Showing Oil Paintings in Public Ownership in London: The Victoria and Albert Museum by Sonia Roe

In 1857, the Leeds cloth manufacturer John Sheepshanks gave 233 modern British oil paintings to found a 'National Gallery of British Art'. The gallery built for this gift is the oldest part of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Ever since, the V&A has acquired oil paintings - by gift and purchase - and currently has over 2,500 works in this medium. These range from medieval altarpieces to 19th century Iranian court paintings, and include masterpieces by Boticelli, Turner and Degas, as well as the principal collection of works by John Constable.The Public Catalogue Foundation, a registered charity, has been set up to record the nation's entire collection of oil paintings in public ownership and to make this accessible through a series of affordable catalogues. The catalogues are produced on a county-by-county basis. On completion, the series will allow us to see a colour illustration and brief description of every oil painting in our national collection. Collections retain the revenue from the catalogues they sell, and use it for the preservation of oil paintings in their care, and for gallery education.