From here you can browse through our Collection using the navigation on the left-hand side - we have tried to help you by putting works into themes and exhibitions. If you have trouble with any technical terms try searching our glossary for more information. You can curate your own exhibition from the works in the Collection - just log in and have a go.

Works from the Collection are used to create exhibitions for international touring. These range from solo exhibitions of Britain's leading artists, to group exhibitions exploring the inventiveness and range of today's artists and designers. For example, Supernova brings a range of work together to demonstrate how Modernist geometric abstraction is still explored by artists today.

George Shaw: Scenes From The Passion: The Blossomiest Blossom

In July 2005 we acquired several works by an emerging generation of artists including Lynette Boakye's charcoal and conte drawings, a series of 12 etchings and a painting by George Shaw and a DVD by Haluk Akakce. In the past year we have received two substantial donations to the Collection; Richard Deacon has presented his magnificent pink-glazed ceramic sculpture Allsorts, and Leon Kossoff has given us a rare and beautiful suite of etchings, based on his studies of the Old Masters
(read more...)

Toby Ziegler: I'm ready for Love

This large painting was recently acquired for our Supernova exhibition.

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 abroad. The collection, started in the late 1930s, with a modest group of works on paper has now grown to a collection of more than 8000 works covering all media and all 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 (read more...)

We are happy to make works available for exhibition whether in the UK or elsewhere whenever possible. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee availability as many works are included in our own exhibitions or may already be on loan elsewhere.

Requests should be addressed to:
Director
Visual Arts Department
British Council
10 Spring Gardens
London, SW1A 2BN

We ask that requests should be submitted at least six months before the opening date of the exhibition. We expect borrowers to meet all the insurance and transport costs involved, and this could include the costs of international freight.