12 Collection highlights not to miss
The Government Art Collection is 125 years old. From the earliest work by a female artist in the Collection, to more recent artwork by artists like Hew Locke and Bridget Riley, take a look at some of the works of art our curators have highlighted from this unusual national Collection.
A closer look: Battlefields of Britain
During the Second World War, the funding and provision of art for government buildings and embassies was paused. A small number of works were lost, damaged or destroyed as a result of the hostilities, with one exception.
A closer look: Frank Auerbach’s Mornington Crescent
Frank Auerbach always chose to paint subjects that were close to him.
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.
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.
‘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.
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.
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.
Art questions with… Christopher Samuel
We sat down with artist Christopher Samuel to discuss art and access for Disability History Month.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A meeting of cultures
A new installation of art at the British Embassy in Tehran evokes the early days of the Embassy, and is a reminder of the longstanding relationship between Britain and Iran.
Coming home
The British Ambassador's Residence in Budapest, built in 1925, was originally home to Hanna Hódosi and her husband Tibor Scitovszky. Find out why this became significant for the Collection.
‘A canvas to depict the special relationship’
Works from the Collection are particularly well represented in New York City. Find out what the portrait in this picture tells us about Britain’s entangled history with the United States.
#KeenOnWien
The British Ambassador to Austria takes you on a guided tour of the Residence in Vienna to tell its fascinating story and why he is so #keenonWien.
Conversations with history
A glimpse of diplomatic relations between the UK and France in the 19th century, through a selection of works from the Collection, installed at the British Ambassador's Residence in Paris.
From Bonn to Berlin: the travels of an embassy
The British Embassy in Germany moved three times in the last century, before returning to the site of the first British Embassy established in 1876. This is the story of those moves and a peek at the art in those embassies.
How to make an entrance: rock, paper, scissors?
The British Ambassador's Residence in Beijing portrays a modern, sustainable and innovative Britain. Find out how the art on display echoes these values.
The art of diplomacy
An old map of Romania and a fire-damaged print of London: Britain's Head of Soft Power, who also served as Ambassador to Romania, speaks with our historical curator about the links between art and diplomacy.
A Very BIG Bean: the Collection in Japan
Between 2012 and 2016, the Collection worked with the British Ambassador to Japan on new displays of art for Tokyo. The former Ambassador reflects on the role that art played in diplomacy.
Respite for the Bean-counters at the Treasury
Find out why Bob and Roberta Smith's painting, 'Peas are the New Beans', raised a smile among the bean-counters at HM Treasury.