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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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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
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Anya Gallaccio: Preserve Beauty (New York) 2003
500 'Red Beauty' gerberas, glass and fittings. Learn more about the artist and her work.
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Wood & Harrison: Table and Chairs 2001
This 26 minute video by the artists Wood & Harrison is on show in Syria as part of the British Council Collection exhibition 'Flicker - A Visual Intervention in the Cityscape of Damascus' from 26 March - 17 April 2009
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Robert Dawson: Doves 1996
27cm diameter print on bone china from the series 'Can you walk from the Garden? Does your heart understand?'
Artists
Sir Peter Blake
Peter Blake was born in Dartford, Kent and studied at Gravesend Technical College and Art School. After National Service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) he studied painting at the Royal College of Art in London. He was awarded a travelling scholarship to study popular art and visited Holland, Spain,…
Themes
Still Life
Still Life is one of the principle genres of Western art. The term was derived from the Dutch word stilleven and first appeared in the 17th Century to denote a type of painting featuring inanimate everyday objects. The French term nature morte followed, similarly defining a category in which commonplace…
News
'The Fifth Curator' - Shortlist Announced
The shortlist for The Fifth Curator competition was announced today by the British Council.