Put yourself in the picture

Online meeting backgrounds from our Art Collection are now available to download.

Say goodbye to boring backgrounds and brighten up your meetings with a Yorkshire-inspired artwork from the University Art Collection.

You can sit in front of the bar at Whitelocks, take a trip to Runswick Bay, go shopping 1930s style on the Headrow or find some calm at Kirkstall Abbey.

Download a local art background, ready for use in Teams or Zoom.

The University Art Collection houses a broad range of paintings, drawings and prints from the 17th century up to the present day, from local and international artists.

The artworks available as meeting backgrounds offer different perspectives on Yorkshire through the years and were created by artists who have a connection to the area.

Whitelocks by Maurice de Sausmarez (1955)

Maurice De Sausmarez was Lecturer in Fine Art at the University of Leeds from 1951 to 1959, and worked primarily with oils. De Sausmarez’s painting of the classic Leeds pub, Whitelocks, was painted in 1955. Whitelocks looks much the same today.

You can see a number of works by De Sausmarez in the University Art Collection.

Kirkstall Abbey by Robert Hawthorn Kitson

Robert Hawthorn Kitson’s serene watercolour depicting Kirkstall Abbey shows the abbey much how it looks today. Kitson was a Leeds born artist who spent much of his life in Sicily. His sister, Jessie Kitson, was the first female Lord Mayor of Leeds. From 1900 he was an active member of Leeds Fine Arts Club.

You can view all of Kitson’s artworks held in the University Art Collection.

The Headrow by Marie Hartley (1939)

Marie Hartley was the author and illustrator of around 40 books on the social history of the Yorkshire Dales. Working with Ella Pontefract, she published six books on Yorkshire life and customs including Yorkshire Tour in 1939, which included this illustration.

Special Collections holds a number of Hartley’s published works.

Runswick Bay by Mark Senior (1924)

Mark Senior’s 1924 seaside scene shows a busy Runswick Bay in 1924, painted with oils just three years before his death. Senior was born in Batley in 1862 and had a long career as a post-Impressionist artist.

Download a piece of the University Art Collection, ready for use as a background for Teams or Zoom.