The Arts Council Collection, one of Britains foremost collections of post-war British Art, has been made available online as part of the organisations 60th birthday celebrations. Established in 1946 to promote and enrich knowledge of contemporary art, the Collection continues to acquire works by emerging artists living and working in Britain. It comprises 7,500 works by more than 2,000 British artists including Francis Bacon, Henry Moore, Lucian Freud (Girl in a Green Dress, 1954, pictured), Ben Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth, Damien Hirst, Antony Gormley, David Hockney and Anish Kapoor.
All original works from the Arts Council Collection acquired since 1946 are now catalogued online and all works acquired since 1989 are illustrated. The online database will give museum and gallery curators and other organisations wishing to borrow works the opportunity to view them prior to selection at the Collections stores.