Tuesday, February 28, 2023

The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England

Cleveland Museum of Art

February 26, 2023, through May 14, 2023

The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England, the first exhibition in the US to trace the transformation of the arts in Tudor England. The exhibition captures the breathtaking scope of the finest artistic production of the English Renaissance, from intricately wrought armor and precious metal and porcelain objects to glittering tapestries woven with gold and portraits of sumptuously attired courtiers. The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England is on view from February 26, 2023, through May 14, 2023, in the CMA’s Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Exhibition Hall.

Though the Tudor dynasty ruled for only three generations over 118 years, it oversaw the transformation of England from an impoverished backwater to a major European power operating on a global stage. The dynasty emerged from the devastation of the Wars of the Roses, which ended in 1485 when the first Tudor monarch, Henry VII, claimed the throne. His son Henry VIII brought about England’s break with the Roman Catholic Church. Henry VIII’s son Edward VI’s tragically brief reign paved the way for Henry’s daughters, Mary I and Elizabeth I: the first two women to rule the country in their own right.

During the volatile Tudor dynasty, an international community of artists and merchants, many of them religious refugees, navigated the high-stakes demands of royal patrons. Against the backdrop of shifting political relationships with mainland Europe, Tudor artistic patronage legitimized, promoted and helped stabilize a series of tumultuous reigns, from Henry VII’s seizure of the throne in 1485 to the death of his granddaughter Elizabeth I in 1603.

“The Tudor courts were truly cosmopolitan,” said Cory Korkow, curator of European paintings and sculpture, 1500–1800 at the CMA. “Fueled by political intrigue, inspired by romantic and spiritual fervor, art created for the English court was among the most sophisticated in the world. Tudor monarchs understood the diplomatic and propagandistic value of art.”

A vast network of celebrated and highly skilled foreign artists, including Florentine sculptors, German painters, Flemish weavers, French wood-carvers and many religious refugees, were key to enabling the Tudors to compete on an international scale. No English rulers before the Tudors invested so heavily in the artistic trappings of majesty. A distinctly English style emerged under the Tudors that was so influential, subsequent generations perceived the Tudors as the embodiment of the English golden age.

The exhibition was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cleveland Museum of Art, in collaboration with the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England builds on the rich holdings of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and brings together more than 90 loans from illustrious institutions including the British Royal Collection, Rijksmuseum, Folger Shakespeare Library, Victoria and Albert Museum, National Museum of Denmark, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and Saint Bavo’s Cathedral, Ghent.

A richly detailed, fully scholarly catalogue accompanies the exhibition. Published by The Met, with essays by the exhibition’s cocurators, Elizabeth Cleland and Adam Eaker; Marjorie E. Wieseman, curator and head of Northern European paintings at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Sarah Bochicchio, PhD candidate in art history at Yale University and a former research assistant for European sculpture and decorative arts and European paintings at The Met.

Catalogue entries incorporate recent, remarkable strides in Tudor scholarship, stimulating broader discussions of the artistic quality and cosmopolitanism of art at the Tudor courts

Images

Rainbow Portrait, c. 1600. Attributed to Marcus Gheeraerts the Elder (Flemish, 1510–1600). Oil on canvas; 128 x 101.6 cm. Reproduced with permission of the Marquess of Salisbury, Hatfield House

Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, with Sir John Harington in the Hunting Field, 1603. Robert Peake the Elder(English, c. 1551–1619). Oil on canvas; 201.9 x 147.3 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NewYork, Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1944 (44.27)

Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland, c. 1590–95. Nicholas Hilliard (English c. 1547–1619).Watercolor and body color on vellum, laid on card; 25.7 x 17.3 cm. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (RP-T-1981-2)

Jane Seymour, 1536–37. Hans Holbein the Younger (German-Swiss, 1497/98–1543). Oil on panel; 65.5 ×47 cm. Gemäldegalerie, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, GG 881. Photo: KHM-Museumsverband

