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A closer look: Frank Auerbach’s Mornington Crescent
Frank Auerbach always chose to paint subjects that were close to him.
Robson Orr TenTen Award 2024
In 2024, artist Denzil Forrester created a limited-edition print for the Government Art Collection that will be displayed in UK government buildings around the world.
London Gallery Weekend x Government Art Collection
In a pilot partnership in 2024, the Government Art Collection worked with London Gallery Weekend to acquire artworks from participating galleries.
Art questions… with Joanne Coates
We sat down with artist Joanne Coates to talk about photography, storytelling and the North East.
Art questions… with Ilana Halperin
We spoke to artist Ilana Halperin about her life as an artist and her fascination with geology and art – from volcanoes and meteorites to Iona marble.
Art X-UK 2023–24
The Collection's acquisition project, Art X-UK, continues collecting art by artists from Scotland and the North East.
A Life Livelier: British art and diplomacy in Costa Rica
23 artworks from the Collection hang on the walls of the British Ambassador’s Residence in San José. From historical prints to modern and contemporary art, the new display gives us an insight into the cultural and diplomatic connections between the UK and Costa Rica.
Absence and presence: collectivity and resistance in art
In celebration of Women’s History month, guest writer Riya Kumar has chosen five works of art from the Collection that play with ideas of women’s absence and presence, and shed light on moments of their resistance, reclamation and collectivity.
Number 10 Museum in Residence: Laing Art Gallery
Every year, the Government Art Collection showcases the collection of a gallery outside London in 10 Downing Street. This year’s display comes from the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle.
‘The unseen worlds around us’: the legacy of Ada Lovelace
To mark the anniversary of Ada Lovelace’s birth on 10 December 1815, learn about her legacy and explore how she continues to inspire contemporary artists today.
Robson Orr TenTen Award 2023
In 2023, the Government Art Collection commissioned artist Michael Armitage to create a limited-edition print that will be shown in UK government buildings around the world.
Sir Richard Heaton appointed as Chair to Advisory Committee on the Government Art Collection
The Permanent Secretary to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport has appointed Sir Richard Heaton as the new Chair of the Advisory Committee on the Government Art Collection.
Rita Keegan: ‘We humans have a desire to collect’
An artist whose work recently became part of the Government Art Collection, Rita Keegan is a key but overlooked figure in the history of Black British art. Keegan talks about her childhood, her start as an artist and how her identity has shaped the art she creates.
Art and identity: South Asian Heritage Month
Celebrate South Asian Heritage Month (17 July – 18 August) with artworks in the Collection by artists from the South Asian diaspora.
Windrush Day: art, archives and emotional legacy
Windrush Day 2023 marks 75 years since the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush at Tilbury Docks, Essex on 22 June 1948. On board was one of the first large groups of post-war Caribbean immigrants to the United Kingdom. This pivotal moment in history has undeniably influenced knowledge, culture and industry across all levels of British society.
The Coronation Commissions
For the Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla, the Government Art Collection has commissioned leading British and British-based artists right across the UK to create striking new artworks.
A most unlikely Ambassador
75 years ago, Sir Horace Phillips – the first British Jewish career ambassador – entered the diplomatic service. A new display of works from the Government Art Collection in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office celebrates his life and career.
Women artists shaping British art
Celebrate Women’s History Month with three works recently added to the collection by female artists who are shaping the face of British art.
‘Sentimental meanderings’: a new display in Berne
Diplomatic relations between the UK and Switzerland were established in the early 19th century.
Identities, disguises and hidden love stories
To mark February's LGBTQ+ History Month, we're highlighting historical examples in the Collection which illustrate attitudes and perceptions of queer relationships and gender in early modern England.
A global reception: the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office is responsible for protecting and promoting the UK’s interests worldwide. In 2022, new works of art from the Government Art Collection went up on the walls of its iconic building in London.
Explore LGBTQ+ art in the Collection
Discover queer artists and art, the stories behind their lives and how they came into the Collection.
Number 10 Museum in Residence: Glynn Vivian
Every year, the Government Art Collection showcases a museum or gallery collection from outside London in 10 Downing Street. This year, these works are from the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea.
Art questions with… Christopher Samuel
We sat down with artist Christopher Samuel to discuss art and access for Disability History Month.
