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Art & Art History vocabulary · Museums & Galleries

Loan

Meaning in art & art history, with examples

/loʊn/nounCommon term

In art & art history, loan means: An arrangement in which a museum or collector lends an artwork to another institution for a period, usually for an exhibition; also the work that is lent.

In Turkish: ödünç eser, ödünç verme, ödünç alma

How it is used

Labels say ‘On loan from the National Gallery, London’ or ‘Lent by a private collector’. Museums request, approve or refuse loans, and every loan needs insurance, a condition report and often a courier. A long-term loan can stay for years.

Example sentences

  1. This painting is on loan from a museum in Madrid until the end of the year.

  2. The museum refused the loan because the panel was too fragile to travel.

Common collocations

  • on loan from
  • long-term loan
  • loan request
  • loan agreement
  • lend a work
  • exhibitionA public show of artworks or objects, arranged in a museum, gallery or other space, either for a limited time or permanently.
  • permanent collectionThe artworks and objects that a museum owns and keeps long term, as opposed to works borrowed for temporary exhibitions.
  • conservationThe professional care of artworks and objects to slow down damage and keep them stable for the future, through scientific study, careful treatment and control of light, humidity and temperature.
  • collectorA person or institution that buys and keeps artworks or other objects, often over many years and around a particular theme.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Museums & Galleries

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