This collection is made up of nearly 7,000 objects, two albums and thousands of born-digital files and represents an outstanding resource for the study of the Fine Arts practice of British and Commonwealth artists and architects visiting the BSR systematically since the Rome Prizes for Decorative Painting, Engraving, Sculpture and Architecture were established in 1913.

The artworks produced by the visiting award-holding artists and scholars during their stay at the BSR were documented with sets of images commissioned from various photographers, the most prominent and productive of which is Cesare Faraglia (1865-1946), a commercial photographer who worked with academic institutions and learned societies in Rome during the first half of the twentieth century. Also exhibitions (Fine Arts Mostre) and solo exhibitions by resident artists were photographed, including solo shows and collaborative exhibitions organised within the Gallery Programme and the Contemporary Art Programme.

This collection consists of a multimaterial visual documentation reflecting the evolution of printing and processing techniques which include: a significant archive of glass negatives of various sizes, mostly taken between 1910s and 1940s; an archive of photographs printed from the glass negatives, mostly silver gelatin prints; coloured slides, contact prints, transparencies and 35 mm film negatives. The two albums dispaly photographs of sculpture and paintings executed by some scholars at the BSR in the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s.

The Fine Arts collection will increase over the years thanks to a planned and continuous documentation of the artists' and residents work and of their research in Rome.