Mary I, 1554. Antonis Mor (Netherlandish, c. 1516–1576). Oil on panel; 112 x 83 cm. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston,P21e22

Abd al-Wahid bin Mas’ood bin Mohammad ’Annouri, 1600. Unknown English artist. Oil on panel;113 x87.6 cm. Research and Cultural Collections, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom

Henry VIII, about 1537. Workshop of Hans Holbein the Younger. Oil on panel;239 cm x 134.5 cm. WalkerArt Gallery, National Museums Liverpool, Purchased by the Walker Art Gallery in 1945, WAG 1350

A Party in the Open Air: Allegory on Conjugal Love, c. 1590–95. Isaac Oliver (French, c. 1565–1617).Watercolor and body color with gold and silver on vellum laid on card; 11.3 x 17.4 cm. Statens Museumf or Kunst, Copenhagen (KMS6938)

Creation and Fall of Man, from a Ten-Piece Set of the Story of the Redemption of Man, before 1502. Probably Brussels. Designed by an unknown Flemish artist, c. 1497–99. Wool (warp); wool, silk, silver,and gilded-silver metal-wrapped threads (wefts); 426 x 836 cm). Cathédrale Saint-Just-et-Saint-Pasteur, Narbonne. Photo: De Wit Royal Manufacturers.

Saturday, February 25, 2023

Book - Object Lessons in American Art

A rich exploration of American artworks that reframes them within current debates on race, gender, the environment, and more

Object Lessons in American Art explores a diverse gathering of Euro-American, Native American, and African American art from a range of contemporary perspectives, illustrating how innovative analysis of historical art can inform, enhance, and afford new relevance to artifacts of the American past. The book is grounded in the understanding that the meanings of objects change over time, in different contexts, and as a consequence of the ways in which they are considered. Inspired by the concept of the object lesson, the study of a material thing or group of things in juxtaposition to convey embodied and underlying ideas, Object Lessons in American Art examines a broad range of art from Princeton University’s venerable collections as well as contemporary works that imaginatively appropriate and reframe their subjects and style, situating them within current social, cultural, and artistic debates on race, gender, the environment, and more.

Distributed for the Princeton University Art Museum

Edited by Karl Kusserow

Contributions by
Horace D. Ballard
Kirsten Pai Buick
Ellery E. Foutch
Karl Kusserow
Jeffrey Richmond-Moll
Rebecca Zorach

Karl Kusserow is the John Wilmerding Curator of American Art at the Princeton University Art Museum. Horace D. Ballard is the Theodore E. Stebbins Jr. Associate Curator of American Art at the Harvard Art Museums. Kirsten Pai Buick is professor of art history and chair of Africana Studies at the University of New Mexico. Ellery E. Foutch is associate professor of American studies at Middlebury College. Jeffrey Richmond-Moll is curator of American art at the Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia. Rebecca Zorach is the Mary Jane Crowe Professor in Art and Art History at Northwestern University.

Thursday, February 23, 2023

Where Ideas Come From: Dalí’s Drawings

The Dalí Museum will present more than 100 works on paper from the Museum’s vault in Where Ideas Come From: Dalí’s Drawings from May 27-Oct. 22. Showcasing the artist’s utilization of various media, including pencil, pen, charcoal, watercolor and gouache, Dalí’s Drawings will highlight Dalí’s creative process throughout the many phases of his career.

More than half of the artworks will be on view for the first time in 35 years and will rarely be displayed again due to their fragile nature. Through the support of donations from the community, the majority of the works featured in the exhibition were recently conserved — for the first time — in alignment with The Dalí’s mission to care for and share Dalí’s work and legacy.

“Drawing is perhaps the most direct way to bring what is in the mind through the hand and into the world — a critical part of the creative process and one that Dalí was committed to throughout his life,” said Hank Hine, the Museum’s executive director. “We look forward to sharing with visitors the insights these works provide into his practice and imagination.”

