The Yale Center for British Art houses the largest collection of British art outside the United Kingdom, encompassing works from the fifteenth century to the present in a range of media. The Center offers a vibrant, year-round program of events and exhibitions in person and online. Presented to the university by collector and philanthropist Paul Mellon (Yale College, Class of 1929), the museum opened to the public in 1977. It is free and open to all.
Collections
© Elizabeth Felicella / ESTO
Programs and Resources
The Yale Center for British Art offers a year-round schedule of exhibitions and programs. Academic resources include the Reference Library and Photograph Archives, conservation laboratories, a Study Room for examining works on paper as well as rare books and manuscripts from the collection, and an online catalogue of the collections. An affiliated institution in London, the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, awards grants and fellowships, publishes academic titles, and sponsors Yale’s first credit-granting undergraduate study abroad program, Yale in London.
The Louis I. Kahn Building
One of the museum's greatest treasures is the building itself. Opened to the public in 1977, the Yale Center for British Art is the last building designed by the internationally acclaimed American architect Louis I. Kahn. The structure integrates the dual functions of study center and gallery, while providing an environment for works of art that is appropriately elegant and dignified. The building stands across the street from Kahn’s first major commission, the Yale University Art Gallery (1953). Located in downtown New Haven, the YCBA is near many of the city’s best restaurants, theaters, and shops.
Diversity, Equity, Access, Inclusion, and Belonging
The Yale Center for British Art is committed to engaging a diverse range of perspectives in dialogue with British art and history. For more information on Yale University’s efforts to enhance diversity, support equity, and promote an environment of welcome, inclusion, and respect, visit Belonging at Yale.
Installation of Portrait of Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Jacob Morland of Capplethwaite (2017) by Kehinde Wiley (Yale MFA 2001), photo by Harold Shaprio.
Sustainability
The Yale Center for British Art is Green Workplace Certified by Yale’s Office of Sustainability. This YCBA is committed to advancing sustainability efforts within its own community and at Yale. YCBA staff participate in Yale’s Sustainability Leaders Program, and the museum has its own active Green Team. Among the Green Team’s accomplishments are the conversion of over 85 percent of all disposable paper products and cleaning products to earth-friendly alternatives.
William Henry Hunt, Bird's Nest with Sprays of Apple Blossoms (detail), ca. 1847
Land Acknowledgement
Yale University and the Yale Center for British Art acknowledge that Indigenous people and nations, including Mohegan, Mashantucket Pequot, Eastern Pequot, Schaghticoke, Golden Hill Paugussett, Niantic, and the Quinnipiac and other Algonquian speaking people, have stewarded through generations the lands and waterways of what is now the state of Connecticut. We honor and respect the enduring relationship that exists between these people and nations and this land.
Yale Center for British Art, photo © 2019 Revelateur Studio, Arnaud Marthouret