The Visual Arts Library, founded in 1940, had become an important source for information on British art by the 1970s, and has continued to expand until today. It now totals over 25,000 volumes documenting British art of all periods, but its strength is British art from 1945 to the present.

Although primarily for the benefit of the staff of the department and for British Council arts officers around the world, our Library's substantial accumulation of exhibition catalogues and its comprehensive files on British artists ensure that it's a part of the mosaic of national art library resources. It therefore acts as a library of last resort, open by appointment only, for external researchers.

As our work supports British art overseas, our Library is mostly made up of information on artists born or living in Britain. Painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, photography, artists' film and video, conceptual installation and performance are all covered. In addition, British architecture, design and craft are documented selectively.

While our library naturally includes books and pamphlets, the largest constituent of the collection is exhibition catalogues. In addition there are files of ephemera on artists and institutions, and runs of most British contemporary art magazines.

Our library contains a substantial collection of folders of biographical material, press cuttings, and exhibition announcements on approximately 2000 established artists, as well as files that document many more emerging artists with as little as one or two items.

The library also has an archival collection of publications, mostly exhibition catalogues, that have been published by or supported by Visual Arts (or its predecessor the Fine Arts Department) as far back as the 1930s. Additional archival material relating to Visual Arts activity is held at Tate Britain's Research Centre. and the Public Records Office.

Appointments to our Library must be made in advance and generally we are only open to visitors on Fridays - please email us at arts@britishcouncil.org to arrange. Our Library is for reference use only.

The Visual Arts Library is held at
Arts Group
British Council
10 Spring Gardens
London SW1A 2BN
T: +44 (0)20 7389 3194
F: +44 (0)20 7389 3088

Image top left:
Rachel Whiteread - Untitled (Black Books) 1996-97
© The Artist