Lord Guilford and the Ionian Academy | Municipal Art Gallery

The Ionian University, intellectual heir to the Ionian Academy, and the Corfu Reading Society are organizing the commemorative exhibition “…On the Desired University – Lord Guilford and the Ionian Academy” to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Ionian Academy’s founding (1824–2024) and the 40th anniversary of the Ionian University’s establishment (1984–2024).

The exhibition opens on Tuesday, December 10, at 7:00 PM, in the Temporary Exhibitions Section of the Peristyle of the Municipal Gallery of Central Corfu and the Diapontian Islands.

The Ionian Academy, the first higher education institution in modern Greece, was founded in 1824 and operated until the Union of the Ionian Islands with the Greek state in 1864. It was the vision of Frederick North, later the 5th Earl of Guilford. A British aristocrat with a classical education and a passion for Greco-Roman antiquity and Christianity, he provided opportunities for higher education to both the Ionian and Greek populations.

The first three sections of the exhibition showcase archival documents, paintings, sketches, photographs, publications of the era, and digital reproductions. These elements highlight Lord Guilford’s emblematic personality, his enthusiasm, persistence, and generous financial support despite the challenges of the time. The exhibition concludes with two additional sections focusing on the efforts of the Corfiot society to re-establish a higher education institution in the early 20th century and the character of the modern Ionian University. Visitors can engage with the Ionian Academy and its founder through exhibits incorporating mixed and augmented reality.

Attendees will experience a unique dialogue between rich archival and visual material from public institutions, cultural organizations, and private collections in Greece and abroad. Contributors include the Corfu Reading Society, Ionian University, General State Archives – Corfu, National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum, National Historical Museum, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Finopoulos Collection – Benaki Museum, Municipal Art Gallery of Central Corfu and the Diapontian Islands, University of Crete Library, London’s National Portrait Gallery, British Museum, National Gallery of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Packard Humanities Institute, and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The exhibition also features important pieces from the private collections of Spyros P. Gaoutsis (Corfu), Georgios Sourtzinos (Corfu), and Dimitrios Pavlopoulos (Athens).

Curated by Dr. Katerina Kontopanagou, archaeologist and art historian, and Associate Professor Mirka Palioura, art historian at the Ionian University, the exhibition runs until March 30, 2025.

Operating hours: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.