Our collection of paintings covers over three hundred years of postal activity. They show us how the artists and their contemporaries perceived the postal service.

Some of the paintings are portraits of people who had significant impact on postal services – such as Sir Rowland Hill. Others are of anonymous postal workers going about their business. Pictures of buildings that are nationally known - such as The Post Office Tower - sit next to scenes featuring local post houses.

Some are romantic views of mail coaches rushing through the countryside. Others are less cheerful, such as the bomb damage at Mount Pleasant during World War II.

The artists represented in the collection include 18th century artist Charles Jervas, James Pollard, Charles Cooper Henderson and Henry Alken (Senior and Junior), Terence Cuneo and Lynton Lamb.

Examples from our Collection

Below are some examples of paintings from our collections. Find more on BBC Your Paintings.