shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited Kingdom

in Radcliffe Square, between the Bodleian and St Mary's

Radcliffe Camera

Name: Radcliffe Camera — on ceramic tile, by WenderVista
Brand: WenderVista

— — a rotunda holding a reading room still in use.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.

— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand

— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines

— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall

— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround

— a note from the studio

“A circular Palladian library at the centre of Oxford, set in the open square between the Bodleian Old Library and the University Church of St Mary the Virgin. James Gibbs designed it on a bequest from the physician John Radcliffe and built it between 1737 and 1749. It still serves as a reading room for the Bodleian, used daily by undergraduates and researchers in English, history, and theology. — from the studio

from the studio

— bring it home

Radcliffe Camera, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?

One tile — square or rectangle.

How big?

the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand

6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb

Surface finish

A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.

How it sits

A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.

$58

Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.

— size

6 × 6 in

15 cm

— weighs

1.6 lb

solid in the hand

— surface

ceramic, hand-finished

art rests beneath a thin glossy finish

— from

Knoxville, TN

our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies

— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Radcliffe Camera

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.

— the place

The Radcliffe Camera stands in Radcliffe Square at the centre of Oxford, framed by the Bodleian Old Library to the north, Brasenose College to the west, All Souls to the east, and the University Church of St Mary the Virgin to the south. It was built between 1737 and 1749 under a bequest from John Radcliffe, the royal physician who left £40,000 in 1714 for a science library. The University of Oxford has used the building as a Bodleian reading room since 1862.

— informed by Wikipedia

— the stone

The architect was James Gibbs, who took over the commission after Nicholas Hawksmoor's death and designed the building as a freestanding rotunda — the first round library in England. It is built of Headington and Taynton stone in three storeys: a rusticated square base, a tall colonnaded drum of paired Corinthian columns, and a lead dome about 100 feet from the floor of the square. The reading room runs the full width of the upper drum.

— informed by Bodleian — Radcliffe Camera

— the visit

The Radcliffe Camera is a working Bodleian reading room and is not generally open to the public. Readers with a Bodleian card use it daily, and the underground Gladstone Link, opened in 2011, connects it to the Old Bodleian to the north. The Bodleian Libraries' guided tours admit small groups into the upper reading room, typically Wednesday to Saturday, and bookings sell out in summer.

— informed by Bodleian tours

— where

United Kingdom · Oxford, Oxfordshire

— position

51.7534° N · 1.2541° W

— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.

at the lake

Bodleian Library

library

at the lake

All Souls College

college

1 km S

Christ Church

college

at the lake

Sheldonian Theatre

theatre

Radcliffe Camera

Bodleian Library

All Souls College

Christ Church

Sheldonian Theatre

— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Radcliffe Camera — and about bringing the piece home.

— about the place

The Radcliffe Camera is a circular Palladian library at the centre of Oxford, built between 1737 and 1749 as the Radcliffe Science Library. Since 1862 it has served as a Bodleian Library reading room.

James Gibbs designed it, taking over after Nicholas Hawksmoor's death in 1736. Gibbs gave it a freestanding rotunda form, the first round library in England, with a rusticated base and a Corinthian colonnaded drum.

John Radcliffe, royal physician to William III and Queen Anne, left £40,000 in his 1714 will for a library at Oxford. The trustees waited two decades for the land and chose Gibbs's design in 1736.

Generally not. The Radcliffe Camera is an active Bodleian reading room reserved for readers with a library card. The Bodleian's small-group guided tours admit visitors into the upper reading room on selected days.

It houses Bodleian reading rooms for English, history, and theology. The underground Gladstone Link, opened in 2011, connects it to the Old Bodleian and holds open-shelf books for undergraduate use.

The Latin camera means 'room' or 'chamber'. The building was conceived as a single grand reading chamber under a dome, and the name has stuck since the eighteenth century.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. The Radcliffe Camera is the visual signature of Oxford for many alumni. It carries especially well for matriculants of Brasenose, All Souls, Hertford, or any college around the square. A Medium with a handwritten note travels well.

The piece reads as English-Classical, Dark-Academia, and Library-Eclectic — warm Cotswold stone, leather, and oxblood. It sits well above a writing desk, a leather reading chair, or a study mantel.

Yes. Dark-Academia leans on Oxford and Cambridge architecture, warm browns, and reading-room textures, all of which the Radcliffe Camera piece carries. It anchors a study wall or a hallway of books.

Above a standard sofa, a single Large reads from across the room. Over a long console or a writing desk, a 4-tile Mural fills the wall. A 9-tile Mural suits a stairwell or a tall library wall.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and stand up to humidity, which makes them safe for a powder room or a kitchen wall. Glossy is best in drier rooms.

A microfibre cloth and water. The colour lives in the ceramic surface and cannot fade with cleaning. No solvents and no abrasive pads.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to the studio, hand-finished in Knoxville, Tennessee. There is no licensing and no third-party printing.

— if this one stayed with you