Causeway Museum Service is a partnership of three councils to develop and deliver museum services with their Accredited collections – Coleraine Borough Council, Limavady Borough Council and Moyle District Council. The Collections largely represent the people, landscapes, history and stories of their Borough or District. The art collections reflect the talented artists born locally and has been developed through kind donations and funding from Heritage Lottery Fund, the Northern Ireland Museums Council and the Art Fund. The museums also collect artworks which depict the local area, some of which were painted to promote the Causeway region as a holiday destination. The oil paintings in the Collection represent a very small portion of the overall art collection.

Hugh Thomson is an internationally celebrated artist and illustrator and Coleraine Museum holds the largest public collection of his artworks in the world. Charles McAuley’s artworks illustrate the inspiration that can be derived from the outstandingly beautiful Causeway coast area which includes Ireland's only World Heritage site – the Giants Causeway.