Tate is biting away at the heels of the British Museum to take the mantle of the most visited cultural institution in the UK, after it recorded another record-breaking year. Its annual report for 2013/14 noted that across its four sites – Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives – it racked up over seven million visitors.
Specifically, Tate Modern, which has been exceptionally well-received since it first opened its doors to members of the public in 2000, recorded another outstanding year. It remains the most visited gallery specialising in modern and contemporary art in the world.
Moreover, support for it is growing by the day. At the time of writing, it has attracted 1.1 million followers of Twitter – no public art gallery is close to this – and has 112,000 members, the highest in Europe.
It was also revealed that Henri-Matisse: The Cut-Outs has become the most popular show in Tate history, becoming the first ever to receive over half a million visitors. The previous best was set by a Damien Hirst retrospective in 2012.
Nicholas Serota, director of Tate, said that he was delighted that so many people made the effort to experience this comprehensive, well-curated exhibition, which has been lauded by critics all over the world.
“It is testament to the power and accessibility of Matisse’s work that the exhibition has captured the imaginations of visitors of all ages throughout the spring and summer this year,” he continued.
“We are immensely grateful to the private individuals and public institutions that lent precious and important works from their collections and to our collaborator, the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Without their generosity and the trust they placed in Tate the exhibition would simply not have been possible.”
All these recent successes are testament to Tate’s ability to continually deliver a comprehensive, stimulating and engaging roster of shows that build on previous efforts. It is constantly evolving how to present works by seminal artists.
Additionally, with commitments to modernisation, as seen in the £45 million revamp of Tate Britain, and expansion of its collaborative arm – ARTIST ROOMS, Plus Tate, Circuit – it is transforming the ways galleries are experienced and widening the reach of its collection of art.
In relation to this, it has just announced that seminal works of art are to be loaned to various galleries and museums across the UK, including Cornelia Parker’s Cold Dark Matter (1991); John Constable’s Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows (1831); and Pablo Picasso’s Weeping Woman (1937).
“Tate has had commitment to serving audiences beyond London for more than 30 years,” Mr Serota explained. “The new initiatives announced today will further strengthen the national programme and join the successful ARTIST ROOMS, Circuit and Aspire projects and the Turner Prize.
“We are privileged to work in partnership with so many creative and resourceful organisations across the UK to ensure that everyone should have access to great works of art, historical and contemporary, wherever they live.”
Cadogan Tate has extensive experience in shipping fine art all over the world.