Yale Center for British Art

Legit place. Stellar collection. Wandered in during the reopening 5÷11÷16. Beautiful building. Lots of events. Friendly staff. All sorts of artists. Plenty of perspectives. Beautiful interior. Free. Easy to explore. Good gift shop.

The Yale Center for British Art is a great institution. It reopened on May 11, 2016 after being closed for over a year for a renovation which as the Center’s current architect, David Lewis, pointed out during one of the multiple tours held on that occasion was notable for not adding any new spaces or features or involving a «starchitect,» but instead restoring the Center in line with the intentions of its original architect Louis I. Kahn (1901 – 1974) who had died before it opened in 1977. Located just across the street from the Yale University Art Gallery, whose main building was previously designed by Kahn, the Center was built to house the collection of British art donated by Paul Mellon (1907 – 1999). The original collection features works from 1550 – 1850 while more recent gifts and acquisitions take the story up through the present time.
The Center is famed for the beauty of its construction and, except for a floor designed to exhibit works on paper, the presence of natural light both from windows and filtered skylights. It is open to the general public without charge (unlike some other college art museums, notably one in Cambridge, MA) and always displays hundreds of paintings, sculptures and works on paper from their vast collection in addition to regularly hosting multiple major loan exhibitions. There is a small gift and book shop on the ground floor and an auditorium where public events are held. There is no food service and visitors must compete for parking on surrounding streets, where meters are limited to only two hours, which allows insufficient time to fully enjoy the exhibitions. The building, which is accessible, also houses conversation laboratories and an art library (neither generally open to the public); public facilities are located on the lower level.

Just a fabulous place to relax while enjoying all kinds of British art; old and modern. The museum shop has so many cool things to buy straight from the UK and the staff is so nice and helpful, it’s the place I like (Love) in New Haven; just a wonderful experience.
Also, visit the gift shop, really cool good imported from the UK, my favorite place to do business with in New Haven.

The Yale Center for British Art is an incredible museum. It’s free, they have a broad selection of exhibits and styles, and it’s the largest collection of British works outside of England. My personal preference is to wander around myself, but if you prefer guided tours of the galleries the docents and staff are knowledgeable and take great pride in their work.
Between the Yale Center for British Art and the Yale Art Gallery, New Haven is fortunate to have some of the finest works of art ever created available at our fingertips. I’ve spent countless hours browsing the pieces here and still learn something new with each visit.

I love the Yale Center for British Art. The exhibits are just amazing. I would encourage everyone to stop by and spend an hour or two there. You wont be disappointed.

I learned about this gem from a recent episode of «Chronicle,» a news magazine TV program in Boston. The museum contains the largest collection of UK objets d’art outside of the Tate Gallery in London. That is saying something. No wonder The Times of London listed The Yale Center for British Art among the Top 50 Best Art Galleries in the world earlier this year.
The Yale Center for British Art is nearing completion of an 8-​month renovation. Only the fourth floor was open. Floors 1 – 3 will reopen on December 8. However, that one floor alone contained paintings and sculpture from as long ago as the 16^th century through modern pieces created over the last few years, and includes Romantic, portrait, landscape, Neoclassic, abstract and more. On one floor! And it took 90-​minutes without stopping to study and read about each piece.
In addition to being chock full of beautiful, important and thought provoking works, the space itself is a sight: a post-​modern, industrial space that despite its liberal use of concrete and steel somehow feels organic and sultry.
To top it off, there is no admission charge to the Yale Center for British Art. There is also an excellent gift shop where you can find an eclectic range of merchandise, from Sex Pistols post cards to fragrances from Penhaligon’s. By all means, if you enjoy art or are an Anglophile, you should visit.
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Solid 4 Stars.
Interestingly curated, Free, Unlimited photography snapping, Louis Kahn.
The space– It’s a sight alone just to come to see the architecture, the creation of the Louis Kahn. Concrete open space, beautiful and modern.
The arts– I am no expert in British arts, especially anything pre-​war. But you can feel the excellence in the air right when you walk in. The only thing i was able to recognized sadly was the Francis Bacon pieces, which tells you how vast and diverse their collection is!

What a beautiful museum and what a great collection. Especially loved all the Turner paintings — enough for a room for a number of them. They had every genre and period represented that a person could expect to see. Not enough time to see it all, unfortunately.

I was not surprised when seeing this museum on Times Magazine’s list of The World’s 50 Best Museums this year. Before checking out this museum, I knew nothing about British art, JMW Turner probably means all to me… But when I opened the door of this museum, I was surprised by a completely new and fascinating world. The museum itself is sort of a piece of British art and there are a lot of stories to learn behind it. The collection is very academic and in depth. Although the museum doesn’t cost you a penny to get into, it’s worth spending much time to explore and learn.

A Louis Kahn masterpiece and an amazing collection of artwork. There are plenty of tours offered for those wanting to learn more in depth about the works. If you’re a scholar there are some great facilities to do research.
The gift shop has a pretty nice selection of British stuff, you’ll be sure to find something for any occasion. If you’re into art books, this place has a great collection published on the other side of the pond.
The location is great, as there are a lot of neat boutiques and restaurants around the block.
Oh yeah, and it’s FREE!

