Swindon Museum and Art Gallery houses two collections: the Swindon Collection of Modern British Art which represents artists with national and international reputations plus Swindon Museum Art Collection which mainly presents paintings of the locality.

The Swindon Collection of Modern British Art at Swindon Art Gallery is one of the most remarkable collections of its kind outside London. It was started in the 1940s with a generous donation by H. J. P. 'Jimmy' Bomford of works by artists such as Ben Nicholson, L. S. Lowry and Jack Smith. The Collection has continued to develop through the acquisition of works by Lisa Milroy, Turner-Prize nominee Steven Pippin, R. B. Kitaj and Eileen Cooper, and paintings by Basil Beattie, Ivon Hitchens, Maggie Hambling and Tony Bevan. This development has been achieved through the generosity of individuals and the support of bodies such as The Art Fund, the Contemporary Art Society and the Victoria and Albert Museum Purchase Grant Fund.