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ArtGuide - Museum
Millside - London - February
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February 2011
LONDON. TATE BRITAIN present a fresh assessment of the history of watercolour painting in Britain from its emergence in the Middle Ages through to the present day. This major exhibition will show around 200 works including pieces by historic artists such as William Blake, Thomas Girtin and JMW Turner, through to modern and contemporary artists including Patrick Heron, Peter Doig and Tracey Emin.
Drawing out a grand history which traces the origins of watercolour back to medieval illuminated manuscripts, the exhibition will reassess the commonly held belief that the medium first flourished during a ‘golden age’ of British watercolour, from roughly 1750-1850. It will reveal an older tradition evident in manuscripts, topography and miniatures.
It will also challenge the notion that watercolour is singularly British by showing some key watercolours from continental Europe which influenced British artists, such as Jacques Le Moyne, Anthony van Dyck and Wenceslaus Hollar.
Watercolour is the most accessible of all paint media, used widely by professionals and amateurs alike. Unlike oil paint which is viscous and slow-drying, watercolour is accessible, clean, cheap and easy to use. Before the advent of photography watercolour was used primarily for recording eye-witness accounts. Artists used watercolour because it
was so versatile and portable. This exhibition will show the wide range of contexts in which it was employed including documentation of exotic flora and fauna on Captain Cook’s voyages, spontaneous on-the spot-recordings of landscapes by artists such as Turner and John Sell Cotman and on the battlefield by war artists such as William Simpson and
Paul Nash.
Often thought of as a medium for traditional representational painting, notably landscape, the sea and picturesque buildings, this exhibition will overturn such assumptions by introducing work by contemporary artists who have reinterpreted the medium including Andy Goldsworthy, Ian McKeever and Anish Kapoor. It will also show how these contemporary pieces form part of a longer tradition where watercolour has been used for visionary or abstract purposes with examples ranging from Blake through to the Pre-Raphaelites, Symbolists and Neo-Romantics in more recent times.
Ranging from loose, vibrant washes of colour to precise draughtsmanship, wet sponging to scratching out, the great variety of watercolour techniques will be surveyed in this exhibition. It will show how exhibition culture of the 19th century inspired artists to vie with one another in the pyrotechnics of sophisticated techniques, Turner raising the stakes with new methods and levels of showmanship. This set a precedent for later painters such as A.W. Hunt, Arthur Melville and artists today who continue to push the boundaries of what the medium can do.
Watercolour is part of The Great British Art Debate, and HFL funded project. The exhibition is curated by a group of Tate curators headed by Alison Smith, Head of British Art to 1900. The exhibition is also be accompanied by an illustrated book produced by Tate Publishing.
Drawing out a grand history which traces the origins of watercolour back to medieval illuminated manuscripts, the exhibition will reassess the commonly held belief that the medium first flourished during a ‘golden age’ of British watercolour, from roughly 1750-1850. It will reveal an older tradition evident in manuscripts, topography and miniatures.
It will also challenge the notion that watercolour is singularly British by showing some key watercolours from continental Europe which influenced British artists, such as Jacques Le Moyne, Anthony van Dyck and Wenceslaus Hollar.
Watercolour is the most accessible of all paint media, used widely by professionals and amateurs alike. Unlike oil paint which is viscous and slow-drying, watercolour is accessible, clean, cheap and easy to use. Before the advent of photography watercolour was used primarily for recording eye-witness accounts. Artists used watercolour because it
was so versatile and portable. This exhibition will show the wide range of contexts in which it was employed including documentation of exotic flora and fauna on Captain Cook’s voyages, spontaneous on-the spot-recordings of landscapes by artists such as Turner and John Sell Cotman and on the battlefield by war artists such as William Simpson and
Paul Nash.
Often thought of as a medium for traditional representational painting, notably landscape, the sea and picturesque buildings, this exhibition will overturn such assumptions by introducing work by contemporary artists who have reinterpreted the medium including Andy Goldsworthy, Ian McKeever and Anish Kapoor. It will also show how these contemporary pieces form part of a longer tradition where watercolour has been used for visionary or abstract purposes with examples ranging from Blake through to the Pre-Raphaelites, Symbolists and Neo-Romantics in more recent times.
Ranging from loose, vibrant washes of colour to precise draughtsmanship, wet sponging to scratching out, the great variety of watercolour techniques will be surveyed in this exhibition. It will show how exhibition culture of the 19th century inspired artists to vie with one another in the pyrotechnics of sophisticated techniques, Turner raising the stakes with new methods and levels of showmanship. This set a precedent for later painters such as A.W. Hunt, Arthur Melville and artists today who continue to push the boundaries of what the medium can do.
Watercolour is part of The Great British Art Debate, and HFL funded project. The exhibition is curated by a group of Tate curators headed by Alison Smith, Head of British Art to 1900. The exhibition is also be accompanied by an illustrated book produced by Tate Publishing.
