For full guidelines on object donations please click here.

Fine Art

We are particularly interested in acquiring;

• High quality paintings which fill in or diminish the existing gaps in the collection, in particular (but not limited to) examples of French Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Pre-Raphaelitism, post-1960s painting and painting from 14^th to 19^th
• Paintings and sketches by York born artist William Etty (1787-1849), particularly examples of Etty’s history paintings which are underrepresented in our collection
• Watercolours, drawings and prints devoted to the topography of York and North Yorkshire where they provide new topographical information or are of aesthetic significance.
• British watercolours, drawings and prints of aesthetic significance that complement the paintings collection and strengthen our existing holdings.
• Paintings and new media works by contemporary artists which have links to our historic collections. We have particular focus on acquiring works relating to the theme of flesh and artists’ responses to the human body.
• Sculpture which relates to and develops our existing Fine Art or Ceramics collections.

Decorative Art, Centre of Ceramic Art (CoCA)

We are particularly interested in acquiring;

• works by artists represented in the British studio ceramics collection which reflect changes in style and direction
• works by significant artists not yet represented in the collection
• works that are representative of new developments in the field
• works connected to our named collectors
• supporting archival material demonstrating strong connection to either named collectors, artists or objects in our collection

It is not always possible to accept everything that is offered for the following reasons;

• We already hold similar examples in the collection
• The item is more appropriate to another museum
• It is in poor condition and would be difficult to preserve
• There is little associated information about it or no clear provenance