As a free public museum, the Yale Center for British Art aims to promote the awareness, study, and enjoyment of its collection of British art. The information below aims to help scholars, students, and the general public learn more about using the museum's physical and digital collections.
Accessing Collections
While the Yale Center for British Art is closed, access to the collections will be by appointment only. Requests for an appointment should be made in advance to the relevant department. Each request should list the specific objects desired for viewing. Group size will be limited. YCBA staff will make every effort to provide access to objects. Due to construction and transportation constraints, some objects may be unavailable for the duration of the project.
© Elizabeth Felicella / ESTO
Borrowing Objects
The Yale Center for British Art has implemented a loan moratorium through April 2025. Due to a major project to renovate the roof and skylights, update the lighting system, and fully reinstall the collection, the YCBA is unable to accommodate requests to borrow works from the collections during this period. Existing loan commitments will be honored.
We are happy to accept formal loan requests from April 2025.
Britain in the World installation, fourth-floor galleries, Yale Center for British Art, photo by Richard Caspole
Data Sharing
The YCBA is committed to using technology to advance the study of its collections by providing access to its holdings online to as broad a public as possible. Collections data is shared on the web in human- and machine-readable formats. The human-readable format allows users to search and view metadata and images via a Collection Search as well as download images of objects in the public domain.
Using Images
Thousands of images of works in the museum's collection believed to be in the public domain are available for free through the museum's online collection. Under Yale University’s Open Access Policy, anyone may use the museum's open access material without further application, authorization, or fees due to the museum or to Yale.
George Stubbs, Brown and White Norfolk or Water Spaniel (detail), 1778
