Art and collections
We care for one of the world's largest and most significant collections of art and heritage objects. Explore the highlights, our latest major exhibitions, curatorial research and more.
We loan paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, ceramics and furniture to museums and galleries around the world, so they can be enjoyed by millions of visitors. Discover where some of the items we care for are displayed, and find out about the procedure for loaning objects from the National Trust.
The Trust is lending artworks, books and photographs representing the gardens of Virginia Woolf at Monk’s House, and of Vita Sackville-West at Sissinghurst, among others. From Sissinghurst, the Trust will be lending Vita Sackville-West’s and Sir Harold Nicholson’s garden tools, which have their initials on the handles.
The exhibition will not only focus on Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West but also on Vanessa Bell and Ottoline Morrell. It highlights how green spaces became places of refuge and inspiration for all who visited them.
The National Trust is lending a portrait of Stephen Gardiner (1483-1555), Bishop of Winchester, from Oxburgh Hall. Gardiner was a key statesman during Henry VIII's reign and came into contact with all of Henry VIII’s six wives. The exhibition will chronicle the representation of Henry VIII’s queens throughout history and popular culture.
This exhibition is the first to focus on the production and exchange of gold and silver boxes in late Stuart and Georgian Dublin.
The Trust is lending a late 18th century elongated silver gilt freedom box from Mount Stewart. This box was given to Viscount Castlereagh in 1798 by the Dublin Corporation.
Loans to exhibitions are regarded as a significant factor in providing access to Trust collections. The registrar team are happy to advise about the selection and availability of objects for loan, but we suggest preliminary research should be carried out at least a year in advance.
Discover more about how to request to loan an object for an exhibition, which objects are elegible and the processes and policies in place.
Read more about our loans out procedure
Loans are approved by the Loans Board, which meets four times a year.
We care for one of the world's largest and most significant collections of art and heritage objects. Explore the highlights, our latest major exhibitions, curatorial research and more.
Discover some of the most recent acquisitions and the stories behind them, from paintings and objects kindly donated to the National Trust to those purchased with funds raised thanks to the generosity of visitors.
We publish two illustrated research journals every year, containing expert insights into our places and collections, curatorial content, and the latest conservation news.
From goldwork and gilding to goldsmithing and jewellery making, discover the ways in which gold has been used in the objects in our collections.
Discover the stories behind some of the greatest artworks and artefacts looked after by the National Trust, as told in a dedicated book, 125 Treasures from the Collections of the National Trust.
Discover some of the places in our care where you’ll find rare and significant Chinese wall coverings – a staple decoration of the British country house.