Archives & Library

Photo Archive Collections

The Photographic Archive are mounted reference images. There are two collections: The Paul Mellon Centre Photographic Archive and The Tate Photographic Archive. The collections cover British painting and drawing from approximately 1500 to 2000 and are particularly strong on the work of 18th-century artists. The PMCPA collection has been digitised in its entirety. The Tate collection is available to consult in our Public Study Room.

The Paul Mellon Centre Photographic Archive and Tate Photographic Archive are historic collections. The following policy decisions have been made in relation to them:

  • We do not acquire photographic archives from outside the PMC.
  • The only images that will be added to the photographic archive in future will be those created by the PMC in the course of its everyday business; for example, images of works photographed by the Centre as part of our publications programme.
  • We have no plans to digitise the Tate Photographic Archive. It is available to consult onsite at the Centre.
  • We cannot link to other online resources.
  • We will consider correcting factual errors in the catalogue. Information should be sent to [email protected].
  • An audit of offensive, insensitive, outdated and racist words contained in the historical description of artworks was carried out in 2021. When changes are made, the historical metadata will be preserved and the review process documented. We welcome any enquiries about the terminology used in this resource. These should be sent to [email protected].