Not a British art junkie, but I thought it was decent. It’s free too! Cool Tudor portraits. Nice architecture.

I don’t know much about British Art, but what they had to offer at this gallery is pretty nice for free admission! There were surprisingly a lot of pieces, enough for a nice trip. We ended up getting there at 4:10, and they close at 5 on Sundays, so we didn’t get to see it all. I was impressed by the collection, which had artwork from the 1800’s (maybe earlier, we didn’t get to see it all) to more modern pieces from the late 70’s. Sculptures were on display in addition to artwork. The architecture of the building was pretty cool though, when I walked in I wasn’t sure if it was actually free!

I’m on a quest for things to do in New Haven! Cuz my boyfriend sure doesn’t have a clue, and there’s only so much basking-in-one-another’s-presence we can do when I go up to visit.
Free & open to the public = I’m there.
A nice space; not so large that it’s overwhelming, but also somewhere you could spend a good chunk of time in. I wasn’t particularly impressed with the layout… the entryway was sufficiently «art museum-​y», but also kind of unremarkable.
We were especially interested in seeing the Shakespeare on Canvas exhibition, which was a bit smaller than I had hoped, but still enjoyable and delightful for us Shakespeare nerds. We then wandered through to other collections which were fun to look at as well.
They also have docent-​led tours of the special exhibits that are up, but those happen on specific days/​times, so if you’re interested, you’ll need to check the website. As it happens, the docent was mysteriously spirited away when we went (yes, at the right day/​time), but that wasn’t too big of a deal to us, and anyway, as you might expect, there’s sufficient information around for you to have a look around on your own.
Staff that we did encounter were nice and welcoming, and in the galleries they didn’t seem to follow you around oozing paranoia that you’ll touch the paintings, like some of the art museums I’ve been to.
Cute gift shop, with postcards & posters of works they have on display, as well as random items of British culture that have nothing to do with the art in the center. Like Beatles items. And Bond; James Bond.
Overall, a nice way to spend a bit of time.

Free, awesome and well layed out. Great East Indian art museum with changing exhibits… Did I mention it was free. But in all seriousness, a grand collection of art.
Real nice museum.

Beautiful museam, free admission, and great art. I personally enjoyed the Yale art gallery across the street a bit more, because it had more of a variety. But it was great seeing some of the old English culture as well. Great place, a great way to spend a rainy afternoon, or just visiting new haven!

Definitely work a stop. The George Stubbs famous lion on a stallion is here and today they had a wonderful exhibit of Lawrence portraits from Europe/​Britain and the US (this show ends in early June). I especially liked the lesser known painters on the 4^th floor-​pictures of families you wish you could get to know-​especially the women.
Only 90 mins from NYC or northern NJ so an easy trip for a Sunday. On Sunday the parking on Chapel Street is free and lots of places to get lunch or coffee/​tea are nearby.
And it is free-​there is a donation bank for the victims of the Japan earthquake (a very nice touch).

It has some interesting pieces to this collection. I liked some of the women’s portraits they have on display. There is something extra about these women’s portraits that I haven’t seen in other institutions that is brought out more when they are collected and displayed all together. These portraits have some naughty whimsy just in their eyes or facial expression or smile. This sense came through more because I think this museum seems to have more of this particular type of portrait.
Also, there is a bust of a man of African descent (do you like that? that was really politically correct… I should say Black man.) He was very realistic and had a face with a lot of true character in it. As I read on the plaque next to the bust, this was rare for the time it was made. I believe it.

Pretty cool museum. I have mixed feelings about the building though I do like the effect that the entrance has on the pavement outside. Great place for buskers.
Anyway there was a really interesting exhibit on Orientalism here while I lived in New Haven. Would definitely love to go back, but I just don’t go to New Haven that often these days.

I’m not an expert on British art or artists, but I really enjoy this museum. I found a new favorite artist – Gainsborough – whose work is truly special. The side facing Chapel Street has beautiful windows and comfortable seats for taking in a beautiful work. It’s a very calming place, as it should be.
We weren’t able to see the entire museum when we were there yesterday, so will go back soon and update accordingly.

Here is the other gallery which I have nothing but fond memories. Again, my wildly crazy friends and I would retreat into this most proud and dignified of architectural achievements and mingle with paintings and sculptures. Once again, I must reiterate that we did not hurt a fly, nor leave a mark, but the same friend did shamelessly lean intimately toward the earlobes of busts. She loved art, what can I say.
Just British work here, so lots of Gainsborough, Constable, Turner, etc. If you like equestian depictions, like racing and foxhunting, you are at the right venue. Both comprehensive and extensive, the collection is the largest outside the United Kingdom. It was presented to the university by one of its most successful and generous graduates, Paul Mellon. A lovely place to take a time-​out, play hooky, and just be unproductive (assuming you are not an architecture student, which certainly never described me).