Tate | Archive

Archive Collection

"Letter for Ed[ward Burra]" From Paul Nash, 1944, TGA 771.5.3
© Tate Gallery

The Archive comprises over 700 accessions. Some of the major collections include archive material on the following individuals:

Vanessa Bell, David Bomberg, Ian Breakwell, Kenneth Clark, William Coldstream, Cecil Collins, Merlyn Evans, Roger Fry, Duncan Grant, David Mayor, Bernard Meninsky, Cedric Morris, Victor Musgrave, John Nash, Paul Nash, Ben Nicholson, Dod & Ernest Procter, Barbara Reise, Claude Rogers, John Rothenstein, Stanley Spencer and Julian Trevelyan.

Some of the galleries and organisations include:

Artists International Association, Charleston Papers, The Bloomsbury Group, Contemporary Art Society, London Group, Fluxshoe, Beau Geste Press, Gallery One, National Art Collections Fund and Studio International.

Search the collections on the Archive online catalogue.

We regret that we do not give access to uncatalogued Archive collections [PDF document].

Photographs

David Hockney the Popular Image Beyond the Frame 1980 © Tate

Photographs displayed in the Archive Display 'David Hockney
The Popular Image Beyond the Frame', Tate, 11 July - 27
October 1980 © Tate

This collection comprises artists' photographs, photographs of artists, their studios, installation shots, including Tate exhibition photographs, Tate buildings and Tate history and events.

Key artists' and photographers' collections include those taken by Eileen Agar, Vanessa Bell, Paul Nash, John Piper and Tom Picton.

Photographs are not listed on the online catalogue but paper lists may be consulted in the Reading Room.

Posters (TAP)

The Archive collects artist-designed posters, which are largely acquired internally through the Library and the Press Office. Some posters are signed and donated by artists and occasionally the Archive purchases posters to build upon strengths in the collection. Key collections include David Hockney and groups of posters presented by Ewan Phillips in 1982 and by Prunella Clough in 1991.

Audio-Visual Material (TAV)

All recordings of lectures and conferences held in Tate's auditoria are housed in the Archive. The Tate Archive also receives oral history recordings of artists, particularly those relating to the National Sound Archive's National Life Story Collection to which Tate provides curatorial support. Films and videos are donated by the artist being filmed or the Director/Producer of the film and sometimes include off-cuts not used in the final edited version.

Audio-visual material held in the Archive is accessible only on the Library catalogue.

Published documentary art tapes or videos are acquired by the Library.

Microform (TAM)

In addition the Archive has a number of collections available in microform, which are listed in the Archive Catalogue. These may be copies of material held in other institutions.