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

  • Bill Woodrow installs Point of Entry 1989

    Bill Woodrow installs Point of Entry 1989

    We talk to Bill Woodrow as he installs his sculpture Point of Entry as part of Fall Out: War and Conflict in the British Council Collection at the Whitechapel Gallery.

  • Get the Picture?

    Get the Picture?

    Ever wondered how artworks get from gallery to gallery? This training video was made to help British Council staff understand the complexities of the work of the Visual Arts Department.

  • 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

  • Anya Gallaccio: Preserve Beauty (New York) 2003

    500 'Red Beauty' gerberas, glass and fittings. Learn more about the artist and her work.

  • Robert Dawson: Doves 1996

    Robert Dawson: Doves 1996

    27cm diameter print on bone china from the series 'Can you walk from the Garden? Does your heart understand?'

  • Wood & Harrison: Table and Chairs 2001

    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

Artists

WILD FLOWERS

Percy Hague Jowett

Percy Jowett was born in Halifax, Yorkshire. He studied at Leeds College of Art and the Royal College of Art in London. He taught for a time at Beckenham School of Art before serving in the Royal Garrison Artillery, seeing action in France and Flanders during World War I. In…

Themes

Still Life

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

News

Mike Nelson selected for Venice Biennale 2011

We are delighted to announce that Mike Nelson has been selected to represent Britain at the 54th Venice Biennale of Art. He will present a solo exhibition in the British Pavilion, which will run from June to November 2011. Opening dates are yet to be confirmed.

JavaScript is disabled in your browser. This will degrade or remove some of the website's functionality. Try enabling JavaScript. JavaScript is disabled in your browser. This will degrade or remove some of the website's functionality. Try enabling JavaScript.