The Courthauld Institute of Art is a college connected to the University of London. It is known as one of the most prestigious art history schools in the world. The Courtauld Gallery is open to the public and housed in Somerset House, which was the first home for the Royal Academy upon its foundation in 1768. The entrance to 'The Great Room', which housed the annual Summer Exhibition, has the formidable inscription 'Let no stranger to the Muses enter' in Ancient Greek.

The Institute was founded in 1931 by the joint efforts of philanthropist and art collector Samuel Courthauld, art historian Sir Robert Witt and collector Lord Less Fareham. The art collection of the Institute includes many gifts bequeathed by patrons. Some of the most notable include French Impresionist works by Degas, Monet and Renoir donated by Samuel Courthauld. Art critic Roger Fry donated his collection of 20th century works, and the Institute has collections of paintings and sketches by the old Masters such as Rubens. The collection also includes 13 Turner watercolours which were donated to the museum in 1974.

The museum's website has over 7000 images from the collection online. The Institute also houses two large photographic libraries, a slide library and one of Britain's largest collections of art history books, journals and exhibition catalogues.