A collection containing works of art relevant to the experience and history of the British Armed Forces.
Aspects of the Collection’s history, its provenance and its background are presented in a new book and DVD. Selected high-quality prints of paintings in the Collection are also available for the first time.
These items can now be ordered on-line from our new shop website. Profits from the sale of the book, the DVD and the prints will go towards the cost of conserving and restoring items from the Collection.
The Ministry of Defence Art Collection - Protecting, conserving and displaying works of art owned by the taxpayer to ensure that our heritage is preserved for posterity.
Why does the MOD Art Collection exist? Why does the Department own works of art?
One of the main reasons for the existence of the Art Collection is because of the generosity of donors in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Bequests and gifts were made to the Admiralty and, later, to the War Office and it are these items that form the backbone of today's Collection.
In most cases the terms of the gift or bequest mean that they may not be sold or otherwise disposed of and the intentions of the donors were that the works should be in public ownership rather than in the private collections of various Regimental Messes and Ward Rooms.
Today, the MOD Art Collection team are responsible for protection, preserving and conserving those works of art and antiques for which we are responsible. In many cases, we display items in the offices of senior officials, in conference rooms and in other public spaces in Defence Estate buildings; such loans are carefully managed and are intended to work to the benefit of the Department as a whole rather than for individuals.
But the main aim of the Collection team is to ensure that the very best works are on permanent public display in Museums and art galleries around the world. The Collection is owned by the public and access to it must therefore be made as easy as possible, and the resulting positive publicity is good for the Department.
The MOD Art Collection consists of over fifteen hundred items of fine art and antiques, including paintings, drawings, engravings, photographs, clocks and furniture. All the items are in public ownership.
The Collection has its origins in the Admiralty Collection; from the early nineteenth century successive First Lords and Admiralty Secretaries commissioned portraits, donated or bequeathed items from their private collections with the intention of ensuring that their memories were preserved.
The Army is less well represented in the MOD Art Collection; although hundreds of fine works of art have been commissioned and bequeathed, most belong to Regimental Messes and are not public property.
However, the Collection includes some Army-related works bequeathed or presented to the War Office rather than to a particular Regiment. The MOD Art Collection contains very few images of the Royal Air Force; most significant paintings depicting RAF personnel and activity belong to the RAF Museum.
The MOD Art Collection is managed to professional standards by a small team who ensure that loan criteria are strictly adhered to and that conservation is carried out where necessary. The team has two main objectives; firstly, to maintain the safety and preservation of the items in the Collection, and secondly to display this unique archive within Defence establishments and residencies and to maximize public access and visibility wherever possible.