Tate Britain
Linbury Galleries
16 February - 26 August
Linbury Galleries
16 February - 26 August
Watercolour
Patrick Heron
January 9: 1983: II 1983
© Estate of Patrick Heron. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2002
About Tate Britain
The original building at Millbank has undergone a number of expansions since it first opened.
Funding for galleries for the modern international collection were given by Lord Duveen and opened in 1926. The following year, Lord Duveen donated money for the refurbishment of Tate’s restaurant, including new murals by the painter Rex Whistler. He also supported the building of the great central sculpture galleries in 1937, designed by J. Russell Pope and Romaine Walker. A major extension in the north-east corner, designed by Llewellyn-Davies, Weeks, Forestier and Bor opened in 1979.
In the same year, the Gallery took over the adjacent disused military hospital, enabling the building of the new Clore Gallery, which was opened in 1987 with the support of the Clore Foundation. This provided much needed housing for The Turner Bequest of 300 oil paintings and many thousands of drawings and watercolours by Britain's great Romantic artist, J.M.W. Turner.
By about the late 1980s it was clear that the Tate Collection had hugely outgrown the Millbank site. It was decided to create a new gallery in London to display the international modern component of the Tate Collection.
For the first time London would have a dedicated museum of modern art and meanwhile the Tate building at Millbank would return to its original function as the national gallery of British art.
By 1997 a major development project was underway at Millbank in preparation for its new function and in celebration of its centenary.
The Tate Gallery at Millbank was re-launched as Tate Britain in March 2000.
Completing the re-launch of Tate Britain, the Tate Centenary Development was opened in November 2001. This provided Tate Britain with ten new, and five refurbished, galleries as well as the dramatic new Manton Entrance on Atterbury Street.
The original building at Millbank has undergone a number of expansions since it first opened.
Funding for galleries for the modern international collection were given by Lord Duveen and opened in 1926. The following year, Lord Duveen donated money for the refurbishment of Tate’s restaurant, including new murals by the painter Rex Whistler. He also supported the building of the great central sculpture galleries in 1937, designed by J. Russell Pope and Romaine Walker. A major extension in the north-east corner, designed by Llewellyn-Davies, Weeks, Forestier and Bor opened in 1979.
In the same year, the Gallery took over the adjacent disused military hospital, enabling the building of the new Clore Gallery, which was opened in 1987 with the support of the Clore Foundation. This provided much needed housing for The Turner Bequest of 300 oil paintings and many thousands of drawings and watercolours by Britain's great Romantic artist, J.M.W. Turner.
By about the late 1980s it was clear that the Tate Collection had hugely outgrown the Millbank site. It was decided to create a new gallery in London to display the international modern component of the Tate Collection.
For the first time London would have a dedicated museum of modern art and meanwhile the Tate building at Millbank would return to its original function as the national gallery of British art.
By 1997 a major development project was underway at Millbank in preparation for its new function and in celebration of its centenary.
The Tate Gallery at Millbank was re-launched as Tate Britain in March 2000.
Completing the re-launch of Tate Britain, the Tate Centenary Development was opened in November 2001. This provided Tate Britain with ten new, and five refurbished, galleries as well as the dramatic new Manton Entrance on Atterbury Street.
THE HISTORY OF TATE AT MILLBANK
Tate Britain, situated on Millbank in London, was formerly known as the Tate Gallery, which was specially commissioned in 1894 to be the national gallery of British art, and opened to the public in 1897. A brief history of the site's evolution is outlined below.
Having offered his art collection to the nation, Henry Tate later offered a gallery to house it providing the government would donate a site and undertake the administration. After much debate, Tate's offer is accepted. The site of Millbank Penitentiary, a huge prison facing the Thames at Millbank is chosen. The prison is demolished and three acres of the site allocated to the new gallery.
The first stage of the building programme, consisting of the front façade, an entrance hall under a rotunda and seven galleries, is designed by Sidney R J Smith. It is completed and opened in 1897. Plans for the second stage, also provided by Sir Henry Tate (he was knighted in 1898), are displayed at the gallery's opening. In 1899 nine galleries - the second stage - are added to the original building. Further additions to the site are made in 1909, designed by W H Romaine Walker. The 1909 extension, developed to house the Turner Collection, is paid for by the connoisseur Joseph Duveen.
In 1917, Tate is given a new responsibility - to form the national collection of international modern art. New galleries for the modern international collection are built by Sir Joseph Duveen's son, later Lord Duveen, and opened in 1926. The artist Rex Whistler (1905-45) is commissioned to produce a series of murals for the restaurant. These are completed and unveiled in 1927. In 1937 Lord Duveen builds the great central sculpture galleries, designed by J Russell Pope and Romaine Walker. This development introduces the domed octagon, intended to emphasise the centre of the building and open up a central vista that continues the axial route provided by the entrance.