Organized chronologically from 1916 to 1974, the works are delineated into four distinct periods of the artist’s life: Early Period; Surrealism; Nuclear Mysticism, Classicism and Religion; and Late Period. The thematic groupings will feature studies for major oil paintings, portraits, experimental drawing techniques and commercial projects, including film.

Works from Dalí’s Early Period, including student sketches, book illustrations, poster designs and provocative self-portraits, demonstrate his natural mastery of drawing and painting techniques. These works trace the artist’s transition from Classicism to Cubism, and ultimately anti-art.

The Surrealism section will highlight illuminating studies for such works as The Weaning of Furniture Nutrition (1934) and Old Age, Adolescence, Infancy (The Three Ages) (1940); illustrations for Le Chants de Maldoror (1940); and examples of Dalí’s experimentation with various surrealist drawing techniques. This section also includes two of The Dalí’s new acquisitions: Drawing for 'Bacchanale,' Ludwig II of Bavaria (1939), a ballet-inspired portrait of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, and Untitled (Paranoiac Face) (c. 1935), a frontispiece — the illustration facing the title page of a book — dedicated to Paul Éluard from Dalí’s book Conquest of the Irrational.

Some of Dalí’s most recognizable work will be on view in the section focused on his Nuclear Mysticism, Classicism and Religion period. Illustrations for works by the Italian poet, writer and philosopher Dante Alighieri and the ballet Tres Picos will appear alongside familiar motifs of exploding watches, flies, disintegrating figures and religious-tinged images of dissolving angels. Transformations and studies for The Sacrament of the Last Supper (1955) and Christ of St. John of the Cross (1951) will round out this section.

The final section, Late Period, will include diverse selections with small studies of The Hallucinogenic Toreador (1969-1970) and Galacidalacidesoxiribunucleicacid (Homage to Crick and Watson) (1962-1963). Dalí’s Drawings will conclude with the 1974 Iceberg Sketch, a self-portrait Dalí gifted to the founders of The Dalí Museum, A. Reynolds and Eleanor Morse.

Where Ideas Come From: Dalí’s Drawings is curated by Peter Tush, The Dalí’s curator of education. A catalog featuring all 166 works on paper in The Dalí’s permanent collection will accompany the exhibition and serve as a companion to The Dalí Museum’s oil paintings catalog published in 2021.

About The Dalí Museum

The Dalí Museum, located in picturesque downtown St. Petersburg, Fla., is home to one of the most acclaimed collections of a single modern artist in the world, with over 2,000 works representing every moment and medium of Salvador Dalí’s creative life. The Dalí is recognized internationally by the Michelin Guide with a three-star rating; has been deemed “one of the top buildings to see in your lifetime” by AOL Travel News; and was named one of the 10 most interesting museums in the world by Architectural Digest. The Dalí’s acclaimed digital experiences have received numerous national and international awards for creative innovation. The Museum is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to preserve Dalí’s legacy for generations to come and serve as an active resource in the cultural life of the community and the world at large. The Dalí is open daily, located at One Dalí Boulevard, St. Petersburg, Fla. 33701. For more information, visit TheDali.org or download the free Dalí Museum App.

Salvador Dalí Dîner dans le désert éclairé par les girafes en feu( Dinner in theDesert Lit by Burning Giraffes)1937Charcoal and gouache on paper24 ¼ in x 18 in Collection of The Dalí Museum, St. Petersburg, FL (USA)In the USA: © Salvador Dalí Museum, Inc., St. Petersburg, FL, 2022 / Worldwide :©Salvador Dalí, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, (ARS), 2022

Salvador Dalí, Study for “Disappearing Images”,1939 Charcoal on paper19 in x 24 ¾ inCollection of The Dalí Museum, St. Petersburg, FL (USA)In the USA: © Salvador Dalí Museum, Inc., St. Petersburg, FL, 2022 / Worldwide :©Salvador Dalí, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, (ARS), 2022