Robson Orr TenTen Award 2022
For the Robson Orr TenTen Award's fifth year, the Government Art Collection commissioned artist Rachel Whiteread to create a print that will be shown in diplomatic buildings around the world.
Queen Elizabeth II in the Government Art Collection
Countless depictions of the Queen gained iconic status during her reign. As we commemorate the monarch's life, we look at depictions of her in the Government Art Collection.
A closer look: Vasylkiv Cockerel
As the UK Prime Minister and Ukrainian President walked through the empty streets of Kyiv, a Ukrainian woman approached them and handed them two ceramic jugs in the shape of a rooster.
The Audition in Colour: imagining otherness and finding new forms of expression
Have you ever thought that your face was a work of art? Curator and art writer Chiedza Mhondoro explores Sonia Boyce's The Audition in Colour.
Journeys of the heart: the UK and the Holy See
2022 marked 40 years of full diplomatic relations between the UK and The Holy See.
Art X-UK 2020-21
Over 2020, the Government Art Collection collected new works by 45 visual artists from across the UK, celebrating and supporting the diversity of creativity across the Union.
Art X-UK 2022-23
The Collection's acquisition project, Art X-UK, continues over 2022–23 collecting art by artists from the East and West Midlands, and Wales.
Eye of the Sultan: a new display for Ankara
During the 18th century, diplomatic relations between the UK and Turkey were formalised. A new display of works of art in the British Ambassador’s Residence in Ankara tells the story of this historic engagement, and follows the countries' shared histories.
The coronation works in the Collection
As part of the celebrations surrounding the coronation, over a hundred works of art were commissioned or purchased by the Ministry of Works from early 1953 to 1954. Explore these works in the Government Art Collection, from artists like L.S. Lowry, Laura Knight and Barbara Horridge.
A closer look: Lowry’s coronation view
In 1953, L.S. Lowry was appointed an official artist at the coronation of Elizabeth II. He could not imagine why he was chosen to capture such a grand occasion.
Explore coronations in the Collection
Coronations have always provided artists the opportunity to document the ceremonies and celebrations in their art. Discover art and artists inspired by Queen Elizabeth II's 1953 coronation and learn more about the contemporary artists who created works of art for King Charles III and Queen Camilla's coronation in 2023.
A closer look: a masters’ secret for 10 guineas
In 1796, leading artists from the Royal Academy fell victim to an incredible hoax about an art masters' secret, masterminded by Ann Jemima Provis.
Take a virtual tour of Queen Elizabeth II’s 1953 coronation
Whether you are in London or joining virtually at home, take a tour of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation procession through the eyes of major artists of the day, starting with L.S. Lowry's view of Buckingham Palace, all the way to Westminster Abbey.
The Show Windows: Reflections
This November, as part of Coventry UK City of Culture 2021, the Government Art Collection is helping transform Coventry city centre's shop windows into a public museum.
Robson Orr TenTen Award 2021
In 2021, Lubaina Himid CBE was awarded the Robson Orr TenTen Award 2021 for her print commission Old Boat, New Weather.
A closer look: George Vertue’s Charity Children
Curator Laura Popoviciu takes a closer look at George Vertue's 18th-century print that celebrates the Peace of Utrecht.
A closer look: Lucian Freud’s Welsh Landscape
In 2008, Lucian Freud came to the headquarters of the Government Art Collection to revisit his work Welsh Landscape, painted between 1939 and 1940.
Art X-UK
Art X-UK is the Government Art Collection's annual project that supports work by artists across the UK, alongside regional and national partners.
Body, mind and soul: the making of Lord Byron
On the bicentennial of Greece’s 1821 Revolution and War of Independence, discover Lord Byron through works of art and letters from the Government Art Collection and Newstead Abbey.
Robson Orr TenTen Award 2020
Yinka Shonibare CBE was awarded the Robson Orr TenTen Award 2020 for his commission Hibiscus and the Rose.
Voices on Art
In our Voices on Art project, we invited colleagues from the DCMS BAME network to select and reflect on artworks from the Collection that resonated with them.
Learning
Get closer to artworks and artists in the Collection with our free learning resources. Teachers and families will find plenty of inspiration to support classroom and online learning.
Follow The Luck of Eden Hall
Explore the artworks throughout the Residence of the British High Commissioner to Singapore
Reframing the Past for the Future
Explore Reframing the Past, a 3D digital exhibition curated by the Government Art Collection.