Sir Joshua Reynolds, Mrs. Abington as Miss Prue in ‘Love for Love’ by William Congreve (detail), 1771

Both a public art museum and a world-renowned research institute for the study of British art and culture, the Yale Center for British Art was presented to the University by Paul Mellon (Yale 1929). It houses the most comprehensive collection of British art outside the United Kingdom.

The collection of paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings, rare books, and manuscripts reflects the development of British art, life, and thought from the Elizabethan period onward. Works on view include masterpieces by John Constable, Thomas Gainsborough, Joshua Reynolds, George Stubbs, and J.M.W. Turner, as well as major artists from Europe and America who lived and worked in Britain.

A valuable resource for faculty, students, teachers, and the public, the Center offers a year-round schedule of exhibitions and programs, including lectures, concerts, films, symposia, tours, teacher workshops, and more. The Center also houses a reference library, conservation laboratory, and study room for works on paper and rare books and manuscripts.

Opened in 1977, the Center is the last museum designed by the great American architect Louis Kahn. It stands across from Kahn’s first major commission, the Yale University Art Gallery. The building’s design, with its natural materials and skylit galleries, provides a magnificent environment for viewing art. Admission is free.

 

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