Description
Tate Britain is the national gallery of British art, on the Thames at Millbank in Westminster: paintings, sculpture and installations from the Tudors to today, in a classical building with a dome. It holds the world's most comprehensive collection of its kind.
Its great treasure is J. M. W. Turner, who left his whole collection to the nation. Since 1987 his works have had a building of their own, the Clore Gallery by James Stirling, a piece of Postmodern architecture.
Around them hang Hogarth, Gainsborough, Constable and Blake, then more recent artists such as David Hockney, Peter Blake and Francis Bacon. The displays rotate, and temporary shows put single British artists in the spotlight.
The building itself is worth a look. Don't miss the rotunda under the dome, with its spiral staircase and the circular balcony reopened after a renovation. A mural by Rex Whistler is now shown with a film installation by Keith Piper that comments on it.
Tate Britain also hosts the Turner Prize exhibition every other year. Four nominees are announced in spring, the show opens in autumn and the prize is given in December. The prize is controversial, and has had its demonstrations.
Before the art came, this stretch of the Thames held a prison: Tate Britain stands on the site of Millbank Prison. In 1897 a National Gallery of British Art opened here, founded by Sir Henry Tate, and everyone called it "the Tate" long before it officially took his name in 1932.
For decades it held modern art from all over the world too. When Tate Modern opened across the river in 2000, the modern collection moved there, and Millbank became the home of British art. It was renamed Tate Britain.
The building has had its scares: the Thames flooded it, and bombs hit it in the Second World War, though more than 700 artworks had been secretly sent to Muncaster Castle in Cumbria in 1939.
A river boat decorated with spots, after paintings by Damien Hirst, connects Tate Britain with Tate Modern from the pier outside.
Its great treasure is J. M. W. Turner, who left his whole collection to the nation. Since 1987 his works have had a building of their own, the Clore Gallery by James Stirling, a piece of Postmodern architecture.
Around them hang Hogarth, Gainsborough, Constable and Blake, then more recent artists such as David Hockney, Peter Blake and Francis Bacon. The displays rotate, and temporary shows put single British artists in the spotlight.
The building itself is worth a look. Don't miss the rotunda under the dome, with its spiral staircase and the circular balcony reopened after a renovation. A mural by Rex Whistler is now shown with a film installation by Keith Piper that comments on it.
Tate Britain also hosts the Turner Prize exhibition every other year. Four nominees are announced in spring, the show opens in autumn and the prize is given in December. The prize is controversial, and has had its demonstrations.
Before the art came, this stretch of the Thames held a prison: Tate Britain stands on the site of Millbank Prison. In 1897 a National Gallery of British Art opened here, founded by Sir Henry Tate, and everyone called it "the Tate" long before it officially took his name in 1932.
For decades it held modern art from all over the world too. When Tate Modern opened across the river in 2000, the modern collection moved there, and Millbank became the home of British art. It was renamed Tate Britain.
The building has had its scares: the Thames flooded it, and bombs hit it in the Second World War, though more than 700 artworks had been secretly sent to Muncaster Castle in Cumbria in 1939.
A river boat decorated with spots, after paintings by Damien Hirst, connects Tate Britain with Tate Modern from the pier outside.