Salvador Dalí, Study for Soft Watch Exploding, 1954
Ink and pencil on paper
5 in x 6 ¾ in
Collection of The Dalí Museum, St. Petersburg, FL (USA)
In the USA: © Salvador Dalí Museum, Inc., St. Petersburg, FL, 2022 / Worldwide : ©Salvador Dalí, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, (ARS), 2022

Salvador Dalí, Drawing for "Bacchanale". Ludwig II of Bavaria, 1939
Ink, watercolor, gouache and collage on paper
8 in x 12.5 in
Collection of The Dalí Museum, St. Petersburg, FL (USA)
In the USA: © Salvador Dalí Museum, Inc., St. Petersburg, FL, 2022 / Worldwide : ©Salvador Dalí, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, (ARS), 2022

Salvador Dalí, Les Fourmis (Ants), c. 1936
Gouache on tinted paper
25 ¾ in x 19 ½ in
Collection of The Dalí Museum, St. Petersburg, FL (USA)
In the USA: © Salvador Dalí Museum, Inc., St. Petersburg, FL, 2022 / Worldwide : ©Salvador Dalí, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, (ARS), 2022

Wednesday, February 22, 2023

Andrew Wyeth: Home Places

THE BRANDYWINE

FEBRUARY 4–JULY 13, 2023

Andrew Wyeth, Swifts – First Version, 1991, watercolor on paper. Collection of the Wyeth Foundation for American Art B3122r © Andrew Wyeth/Artists Rights Society (ARS)

Opening at the Brandywine Museum of Art on February 4, 2023, Andrew Wyeth: Home Places presents nearly 50 paintings and drawings of local buildings that inspired Wyeth time and again over seven decades of his career. The artworks in this exhibition are drawn exclusively from the nearly 7,000-object Andrew and Betsy Wyeth Collection of the Wyeth Foundation for American Art, now managed by the Brandywine. Many of these pieces have never before been exhibited, offering a first glimpse at a significant treasure trove that will shed new light on the collaborative creative process of Andrew and Betsy Wyeth.

Andrew Wyeth, Widow’s Walk Study, 1990, watercolor and pencil on paper. Collection of the Wyeth Foundation for American Art B3144 © Andrew Wyeth/Artists Rights Society (ARS)

On view through July 13, 2023, Home Places shares the story of a remarkable immersive and intensive artistic practice that ranged across the full array of media Andrew Wyeth practiced. Over the course of a long and diverse career of many chapters, Wyeth repeatedly depicted a small group of historic houses in the vicinity of his hometown of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. In these weathered buildings others might have overlooked or even scorned in the face of gentrification and commercial development of the region, Wyeth found layers of emotion and association. These structures—both venerable and vulnerable in a changing Brandywine Valley—served as a means of pursuing his abiding attention to that which lies beneath the surface of things. Through living in this landscape his whole life, he engaged in an artistic practice of uncommon focus over an extended timescale, coming to know deeply the evocative buildings in a radius of just a few square miles and rendering them in an astonishing variety of compositions, handlings and approaches. As Wyeth said, “You can be in a place for years and years and not see something, and then when it dawns, all sorts of nuggets of richness start popping all over the place. You’ve gotten below the obvious.”

Andrew Wyeth, Noah’s Ark Study, 2004, watercolor on paper. Collection of the Wyeth Foundation for American Art B4033 © Andrew Wyeth/Artists Rights Society (ARS)

Among the previously unexhibited works on view are the charming early oil The Miller’s Son, painted when Wyeth was just 17 years old, and the stunning watercolor Noah’s Ark Study made at age 87—both depicting the same property, Brinton’s Mill. That the Wyeths came to own and restore this property for use as their primary residence is among the many contributions of Betsy James Wyeth, whose distinct role in stewarding historic properties in Pennsylvania and Maine, which informed her husband’s painting practice, is a key context of this exhibition.

