The Sheepshanks Gift was a major donation of artworks by the British art collector John Sheepshanks in 1857. It formed the basis of the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington.
The Yorkshire-born Sheepshanks had made a fortune as a cloth manufacturer. He was a leading collector of contemporary British art of the late Regency and early Victorian era. He frequently purchased notable paintings at the Royal Academy's annual Summer Exhibition and at the rival British Institution. He amassed works by leading artists such as John Constable, J.M.W. Turner, Clarkson Stanfield, David Roberts, William Mulready, Charles Robert Leslie, and Edwin Landseer. Stylistically, his collection was dominated by the Romantic movement.
The National Gallery in London had been established in 1824 but initially only featured one work by a living British artist David Wilkie's The Village Holiday which was dominated by Old Masters. The newer Victoria and Albert Museum was constructed in South Kensington based on the profits of the 1851 Great Exhibition in Hyde Park. Sheepshanks' gift to the nation was allocated to the newer establishment.he set a number of conditions, particularly that his paintings should be that "the public, and especially the working classes, should have the advantage of seeing the collection on Sunday afternoons". The donation included 336 paintings, drawing and sketches. It was housed in a suite of three rooms specially constructed to showcase the collection.
<Gallery Mode="packed" Heights="160"> File:The Refusal (painting).png|The Refusal by David Wilkie, 1814 File:Constable - Boat-Building near Flatford Mill, 1815, FA.37.jpg|Boat-Building Near Flatford Mill by John Constable, 1815 File:Edwin Henry Landseer (1802-1873) - The Dog and the Shadow - FA.89(O) - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|The Dog and the Shadow by Edwin Landseer, 1821 File:John Constable - Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Garden - Google Art Project.jpg|Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Grounds by John Constable, 1823 File:Hampstead Heath, Branch Hill Pond.png|Hampstead Heath, Branch Hill Pond by John Constable, 1828 File:Uncle Toby and Widow Wadman by Charles Robert Leslie CCWSH1157.jpg|My Uncle Toby and the Widow Wadman by Charles Robert Leslie, 1831 File:Sir Edwin Landseer - A Jack In Office.jpg|A Jack in Office by Edwin Landseer, 1833 File:Turner, Joseph Mallord William (RA) - Line Fishing, Off Hastings - Google Art Project.jpg|Line Fishing, Off Hastings by J.M.W. Turner, 1835 File:William Collins (1788-1847) - The Stray Kitten - FA.29(O) - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|The Stray Kitten, 1835 File:Charles Landseer (1799-1879) - Maria - FA.104(O) - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|Maria by Charles Landseer, 1836 File:The Thames From Millbank.jpg|The Thames from Millbank by Richard Redgrave, 1836 File:Landseer Edwin-Old Shepherds Chief Mourner 1837.jpg|The Old Shepherd's Chief Mourner by Edwin Landseer, 1837 File:Clarkson Frederick Stanfield (1793-1867) - Sands near Boulogne - FA.190(O) - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|Sands near Boulogne by Clarkson Stanfield, 1838 File:William Mulready - The Sonnet - WGA16319.jpg|The Sonnet by William Mulready, 1839 File:Richard Redgrave - Cinderella About to Try on the Glass Slipper.jpg|Cinderella About to Try on the Glass Slipper by Richard Redgrave, 1842 File:David Roberts (1796-1864) - The Gate of Metawaley - FA.176(O) - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|The Gate of Metawaley by David Roberts, 1843 File:Seaford, Sussex (painting).jpg|Seaford, Sussex by William Collins, 1844 </gallery>