The Wilson Collection (part permanent gift through the National Art Collections Fund and part extended loan) is made up of over 500 paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures.

It includes many important examples of British Pop Art such as Peter Blake's The 1962 Beatles (1963-68), Patrick Caulfield's Portrait of Juan Gris (1963) and Richard Hamilton's Swingeing London '67 (1967-68) and Hers is a Lush Situation (1958), as well as works by artists including R.B. Kitaj, Eduardo Paolozzi, Colin Self and Joe Tilson.

Figurative art is also well represented, including Michael Andrews' iconic Colony Room 1 (1962), David Bomberg's Last Landscape (1957), Lucian Freud's Self-Portrait with Hyacinth in Pot (1947-48), and work by artists including Frank Auerbach, Prunella Clough, William Coldstream, Peter de Francia, Nigel Henderson and Victor Willing.