The Arts Council Collection is the most widely circulated national loan collection of modern and contemporary British art. Founded in 1946, the Collection reaches the broadest possible audience through long loans to public institutions, exhibition loans, touring exhibitions, as well as digital and print publications.

The Collection supports artists in the UK through the purchase and display of their work, and safeguards it for future generations, using the highest possible standards of collection care.

Operating as a ‘museum without walls’, the Arts Council Collection is the largest national loan collection of modern and contemporary British art in the world, and includes important examples by all of the UK’s most prominent artists. It is the most widely circulated of all of Britain’s national collections and can be seen in exhibitions in museums and galleries across the UK and abroad. Unique among national collections, the Arts Council Collection also lends to numerous public buildings across the UK, including schools, universities, hospitals and charitable associations.