The Tate Gallery [antikvár]

Foreword The first edition of this book was published to celebrate the opening in 1979 of the Tate Gallery's extension. It drew particular attention to the many fine works which had been acquired under my predecessors, Sir John Rothenstein and Sir Norman Reid. Thanks to the generosity of our friends, benefactors, and of successive governments who provide our purchasing funds, the collection continues to grow. We are indeed fortunate to be able to go on building up fully representative and comprehensive collections of both Twentieth-century Art and British Painting of all periods. Somé of the most recent acquisitions are mentioned in the pages that follow; others are too new to be included. We are grateful to our regular visitors for their support, and hope that newcomers will return. Over a millión and a half visitors each year now make the not easy journey to visit the Tate, and our attendance figures are steadily growing. A word of warning: all the works illustrated and discussed here may not at the moment be on exhibition in the galleries. Many loans are made from the collection and, in return of course, we are able to hold special exhibitions. These take up space, and despite the much increased gallery area that the 1979 extension provided, we are still unable to show as much as we would like. Most of the important paintings in the British Collection are on view, but in the Modern Collection we can show only a part of our holdings. Key works are almost always on exhibition in the main sequence of galleries, but other sections of the collection are shown on a rotating basis. An important group of paintings and sculptures is on view at the Tate Gallery Liverpool. The information desk will be happy to answer any queries you may have. Alan Bowness, Director