Courtauld Institute of Art

The Institute was founded at London University in 1931 with an endowment from Samuel Courtauld (1876-1947), a collector and patron of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists. It was the first British institution aimed solely at the study of art history. In 1932 Courtauld transferred the lease of 20 Portman Square to the Institute, later presenting it with his impressive collection of paintings. In 1959 the collection was displayed in new galleries in Woburn Square, together with the Lee Collection of Old Masters, the Fry Collection of early twentieth-century art, the Witt Collection of Drawings and the Gambier-Parry Collection of Italian Paintings. More recently, the Princes Gate Collection of Old Masters and the Spooner Collection of English Watercolours have also been acquired. Nowadays, the Institute, with its numerous collections of Western art dating from the 14th to the 20th century, is sited at Somerset House in the Strand, where it provides one of the foremost centres for art study and conservation in the world. The Courtauld is an autonomous college of the University of London.