Andrew Wyeth, 747, 1980, tempera on panel. Collection of the Wyeth Foundation for American Art © Andrew Wyeth/Artists Rights Society (ARS)

This is the first exhibition at the Brandywine curated by William L. Coleman, Ph.D., the Museum’s inaugural Wyeth Foundation Curator and Director of the Andrew and Betsy Wyeth Study Center. “Home Places makes use of the astonishing holdings of the Andrew and Betsy Wyeth Collection to get beyond the received wisdom about this iconic artistic life,” said Coleman “The rarely or never before seen works on view collectively show an artist of rigorous focus on a highly individual creative path: thinking with buildings and drawing out the stories that houses can tell through an iterative process.”

https://www.brandywine.org/sites/default/files/styles/body_full/public/2022-12/AW_747.jpg?itok=zsWHn-cL

In his new role at the Brandywine, Coleman is responsible for stewarding the Andrew and Betsy Wyeth Collection, which is housed in the Wyeth Study Center’s two facilities: one located at the Brandywine in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania and the other on the Farnsworth Art Museum’s campus in Rockland, Maine—the two geographic regions where Wyeth lived and painted. Part of a new partnership between the Wyeth Foundation for American Art and Brandywine, Coleman was brought on board to oversee the study of this remarkable collection and to lead scholarship on one of America’s most iconic artists. Just one of the exciting activities under this partnership will be the completion of the artist’s catalogue raisonné–a multi-year project.

Monday, February 20, 2023

Escher – Other world

Kunstmuseum Den Haag

18 February 2023 to 1 October 2023

M.C. Escher Other, World, 1947, wood engraving and woodcut in black, reddish brown and green, printed from three blocks 31,8 x 26,1 cm. Collection Kunstmuseum Den Haag. © The M.C. Escher Company – Baarn – Holland. All rights reserved. www.mcescher.com

Step into the impossible world of Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972). That is literally possible in Escher – Other world in Kunstmuseum Den Haag. In this exhibition you will experience Escher's work like never before. His famous prints, in which optical illusions, impossible architecture, reflection and nature are central, are combined with spectacular installations by the Belgian architect and artist duo Gijs Van Vaerenbergh. Never before has the Kunstmuseum applied such an intervention in an exhibition.

From optical illusions and impossible architecture to true-to-life landscapes: the work of Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972) contains it all. In 2023 it will be 125 years since the artist was born. With the largest museum Escher collection in the world, Kunstmuseum Den Haag and Escher in Het Paleis form the center of this special anniversary year.

Birds turning into fish, water flowing up, two hands drawing each other. MC Escher masterfully transforms a blank sheet of paper into his own infinite worlds, in which he plays with the viewer's perception. His virtuoso metamorphoses and regular surface divisions amaze and inspire visitors to his exhibitions worldwide. With four exhibitions in Kunstmuseum Den Haag and Escher in Het Paleis, plus numerous activities with cultural partners, schools, neighborhoods and entrepreneurs in the city, The Hague will become Escher's city in 2023. During the jubilee year, a number of buildings in the city center will be decorated in Escher style.

This unique combination sheds new light on the beloved and versatile artist Maurits Cornelis Escher, who, 125 years after his birth, continues to inspire people of all ages worldwide, including mathematicians, architects, artists and art lovers.

Other world
Escher's prints are the result of an unprecedented talent, but also of an almost obsessive dedication to the graphic profession. His oeuvre, like that of Gijs Van Vaerenbergh, is an exploration of the boundaries of space, landscape, perspective and illusion. Where Escher does this on paper, Gijs Van Vaerenbergh does this on the basis of spatial installations. Gijs Van Vaerenbergh devised space-filling interventions for this exhibition, which focuses on a cross-section of MC Escher's oeuvre. These interventions consist of sculptures based on, among other things, lightness and heaviness, temporality and eternity, impossible architecture and infinity; themes that are also central to Escher's work.

