In an major development for British art, Tate has announced that key archives of some of the Britain’s most important artists have been made available to a worldwide audience online.

The step is part of the Archives and Access project, which aims to make the world’s largest archive of British art – Tate Archive – readily available to a global audience via the digitalisation of much of the collection. Documents and artworks now live on the Tate’s website as part of the first stage include family photographs of Jacob Epstein, love letters from Paul Nash to his wife, unpublished images of Eduardo Paolozzi by Nigel Henderson, 45 volumes of Barbara Hepworth’s sculpture records and correspondence from William Nicholson to his son Ben.

It’s a mammoth endeavour, with the publication of 6000 items online, including further 15 collections relating to Kenneth Armitage, Anita Bartle, Stephen Gilbert, Thomas Cooper Gotch, Josef Herman, David Jones, Ben Nicholson, Ethel Sands, Graham Sutherland, Henry Scott Tuke and Keith Vaughan.

These now public archives are opening up an insight into the lives – and work – of some of the most important figures in the history of British art. The collection in its entirety (a cool million or so items) contains a mass of material on the artists themselves plus leading art figures and organisations between 1900 to present day, ranging from sketchbooks, handwritten notes and photographs to audio-visual material and rare press cuttings.

Jump to the Tate Archive website now to check out the first stage, and stay tuned in the coming months: plans for summer include the digitalisation of a further 37 artists’ archives including Kurt Schwitters, Eileen Agar and Prunella Clough.

IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Felicitas Vogler: Photograph of Ben Nicholson holding his cat, Tommy 1968. Tate Archive. Purchased by the Tate Archive from Ben Nicholson’s executors in 1987 © Fondation du Refuge SPA de Saint-Légier-la-Chiésaz

2-3. Paul Nash: Letter from Paul Nash to Margaret Nash 4 July 1913. Tate Archive: Gift of Anstice Shaw, September 1983 © Tate

4. Barbara Hepworth: Volume of sculpture records 1962. Page 15. Reproduction of a photograph of ‘Winged Figure’ 1962 (BH315) on the side of the John Lewis building in Oxford Street. Tate Archive. Presented by Barbara Hepworth, December 1972 and her Executors, November 1977 © Bowness, Hepworth Estate

5. Photographer unknown: Photograph of ‘Adam’ by Jacob Epstein c 1938–1939. Tate Archive

6. Nigel Henderson: Photograph of Eduardo and Freda Paolozzi c 1949 – c 1956. Presented to Tate Archive by Stephen and Jo Henderson and the Henderson families, June 2010. © Nigel Henderson Estate

7. Nigel Henderson: Photograph of Eduardo Paolozzi c 1950s. Tate Archive © Nigel Henderson Estate