Highlights of the Tate Britain

The last time I was in London was in 2018. And I miss it dearly. What is London’s best feature? The answer is undoubtedly the free public museums! Founded in 1897 by Sir Henry Tate, the Tate Britain is one of the most striking galleries I have visited in London so far. The collection is expansive and comprehensive. It is arranged chronologically and is quite possibly the finest and most thorough assemblage of British artwork in the world. With ever-changing exhibits complimenting its rich permanent collection, the museum is a must-see for anyone interested in either visual art or British history.

John Everett Millais

*Ophelia*, 1851-52

Perhaps the museum’s most well known painting, Ophelia depicts the romanticized drowning of the Shakespearean heroine. In addition to its allegorical heft, the painting is also considered a masterful depiction of plant life. At the time of its completion, it was considered a nature study above all else, despite heavy symbolism in each element. Sir John Everett Millais was widely recognized and highly regarded in his lifetime. Considered a child prodigy, he was prolific throughout his entire life and eventually became President of the Royal Academy. There is even a statue of Millais outside the Tate Britain that was commissioned after the scholar’s death.

Philip Hermogenes Calderon

*Broken Vows*, 1856

Although the subject matter is relatively ubiquitous in works of this era, I was drawn to this painting immediately because of the framing and use of color. The attention to lighting and shadow is near perfect, and the detail in the plants and fabric is stunning. Many of Calderon’s other works feature this same attention to foliage and environment. However, Broken Vows seems to be one of his most polished works overall. His other paintings feature a similar focus on figures and details but not always this level of painstaking concentration on the background.

John William Waterhouse

*The Lady of Shalott*, 1888

A photograph cannot do this piece justice. The Lady of Shalott remains one of my favorite paintings and my personal favorite artwork in the Tate Britain. Based on a poem by Alfred Tennyson, the painting depicts a woman who has finally defied her confinement, but as a result, she is cursed and doomed to death before the boat ever reaches its destination. The figure herself is theorized to be modeled after Waterhouse’s wife. The colors are deep and varied. Despite the tragic premise, the setting is incredibly lush, warm, and inviting. The longer you study the painting, the more intricacies appear.

Henry Scott Tuke

*August Blue*, 1893-1894

August Blue is one of the most famous works from Henry Scott Tuke, who was an incredibly prolific artist known primarily for his paintings of nude boys and nautical subjects. At a time when polish was valued over anything else, Tuke developed a style that combined the traditional Italian nude with the more rustic Impressionism. His most common themes and subject matters are well exemplified by this work. Many of his paintings depict young men or sailors bathing, relaxing, and socializing. This piece is set in Falmouth Harbor, where Tuke had a penchant for working au plein air. His works are among my favorites partly because of his effortless and inviting figures and partly because of the transportive, dreamlike quality of his style and typical color palette.

Meredith Frampton

*Trail and Error*, 1939

This painting struck me immediately. I almost expected it to be a Rene Magritte I had never seen, but it was actually a more abstract endeavor from an artist I was thrilled to discover, Meredith Frampton. Although this seems to be the most surreal painting she ever produced, the execution is incredible, like a still life seen through the looking glass. Although Frampton’s career was limited, she became well known as a portraitist, especially for the discipline in her style and the smoothness of her brushstrokes. All her models are painted to near photographic realism, but the settings have an otherworldly quality to them. There is an incredible amount of detail in her objects and figures, but there is always enough missing in the background to give a sense of unease and surrealism to each endeavor.

This exhibit was temporary and most likely wouldn’t still be viewable at the museum, but I credit it with introducing me to Antony Gormley, one of Britain’s most revered sculptors. Gormley is known primarily for his sculptures of distorted figures and grand instillations, but this exhibit featured some of his more deconstructed, small-scale work. There were a few tiny models reminiscent of the figures he is known for, but most of the pieces were studies in lines and three dimensional space. The exhibit was special in that it gave the viewer a glimpse into the process behind Gormley’s large-scale projects.

How can you go wrong with a Hockney? Bright. Timeless. Fun. Hockney created a style all his own influenced by his adopted Californian lifestyle. The Brit-turned-Los-Angelean rose to fame, and maintained it, for his vibrant painting style rooted in the Pop Art movement. A Bigger Splash specifically is one of his most well known pieces and is actually part of a set of three paintings, one of which just sold at auction for $29.8 million. This painting, acquired by the Tate in 1981, sums up what Hockney does so well: creating a piece that conveys both relaxation and adventure at the same time.

Lisa Brice

*Between This and That*, 2017

Maybe I have a soft spot for art that shows life as carefree and relaxing, but Lisa Brice is yet another artist on this list who is known for depicting scenes of down time. However, there is much more to her work than just some casual scenes and female nudes. Born in South Africa, Brice approaches her work, especially her depictions of women, with a firm social conscience. She is careful to depict women from a woman’s point of view, asserting that most preserved art historically has been by white men, for white men. No detail is too small for Brice, who says even inserting props or “…using strong colour to tweak the slant of eyes or mouth can further transform the figures from objectified to quietly self-possessed, matter-of-fact or provocative subjects.”