Public Records

The National Gallery Archive contains records of the Gallery's activities from its foundation in 1824 to the present day.

The records document the history and provenance of pictures in the Gallery's collection, and the history and development of the Gallery as an institution.

The records are wide in scope and include:-

• minutes of the Board of Trustees meetings
  
• annual reports
  
• administrative correspondence
  
• internal memoranda and reports
  
• publications by and about the Gallery
  
• exhibition records
  
• photographs
  
• press cuttings
  
• architectural plans
  
• publicity material
  

The records relate to all areas of the Gallery's activities including:

• the management of pictures in the collection: acquisition, exhibition, picture conservation, scholarship and research
  
• the development of the building
  
• the development of curatorial, conservation and specialist professions
  
• policies on public access, education of children, students and adults
  
• relations with other galleries and museums in Britain and worldwide
  
• key members of staff, including Charles Lock Eastlake, Kenneth Clark, William Boxall
  
• relationship with the contemporary art community
  
• state sponsorship of art
  
• the wartime evacuation of the pictures
  

The National Gallery Archive also includes records relating to the foundation and early administration of the Tate Gallery and its collection. For further information on the Tate Gallery's own Archive Department go to: http://www.tate.org.uk/collections/archive.htm

Further records relating to the administration of the National Gallery are held at the Public Record Office http://www.pro.gov.uk

The records of the National Gallery are public records. All records over 30 years old are available for consultation, and in many cases, records less than 30 years old can also be made available.

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