Opera Company during the Olympic summer. Next year, the city is due to open its new library in Centenary Square, which will house some of the most important archive and book collections in the country.