Yale Center for British Art

Building Description

The Yale Center for British Art hosts the most comprehensive collection of British art outside of the United Kingdom, specifically from the Elizabethan period onward. It is located on the corner York and Chapel Streets, across from the Yale Art Gallery. The four-floor building holds a collection of nearly 20,000 drawings, 30,000 prints, 2,000 paintings and 100 sculptures. The spacious building also hosts a collection of rare books of over 30,000 volumes and is open to the public free of charge six days a week.

The outside of the building is made of steel and reflective glass while the interior is of travertine marble, white oak, and Belgian linen.

History

A gift to Yale by Paul Mellon in 1966, the building was designed by Louis Kahn and constructed directly across from one of his other buildings, the Yale Art Gallery. The Center was completed and opened to the public in 1974.