The Croydon Art Collection has over 2,000 works, including paintings, prints, drawings and sketches, dating from the 17th century to the present day. The collection began in the 1890s, when many works were given as gifts to the Council to decorate the new Croydon municipal buildings. Donations came from local people, officials of the borough and local artists, including William Ford Stanley and James Cooper. The collection contains many works depicting local scenes. In the 1960s artists from the Croydon School of Art donated work to the borough’s education department; as a result the collection has some significant pieces by contemporary artists including Bridget Riley.