LINE TIME

By PEARL BOYD

For the first time in ten years, Tate Britain has rearranged its collection. The display of more than 800 works by over 350 artists, spanning six centuries is now laid out chronologically, exploring art in its social context. Much-loved and iconic works – from John Everett Millais’ Ophelia and David Hockney’s A Bigger Splash to Barbara Hepworth’s Pelagos and Chris Ofili’s No Woman, No Cry – are joined by a host of new discoveries and additions. Reflecting the growing diversity of Tate’s collection, the displays feature 200 works which were acquired after the millennium, including 70 works which entered the collection in the past five years alone, from grand Tudor portraits to contemporary installations.

The rehung galleries take a tour from the 1500s to the present day, and each room has a distinct wall colour, title and theme. They explore art in its social context, revealing how artists responded to the cultural, political, economic and technological changes they lived through. These include the rise of the urban metropolis in the era of Hogarth, the Pre-Raphaelites’ quest for beauty amid the industrial revolution, the place of abstract art in Britain’s post-war reconstruction, and the impact of celebrity culture on the 1990s art scene. Visitors can also enjoy a career-spanning display of 100 works by JMW Turner, rooms devoted to key historic figures like William Blake, John Constable and Henry Moore, and a series of regularly changing solo displays to celebrate ground-breaking artists like Annie Swynnerton, Aubrey Williams and Zineb Sedira.

Alex Farquharson, Director of Tate Britain, says: “We want to show that art isn’t made in a vacuum – It’s made by real people living in the real world. By exploring the connections between artists and the times they live in, we can shed new light on Britain’s greatest artworks and showcase a wider range of perspectives and ideas.”

The relationship between British art and the wider world is a key theme throughout the rehang. Reflecting the internationalism of Britain’s history and its multicultural present, many of the artists on display were born outside the UK, from Rubens, Van Dyck and Canaletto to Frank Bowling, Paula Rego and Mohammed Sami. tate.org

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