Making Visible

Making Visible

‘Making Visible’ is a new site-specific artwork by Catherine James, installed in summer 2025 in the Dorchester Library of the Royal College of Physicians. 

This artwork aims to make visible the previously overlooked contributions of women to the RCP library. It has grown from James’ ongoing doctoral research project into the history of women’s ownership and use of the books in this room. 

1,966 books have been wrapped by hand in blue paper to represent the proportion of the books once owned or used by women. The blue has been chosen as it contrasts with the cream, brown and red tones of the book spines, making women’s contributions starkly manifest.

There has been a library at the Royal College of Physicians (the RCP) since its foundation in 1518. The first library collections were almost entirely destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666; a loss of over 1,100 books. After this devastation, Lady Grace Pierrepont in 1686 generously gave the RCP the books that had once belonged to her father Henry Pierrepont, first Marquis of Dorchester. These books were installed in a new library in 1688 and remain the core of the collection you see around you today.

Although many of the books in this room were given to the college by Lady Grace, the library is named for her father, obscuring her role as a major benefactor to the RCP. Similarly, women’s contributions to the collection have historically not been visible in the library catalogue. As the collection has grown over time, many books were donated and bequeathed by members and fellows. The library catalogue documents the names of some of these and other previous owners, but historic cataloguing practice conventions meant that women’s names were often not included. 

Catherine James’ research is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council via the London Arts and Humanities Partnership

‘Making Visible’ was installed with generous assistance from Ruth Andrew, Ella Boucht, Natalia Clark, Cristina Dario, Kathryn Davies, Annabel Dorling, Felix Lancashire, Yvonne Lewis, Finn Manders, Anita Simonds, Holly Wilkins, Katherine Wills and others.