Collection

Tate holds the national collection of British art from 1500 to the present day and international modern and contemporary art.

British art is represented by artists chosen for their contribution to its history and development, rather than their nationality alone. The collection continues to expand its holdings of modern and contemporary art from around the world.

The digitisation of the our archive collection was supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund.

Viewing items in the collection not on display

Please visit Art & Artists to find out if a work is on loan or in storage. Works on loan can be visited at the host institution. Visits to view works in storage may be possible. Please email Tate Store for further details.

Tate’s art collection embraces all media, from painting, sculpture, drawing and prints to photography, film, video, installations and performance to archive material including letters, sketchbooks and manuscripts. Tate is committed to expanding the geographical remit of its collection. Tate does not allocate more of its funds to either historic or contemporary works, as it needs flexibility in order to react to the market and what is available. Potential acquisitions of contemporary art are considered by artists who have already made a significant contribution and have achieved national or international recognition.

Lending our artworks across the world supports our mission to help people to understand and enjoy art.

By doing this, we aim to:

• increase public access to the collection and reach new audiences
• contribute to distinctive exhibitions and public programmes in Britain and internationally
• promote British art abroad
• support artists
• foster a spirit of collaboration and exchange between museums and galleries

• International art from 1900 to the present day, email acquisitions.modern@tate.org.uk
• British art from 1500 to the present day, email acquisitions.britain@tate.org.uk
• Loans registrars, email collectionregistrarsloansout@tate.org.uk

Please note, due to the large volume of proposals received, Tate will only be able to respond to those proposals which are viewed as priorities. We only accept proposals by email. Tate is unable to accept any proposals by post, including unsolicited art works. These will be destroyed.