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 has recently expanded its holdings of modern and contemporary artworks from Africa, Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and South Asia.

Linder, ‘Untitled’ 1976 — Linder
*Untitled* 1976
Tate
© Linder

Paula Rego, ‘War’ 2003 — Paula Rego
*War* 2003
Tate
© Paula Rego

David Hockney, ‘A Bigger Splash’ 1967 — David Hockney
*A Bigger Splash* 1967
Tate
© David Hockney

Marcel Duchamp, ‘Fountain’ 1917, replica 1964 — Marcel Duchamp
*Fountain* 1917, replica 1964
Tate
© Succession Marcel Duchamp/ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2018

Guerrilla Girls, ‘Do Women Have To Be Naked To Get Into the Met. Museum?’ 1989 — Guerrilla Girls
*Do Women Have To Be Naked To Get Into the Met. Museum?* 1989
Tate
© courtesy www.guerrillagirls.com

Sarah Lucas, ‘Self Portrait with Fried Eggs’ 1996 — Sarah Lucas
*Self Portrait with Fried Eggs* 1996
Tate
© Sarah Lucas

Browse our collection online

Art & Artists

Explore the Tate collection online. See and learn about over 70,000 artworks

Andrea Fraser, ‘Museum Highlights: A Gallery Talk’ 1989

Visit our collection

Collection on display

See which artworks are currently on display across our four galleries

Tate Britain Venue

Library & Archive Reading Rooms

Access our huge collection of library and archive items in this free-to-use study space

Tate Britain Venue

Prints and Drawings Rooms

View drawings, prints and more from Tate's collection not currently on display in the galleries

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.

Growing the collection

Richard Long, ‘Small White Pebble Circles’ 1987

Gifts and bequests

Explore major gifts and bequests to the Tate collection, from ARTISTS ROOMS to the Turner Bequest

ACQUISITIONS

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.

New Acquisitions

See our most recently acquired works

Henry Bond, ‘Untitled from Point and Shoot’ 1999

Tate Reports

Find full details of acquisitions and loans to the collection

Susan Philipsz, ‘War Damaged Musical Instruments’ 2015

Our policy & procedures

Find out more about how we grow our collection

Borrowing from our Collection

Mark Wallinger, ‘King Edward and the Colorado Beetle’ 2000 — Mark Wallinger
*King Edward and the Colorado Beetle* 2000
Tate
© Mark Wallinger

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

Download our loans policy [PDF, 96.21 KB]

Download our loans procedure [PDF, 203KB]

Download our care and treatment loan policy [PDF, 543 KB]

Contact us

Erwin Wurm, ‘One Minute Sculptures’ 1997 — Erwin Wurm
*One Minute Sculptures* 1997
Tate
© Erwin Wurm

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