Our collecting policy and donations
Our collection policy, which has been our collecting approach for 25 years, is to open up the diversity of artists, and genres, represented by the collection.
The Collections Development Policy is reviewed and approved by the Orleans House Trust every five years. As new works are acquired from artists connected to our exhibitions and programmes, the collection continues to grow, bringing contemporary stories into a fascinating archive that reflects the creativity, history and imagination of Richmond and its communities.
Donations
Our collection has grown through the generosity of individuals and communities over many years, beginning with the donations of Nellie Ionides. The FAQs below provide information about making a donation, including what we collect and how acquisitions are assessed. We welcome enquiries about objects and artworks connected to the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Although we cannot accept every item offered, each proposal is carefully considered for its relevance to the collection and our ability to care for it for future generations.
What do you look for with any acquisition?
For us to look further at any acquisition we need:
- Provenance: we need a full evidenced provenance for any work being offered.
- A Richmond relationship: this could be where artist lived, what the work is depicting or where the work was made in the Borough.
- Conservation: the work needs to be in very good condition
- Cost associated: we have very limited budgets for acquiring work, so would need to seek funding support for most acquisitions which takes time.
- Space to store it: we are already full, so we need to consider the space needed to store the acquired work, unless we can find a public home for it.
- Our collecting policy: We are proactively looking to diversify the collection, so will be more likely to say yes to works that support this approach.
If you are interested in donating a work, please fill out the form found on our Collection page.
Recent Acquisitions
