From Black and White to Colour: Staff Selections from the Paul Mellon Centre's Archives & Library Collections

This display features material from across the Archives & Library collections at the Paul Mellon Centre. It demonstrates how various histories of British art and architecture can be told through the unique and sometimes unexpected items held here. The material was selected by staff currently working in the department and includes objects chosen because they are particularly inspiring, unusual, illustrative or hold personal resonance.

The archive material – chosen from the collections of a stained-glass expert, biographer, gallerist and architectural historian – reflects the recent widening of the Centre's acquisition policy, which now encompasses a range of diverse voices working in the field of British Art. It also reveals the assorted formats through which their narratives are told.

The library items demonstrate the range of material acquired through donation in recent years. This activity increasingly augments and shapes the library’s holdings, allowing us to broaden our collecting to encompass new subject areas and forms of publishing. This includes rare books, manufacturers’ trade catalogues and the exhibition output of a single artist as demonstrated in the display.

In total, the Centre's holdings now comprise nearly fifty separate archives and more than 50,000 books, exhibition catalogues and auction catalogues. This tiny selection illustrates the enormous research potential afforded by the material. It also highlights the element of discovery involved in the everyday work of Archive & Library staff.

The display is accompanied by an illustrated booklet. You can see a copy below, and copies are available at the PMC.

Make sure to check our opening hours before visiting the display.

Display coordinated by Gaetano Ardito, Phoebe Benfield, Amy Bradford, Charlotte Brunskill, Fiona Callaghan, Emma Floyd, Pawel Jaskulski, Hannah Jones and Martin Myrone