Parliamentary Art Collection

The collection includes around 7,000 paintings, drawings and other images, 700 sculptures, 600 coins and medals, and around 100 pieces in other media, such as textiles or wallpaper, with a focus mainly on British history and politics, including portrait paintings and statues of Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords and other historical figures, and paintings of important events.

As a rule, no portrait is displayed at the Palace of Westminster until the subject has been dead for at least 10 years, but works considered ineligible for the main building (for example, portraits of Shirley Williams and of Kenneth Clarke which were acquired in 2007) can be displayed elsewhere on the Parliamentary Estate, such as at 1 Parliament Street or in Portcullis House.

The earliest pieces in the collection are 14 medieval statues of kings in Westminster Hall, dated to c.1388 during the reign of Richard II, while the oldest picture is an ink drawing of the Palace of Westminster by Jan Lievens, c.1630, but most works date from the 18th century onwards.

It includes many works selected by the Royal Fine Art Commission decorate the reconstructed Palace of Westminster after the catastrophic fire in 1834, which destroyed many historic artworks and tapestries.

The new works include many large formal paintings for the public rooms, and statues of kings and queens around the exterior of the building.