Art galleries in UK

Art Galleries in the UK

The UK has a long history of art and art collections; it is reflected in the rich and diverse collections of the UK’s art galleries. The UK’s galleries are popular attractions, and have seen something of a renaissance in interest in recent years as the UK’s people seek to rediscover themselves through art.

 The National Gallery is one of the greatest art galleries in the world. Founded by Parliament in 1824, the Gallery houses the nation’s collection of Western European paintings from the late thirteenth to the early twentieth century. No other collection possesses such consistent quality, nor better tells the story of Western European painting. The collection belongs to the nation and serves a diverse public from the UK and overseas. It is open to all, 361 days of the year, free of charge. Between 4 and 5 million people visit the National Gallery each year. Almost all of the 2,300 paintings in the National Gallery’s collection are on permanent display. The collection represents the greatest Western European painters including Van Eyck, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Turner, Rembrandt, Degas, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Renoir, Monet, Rubens, Velázquez, Van Dyck, Titian and Bellini. The Gallery’s key objectives are to enhance the collection, care for the collection and provide the best possible access to visitors.

Tate Britain is an art gallery situated on Millbank in London, and part of the Tate gallery network in Britain, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is the oldest gallery in the network, opening in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the works of J.M.W. Turner. The Tate group of galleries in London, Liverpool, Cornwall and online are incredibly popular, with Tate London on Millbank, and Tate Modern at Bankside seen as iconic London attractions.  Tate Britain is the original gallery, and many would say still the best, in the Tate group, and remains at the forefront of world and British art hosting the annual and controversial Turner Prize. Tate Britain is also home to the largest collection of work by British artists anywhere in the world. The gallery concentrates on work by British artists from 1500 to the present day and features works by Tracy Emin, William Blake, Francis Bacon, George Stubbs, John Constable, and Henry Moore. Tate Britain is also linked by speed boat from Millbank Millenium Pier, down the Thames to Tate Modern. Tate Britain is a dynamic gallery and no two visits are ever the same, with new exhibitions, collection rotation, and initiatives for local communities and the young, Tate Britain always maintains a fresh feel, in grand Victorian surroundings.

Outside of London, Manchester Art Gallery has extensive collections of fine, decorative and costume art, while the Lowry Centre concentrates on the works of early twentieth century artist L.S. Lowry, who painted industrial life in pre-war northern England. In Yorkshire the Leeds Art Gallery boasts one of the most impressive collections in the UK, while the Graves and Millennium galleries just down the M1 motorway in Sheffield also field a respectable showing of works.

The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England, outside of London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group, and is promoted as "the National Gallery of the North" because it is not a local or regional gallery but is part of the national museums and galleries administered directly from central government funds.

Bibliography

1.     www.artinfo.com

2.     http://en.wikipedia.org

3.     www.tate.org.