In 1933, under the shadow of Nazism, the institute was relocated to London, where, with the aid of Lord Lee of Fareham, Samuel Courtauld, and the Warburg family, it was installed in Thames House in 1934.
The institute moved to the Imperial Institute Buildings in 1937.
In 1944 it became associated with the University of London.

Henri Frankfort succeeded Saxl as director in 1949, and in 1955 was succeeded by Gertrud Bing, who had joined the organization in 1922.
During her term as director, the institute moved to its current home at the university in 1958.
Bing was succeeded by Ernst Gombrich in 1959.
From 1976 to 1990, J. B. Trapp was director, and from 1991 to 2001, Nicholas Mann.
 In 1994 the Warburg became a founding institute of the University of London's School of Advanced Study.

Recent directors have been Charles Hope (2001 to 2010), Peter Mack (2010 to 2014) and David Freedberg (from July 2015 to April 2017).

In 2011, legal action was started by the University of London together with the institute's advisory council about their disagreement regarding the meaning of the 1944 deed of trust that granted the university the collection; the pledge "to maintain and preserve the collection 'in perpetuity' as 'an independent unit'" is problematised by the institute's annual deficit, estimated at half a million pounds.
Several students and scholars who had used the Warburg resources or studied there protested this planned merge.
 A petition on Change.org to save the Warburg's independence was started by Brooke Palmieri, a student of University College London after working on her PhD thesis at the Warburg.
 In only two months, the petition had almost twenty five thousand signatures.
 In recent years the university has charged a proportion of its total estate expenditure to the Warburg Institute; as a result, the finances of the once solvent Institute have been strongly affected.
In November 2014, a High Court judgment established that the university's conduct in this regard was not lawful.
In 1933, under the shadow of Nazism, the institute was relocated to London, where, with the aid of Lord Lee of Fareham, Samuel Courtauld, and the Warburg family, it was installed in Thames House in 1934. The institute moved to the Imperial Institute Buildings in 1937. In 1944 it became associated with the University of London.
Henri Frankfort succeeded Saxl as director in 1949, and in 1955 was succeeded by Gertrud Bing, who had joined the organization in 1922. During her term as director, the institute moved to its current home at the university in 1958. Bing was succeeded by Ernst Gombrich in 1959. From 1976 to 1990, J. B. Trapp was director, and from 1991 to 2001, Nicholas Mann.  In 1994 the Warburg became a founding institute of the University of London's School of Advanced Study.
Recent directors have been Charles Hope (2001 to 2010), Peter Mack (2010 to 2014) and David Freedberg (from July 2015 to April 2017).
In 2011, legal action was started by the University of London together with the institute's advisory council about their disagreement regarding the meaning of the 1944 deed of trust that granted the university the collection; the pledge "to maintain and preserve the collection 'in perpetuity' as 'an independent unit'" is problematised by the institute's annual deficit, estimated at half a million pounds. Several students and scholars who had used the Warburg resources or studied there protested this planned merge.  A petition on Change.org to save the Warburg's independence was started by Brooke Palmieri, a student of University College London after working on her PhD thesis at the Warburg.  In only two months, the petition had almost twenty five thousand signatures.  In recent years the university has charged a proportion of its total estate expenditure to the Warburg Institute; as a result, the finances of the once solvent Institute have been strongly affected. In November 2014, a High Court judgment established that the university's conduct in this regard was not lawful.
Warburg Institute