By this time in the development of the Millbank site, three quadrants of the building had been designed. The rectangular site has been three quarters filled, each quarter built around a courtyard unseen from within the galleries. A new north-east extension, by Llewellyn Davies, Weeks, Forestier-Walker and Bor is added in 1979. This fills in the final quarter of the original rectangular site and is designed not around a courtyard but to a solid plan.
Tate now expands onto the site of the adjacent disused Queen Alexandra Hospital. In 1987 the Turner Collection is re-housed in the purpose-built Clore Gallery, given by the Clore Foundation and designed by the distinguished British architect Sir James Stirling.
In December 1992, the Tate Trustees announce their intention to divide displays of the Collection in London between two sites: a gallery for international modern and contemporary art, later named Tate Modern, and a gallery to be devoted to British art from 1500 to the present day, occupying the whole of Tate's building at Millbank, later named Tate Britain.
In 1994, a refurbishment of the Clore Gallery is financed by the Clore Foundation.
In 1997, Tate announces that it is now to take forward plans to upgrade and develop the Millbank building. This major scheme will be called the Centenary Development. John Miller + Partners are announced as scheme architects, with external improvements and landscaping by Allies and Morrison. In 1998, building work begins on the Centenary Development. On 24 March 2000 Tate Britain opens to the public and remains fully operational as parts of the building are closed off for works during the Centenary Development.
On 1 November 2001, the Centenary Development opened to the public.
Tate Britain's spaces and facilities have been expanded and upgraded to allow the public to enjoy the Millbank building as never before.
Tate Britain, situated on Millbank in London, was formerly known as the Tate Gallery, which was specially commissioned in 1894 to be the national gallery of British art, and opened to the public in 1897. A brief history of the site's evolution is outlined below.
Having offered his art collection to the nation, Henry Tate later offered a gallery to house it providing the government would donate a site and undertake the administration. After much debate, Tate's offer is accepted. The site of Millbank Penitentiary, a huge prison facing the Thames at Millbank is chosen. The prison is demolished and three acres of the site allocated to the new gallery.
The first stage of the building programme, consisting of the front façade, an entrance hall under a rotunda and seven galleries, is designed by Sidney R J Smith. It is completed and opened in 1897. Plans for the second stage, also provided by Sir Henry Tate (he was knighted in 1898), are displayed at the gallery's opening. In 1899 nine galleries - the second stage - are added to the original building. Further additions to the site are made in 1909, designed by W H Romaine Walker. The 1909 extension, developed to house the Turner Collection, is paid for by the connoisseur Joseph Duveen.
In 1917, Tate is given a new responsibility - to form the national collection of international modern art. New galleries for the modern international collection are built by Sir Joseph Duveen's son, later Lord Duveen, and opened in 1926. The artist Rex Whistler (1905-45) is commissioned to produce a series of murals for the restaurant. These are completed and unveiled in 1927. In 1937 Lord Duveen builds the great central sculpture galleries, designed by J Russell Pope and Romaine Walker. This development introduces the domed octagon, intended to emphasise the centre of the building and open up a central vista that continues the axial route provided by the entrance.
By this time in the development of the Millbank site, three quadrants of the building had been designed. The rectangular site has been three quarters filled, each quarter built around a courtyard unseen from within the galleries. A new north-east extension, by Llewellyn Davies, Weeks, Forestier-Walker and Bor is added in 1979. This fills in the final quarter of the original rectangular site and is designed not around a courtyard but to a solid plan.
Tate now expands onto the site of the adjacent disused Queen Alexandra Hospital. In 1987 the Turner Collection is re-housed in the purpose-built Clore Gallery, given by the Clore Foundation and designed by the distinguished British architect Sir James Stirling.
In December 1992, the Tate Trustees announce their intention to divide displays of the Collection in London between two sites: a gallery for international modern and contemporary art, later named Tate Modern, and a gallery to be devoted to British art from 1500 to the present day, occupying the whole of Tate's building at Millbank, later named Tate Britain.
In 1994, a refurbishment of the Clore Gallery is financed by the Clore Foundation.
In 1997, Tate announces that it is now to take forward plans to upgrade and develop the Millbank building. This major scheme will be called the Centenary Development. John Miller + Partners are announced as scheme architects, with external improvements and landscaping by Allies and Morrison. In 1998, building work begins on the Centenary Development. On 24 March 2000 Tate Britain opens to the public and remains fully operational as parts of the building are closed off for works during the Centenary Development.
On 1 November 2001, the Centenary Development opened to the public.
Tate Britain's spaces and facilities have been expanded and upgraded to allow the public to enjoy the Millbank building as never before.
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