Escher and the Art Museum
The collection of Escher's work at Kunstmuseum Den Haag is the largest museum Escher collection in the world. This is due to the bond that Escher built up with the museum since his first major retrospective took place here in 1968: The Worlds of MC Escher. Escher was very pleased with this first overview of his oeuvre. After Escher's death, the Kunstmuseum acquired a considerable part of his oeuvre. Part of this can always be seen in Escher in Het Paleis.

2023: The Hague city of Escher
In 2023 it will be 125 years since Maurits Cornelis Escher was born. With the largest museum Escher collection in the world, Kunstmuseum Den Haag and Escher in Het Paleis form the center of this special anniversary year. With four exhibitions plus numerous activities with cultural partners, schools, neighborhoods and entrepreneurs in the city, The Hague will be Escher's city in 2023. During this jubilee year, a number of buildings in the city center as well as shop windows will be decorated in Escher style.

Opening weekend
On the occasion of the jubilee year 2023: The Hague city of Escher and the exhibition Escher – Other World, the Kunstmuseum is organizing a festive opening weekend on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 February with numerous surprising activities that tie in with Escher's work.

The discoverer of Escher: Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita
18 February 2023 to 1 October 2023 in Escher in Het Paleis
At the same time, the special exhibition about the discoverer of Maurits Cornelis Escher: Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita, opens in Escher in Het Paleis. This talented artist and graphic artist also taught graphic techniques at the School of Architecture and Decorative Arts. When Escher starts studying architecture there, De Mesquita gets to see his graphic work. He is so impressed by this that he convinces Escher to switch to his field. Escher then develops into a masterful graphic artist and the two form an artistic and personal bond for life. Even after the death of De Mesquita in Auschwitz in 1944, Escher honors his teacher and friend. In this exhibition, the poignant graphics of Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita hang side by side with the work of his most famous student.

Tate Britain to unveil complete rehang in May 2023

Tate Britain, Millbank Facade. Photo by Rikard Österlund

On 23 May 2023, Tate Britain will open a complete rehang of its free collection displays. This will be the first time in ten years that the national collection of British art is presented anew. Visitors will discover over 800 works by over 350 artists, featuring much-loved favourites and recent discoveries, alongside brand new commissions.

Alex Farquharson, Director of Tate Britain, said: “When our new displays open on 23 May, visitors to Tate Britain will be able to explore 500 years of revolutionary changes in art, culture and society, culminating in new work by some of Britain’s most exciting contemporary artists. We will celebrate the very best of British art and show how it speaks to us, challenges us, and inspires us.”

The most iconic works from the world’s greatest collection of British art will be free for all to see, from John Everett Millais’ Ophelia and William Hogarth’s The Painter and his Pug to David Hockney’s A Bigger Splash, Barbara Hepworth’s Pelagos and Chris Ofili’s No Woman, No Cry.

Anya Gallaccio, preserve 'beauty', 1991-20032000 gerberas, glass, metal and rubber;Displayed:2600 × 5350 × 25 mm©Anya Gallaccio, courtesy Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York. Photo: Tate

Barbara Hepworth, Pelagos,1946 Elm and strings on oak base;Object:430 × 460 × 385 mmBarbara Hepworth © Bowness. Photo: Tate (Matt Greenwood)

JMW Turner, Snow Storm-Steam-Boat off a Harbour's Mouth,exhibited 1842Oil paint on canvas;Support: 914 × 1219 mm;frame: 1233 ×1535 × 145 mmPhoto: Tate

Joan Carlile, Portrait of an Unknown Lady,1650-5Oil paint on canvas;Support: 1107 × 900 mm, frame: 1205 × 1012 × 73 mmPhoto: Tate

Marianne Stokes, A Fisher Girl’s Light (A Pilgrim of Volendam returning from Kevelaer),1899Oil paint on canvas; Support: 662 × 452 mmPhoto: Tate(Seraphina Neville)

