Tate Britain is currently closed
For more information please go to our FAQs and if you have any further queries please contact hello@tate.org.uk. We look forward to welcoming you back when we reopen.
To visit the Reading Rooms you will need to book an appointment in advance and register for a free annual membership. We will send over instructions on how to register, along with detailed health and safety measures once your appointment has been confirmed.
Scan and send service
We are unable to provide this service until further notice; we are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
Library
Tate Library is a centre of excellence for art historical research, covering British art since 1500 and international art since 1900. As well as a wide selection of books, printed journals and electronic resources about art and artists, the library has a pre-eminent collection of exhibition catalogues dating from the late 19th century to recent contemporary shows. Tate Library also has a collection of 6500 artists’ books which date from the 1960s to the present day.
Archive
Tate Archive contains over a million items related to artists, art world figures and art organisations in Britain, primarily from 1900 to the present day. Serving as the national repository for the history of fine art practice in the UK it includes personal and institutional papers, letters, writings, sketchbooks and maquettes, audio-visual and born-digital material, photographs and press cuttings. In addition, Tate Archive houses materials that are international in scope. These include collections of more than 100,000 documentary photographs of artists, their studios and installation shots, 3,500 audio-visual accessions, 2,500 artist-designed posters, and 1,500 single items - from a letter written by J. M. W. Turner to Christmas gifts by YBA’s. Over 52,000 digitised images from the Archive collections are now available to view online.
Public Records
Tate's Public Records document the full range of Tate’s activities throughout its history, including exhibitions, acquisitions, development and expansion across its current sites. Records also include Board of Trustees’ minutes, posters and photographs. They capture fascinating chapters in Tate's history, such as the 1928 flood and the gallery during wartime.
Archive and Public Records catalogue