ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

Yale Center for British Art Opened

A new museum and study center—the Yale Center for British Art—was officially opened to the public April 19 in New Haven.

The gift of Paul Mellon (Yale class of 1929), the center will house Mellon’s unrivaled collection of British paintings, drawings, prints, and rare books. The center will offer reference material for advanced research in the field of British art; classrooms; and other facilities for a broad program of activities in British studies. The addition of the Mellon collection to the university’s already extensive holdings of English books and autograph letters makes Yale a leading institution for the study of British art and culture outside of England.

The center is the final building designed by the late Louis I. Kahn (1901-74), internationally distinguished architect, who also designed the Yale University Art Gallery (1951-53) and the Kimbell Museum in Fort Worth, Texas (1969-72). The four-story structure, noted for its innovative system of lighting, brings natural light into the exhibition spaces through the unique combination of filtered skylights, plate glass windows, and two interior courts.

The reference library is located on the second floor, with a photographic archive and storage stacks housed on the mezzanine above.

Mellon’s gift of the British art center continues his long record of support to Yale since his graduation in 1929. Gifts from Mellon and the Old Dominion Foundation, of which he was chairperson, have made possible the restoration of Connecticut Hall, the construction and endowment of Morse and Ezra Stiles Colleges, the purchase of the Boswell papers and other books for the Yale Library, as well as the underwriting of numerous academic programs.

When this gift was announced in 1966, Mellon emphasized his belief that the university, with its already recognized pre-eminence in British literary and social studies, was the logical choice as the recipient of his British collections. “It seems to me,” he said, “that Yale, with its great holdings in British literary and social research material, such as the Walpole and Boswell papers, can make the best use of the resources of my collections for educational and historical purposes. … In addition, it was at Yale as an undergraduate that my personal interest in English literature and art began in earnest, and I have always been deeply grateful to the university for this fact.”

Long a leader in eighteenth-century studies, Yale now possesses the visual resources for thorough study of the interrelationships of British art, literature, and history, according to Yale President Kingman Brewster, Jr., who stated that “Mr. Mellon’s gift makes a major contribution to the cultural vitality of the city and to Yale University, and in a broader sense, to the cultural resources of the nation.” ■ ■