Welcome to the Ministry of Defence Art Collection

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 commissioned portraits, donated or bequeathed items from their private collections and generally ensured that the upper echelons of the Royal Navy were well equipped with works of art. 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. Sadly, 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 use this unique archive for the benefit of interested members of the public and for MOD personnel. With the latter objective in mind, this web page has been put together to publicise the Collection and the work of the management team. Following the development of external access via the internet, we hope to make available various images for use as wallpaper and screensavers.