The museum's collection of over 1,800 works is centered on modern and contemporary nihonga from the Meiji period on. It also includes classic calligraphy, early modern paintings, ukiyo-e, and Western-style paintings. Works that have been designated Important Cultural Properties, six in total, are Court Ladies Enjoying Wayside Chrysanthemums by Iwasa Matabei (1578-1650), View of Mt. Kunō, by Tsubaki Chinzan (1801-1854), Tabby Cat, by Takeuchi Seihō (1864-1942), Nude, by Murakami Kagaku (1888-1939), Dancing in the Flames and Camellia Petals Scattering by Hayami Gyoshū (1894-1934). They are joined by Important Art Objects such as Autumn Plants and Quails by Sakai Hōitsu (1761-1828). In addition to 120 paintings by Hayami Gyoshū and seventy by Kawai Gyokudō (1873-1957), the Yamatane collection is also known for its 135 works by Okumura Togyū (1889-1990), including the majority of the paintings he showed in the postwar Inten (Japan Art Institute Exhibition), such as Maelstroms at Naruto and Cherry Blossoms at Daigo-ji Temple. The collection also numbers works by artists who must be included in any discussion of modern nihonga, including Sakuemon's House and Divine Spirit: Mt. Fuji, by Yokoyama Taikan (1868-1958), Ancient Pine Tree and White Wisterias, by Shimomura Kanzan (1873-1930), Scene from the Noh Play Kinuta, by Uemura Shōen (1875-1949), Agalloch Pillow, by Kaburaki Kiyokata (1878-1972), Scenes from the Legend of Kiyohime, a set of eight paintings by Kobayashi Kokei (1883-1957), Oda Nobunaga Dancing before His Departure for the Front, by Yasuda Yukihiko (1884-1978), Yoshida Shōin in Rendai-ji Temple near Shimoda, by Maeda Seison (1885-1977), Maelstroms at Naruto, by Kawabata Ryūshi (1885-1966), and End of the Year, by Higashiyama Kaii (1908-1999).

* To conserve the works in its collection, the Yamatane Museum of Art does not have a permanent exhibition. It holds special and thematic exhibitions five or six times a year.

* Please consult the Current Exhibition page to confirm which works are presently on display.