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Welcome to the British Council Collection - a 'Museum Without Walls', for everyone, everywhere
For over 60 years the British Council has been collecting works of art, craft and design to promote the achievements of British artists, craft practitioners and designers overseas. The Collection, started in the late 1930s with a modest group of works on paper, now includes more than 8,500 works covering all media and aspects of British art and design of the 20th and 21st Centuries. The Collection has no permanent gallery and has been referred to as a 'Museum Without Walls'.
Featured
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Anya Gallaccio: Preserve Beauty (New York), 2003. This work is made up of 600 'Beauty' gerberas, glass and fittings; 247 x 130.8 x 2.5cm
Watch Anya Gallaccio's work being installed at the Whitechapel Gallery, London in March 2009 for the exhibition 'Passports - Great Early Buys from the British Council Collection'.
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Robert Dawson: Doves 1996
This work is from a series by the artist, subverting the traditional willow pattern design. His work was featured in 'Everything But...' an exhibition from the British Council Collection looking at contemporary kitchenware in Britain.
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Michael Craig-Martin: Picturing: Iron, Watch, Pliers, Safety Pin 1978
Click the arrow above to watch the artist installing his work at the Whitechapel Gallery, London for 'Passports - Great Early Buys from the British Council Collection', 5 April - 14 June 2009
Artists
John Nash
John Nash was born in London, the younger brother of the painter Paul Nash, who encouraged him to paint; John had no formal training. Although city-born and raised, his themes have always been rural life, showing a tendency towards simplification and the schematisation of nature in quasi-abstract designs. His simplification…
Themes
Landscape
Landscape is one of the principle genres of Western art. In early paintings the landscape was a backdrop for the composition, but in the late 17th Century the appreciation of nature for its own sake began with the French and Dutch painters (from whom the term derived). Their treatment of…
News
'The Fifth Curator' - International Curatorial Competition
'The Fifth Curator' - International Curatorial Competition launched by British Council in partnership with Whitechapel Gallery, London.
