The collection surveys the development of English art, life and thought from the Elizabethan period onwards. Prints, drawings, and rare books are accessible to visitors in the Study Room on the second floor. The Yale Center for British Art houses the most comprehensive collection of English paintings, prints, drawings, rare books, and sculpture outside Great Britain. Temporary exhibitions occupy an important place in the Center's programs. They range from international loan shows to in-house displays which feature aspects of the permanent collection.
Illustrated catalogues accompany the majority of exhibitions.
The Center contains a reference library and a computerized archive of photographs reinforces the value of the collections for teaching and research. The affiliated Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, London, makes grants to assist advanced research and underwrites the cost of publishing books on British art and architecture. It accommodates the London programs offered by Yale College. Temporary exhibitions occupy an important place in the Center's programs. They range from international loan shows to in-house displays which feature aspects of the permanent collection.