Rachel Jones, lick your teeth, they so clutch,2021Oil stick, oil pastel and acrylic paint on canvas; Support: 1603 × 2500 mm© Rachel Jones. Photo Tate (Sam Day, Rod Tidnam)

Rene Matić , Chiddy Doing Rene’s Hair,2019Inkjet print on paper; Image: 400 × 270 mm; frame: 417 × 286 × 33 mm© Rene Matić. Photo: Tate(Sonal Bakrania)

Sir John Everett Millais, Ophelia, 1851-2Oil paint on canvas; Support: 762 × 1118 mm, frame:1105 × 1458 × 145 mmPhoto: Tate(Seraphina Neville)

William Blake, Newton,1795-c.1805Colour print, ink and watercolour on paper; Support: 460 × 600 mmPhoto: Tate

William Hogarth, The Painter and his Pug,1745Oil paint on canvas. Support:900 × 699 mm; frame: 1080 × 875 × 78 mmPhoto: Tate

There will be a career-spanning display of over 100 works by JMW Turner, as well as rooms devoted to key figures in art history like William Blake, John Constable, the Pre-Raphaelites and Henry Moore, and a series of regularly changing solo displays exploring other ground-breaking artists, including Annie Swynnerton, Richard Hamilton, Aubrey Williams and Zineb Sedira.

The rehang will reflect the ongoing transformation of Tate’s collection by putting on display over 200 works which were acquired after the millennium. These include 70 works which entered the collection in the past 5 years alone, from grand Tudor portraits and Georgian battle scenes, to modern paintings and sculptures by Derek Jarman, Gluck, Takis, Kim Lim and Donald Locke.

Visitors will also find works by a new generation of young artists who are joining the national collection for the first time, such as a kaleidoscopic canvas by Rachel Jones (b.1991) and a series of photographs capturing 21st century British life by Rene Matić (b.1997).

Women artists will be better represented than ever before. Half the contemporary artists on display will be women, from Bridget Riley and Tracey Emin to Kudzanai-Violet Hwami and Lydia Ourahmane. Tate’s longstanding commitment to diversifying its collection means the gallery can also showcase great women artists from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, including many who have never been shown at Tate before. These include a full-length portrait from 1650-5 by Joan Carlile, thought to be the first woman in Britain to work as a professional oil painter (acquired in 2016), a selection of watercolours by Emily Sargent made on her travels in North Africa (acquired in 2021), and the atmospheric painting A Fisher Girl’s Light 1899 by Marianne Stokes (acquired in 2022).

Polly Staple, Tate’s Director of Collection, British Art, said: “Tate Britain’s new displays will embody our commitment to expanding the canon and diversifying British art history. In recent years we have brought so many incredible works into Tate’s collection and visitors will soon be able to see these new acquisitions hung alongside more familiar and much-loved classics.”

Tate’s art installation team are currently preparing to stage a number of complex large-scale works made from unusual materials, from the eight tonnes of rice and two thousand flowers that respectively comprise Vong Phaophanit’s Neon Rice Field and Anya Gallaccio’s Preserve ‘beauty’, to the glass and steel sculptures embedded with UV lights in Hamad Butt’s spectacular Transmission, which will be shown at Tate for the first time. To celebrate the opening of the new displays, contemporary artists will also be creating and installing works beyond the gallery spaces, including two climbable concrete sculptures by Sarah Lucas on the front lawn and a site-specific ceiling painting by France-Lise McGurn in the Djanogly Café.

Andrea Schlieker, Director of Exhibitions and Displays, Tate Britain, said: “This will be a wonderful moment for Tate Britain and a great chance for us to showcase British artistic talent. Working with innovative contemporary artists, we can offer a new lens through which to see the art of the past and provide inspiration to future generations.”

Work on the rehang is now underway and will continue over the coming months, with more details to be announced in May.

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