Architecture

The Yale Center for British Art was designed by the internationally acclaimed American architect Louis I. Kahn (1901–1974) to house Paul Mellon’s (Yale College, Class of 1929; 1907–1999) extraordinary gift to Yale University. Located across the street from his first major commission, the Yale University Art Gallery (opened in 1953), the YCBA was Kahn’s final building and was completed after his death, opening to the public on April 19, 1977. It was the one of first museum buildings in the United States to integrate commercial retail spaces into its design.