Tate Britain

History of the museum

Sir Henry Tate, a sugar tycoon, gave his collection and money for a building to the nation, and the National Gallery of British Art opened in 1897 on the site of an old prison at Millbank. It was known as the Tate Gallery for many years. Turner left a huge number of his paintings and sketches to the nation, and a special gallery for them, the Clore Gallery, was added in 1987. It became Tate Britain in 2000, when the modern art moved to Tate Modern.

Top pieces

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  Ophelia John Everett Millais, 1851
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  The Lady of Shalott John William Waterhouse, 1888
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  Snow Storm: Steam-Boat off a Harbour's Mouth J. M. W. Turner, 1842
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  Beata Beatrix Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1870

In our gallery from here (35)

OpheliaJohn Everett Millais · 1851 Carnation, Lily, Lily and RoseJohn Singer Sargent · 1885 The Lady of ShalottJohn William Waterhouse · 1888 Christ in the House of His ParentsJohn Everett Millais · 1849 Beata BeatrixDante Gabriel Rossetti · 1872 ProserpineDante Gabriel Rossetti · 1874 The Awakening ConscienceWilliam Holman Hunt · 1853 Saint EulaliaJohn William Waterhouse · 1885 HopeGeorge Frederic Watts · 1886 MarianaJohn Everett Millais · 1851 The Age of InnocenceJoshua Reynolds · 1788 Ecce Ancilla DominiDante Gabriel Rossetti · 1850 The Order of ReleaseJohn Everett Millais · 1852 Our English CoastsWilliam Holman Hunt · 1852 April LoveArthur Hughes · 1855 The Vale of RestJohn Everett Millais · 1858 The Lament for IcarusHerbert James Draper · 1898 King Cophetua and the Beggar MaidEdward Burne-Jones · 1884 The Girlhood of Mary VirginDante Gabriel Rossetti · 1848 Symphony in White, No. 2: The Little White GirlJames McNeill Whistler · 1864 The BelovedDante Gabriel Rossetti · 1865 Nocturne: Blue and Silver – ChelseaJames McNeill Whistler · 1871 The Magic CircleJohn William Waterhouse · 1886 Nocturne: Blue and Gold – Old Battersea BridgeJames McNeill Whistler · 1872 The Golden StairsEdward Burne-Jones · 1876 Consulting the OracleJohn William Waterhouse · 1884 NewtonWilliam Blake · 1795 Fishermen at SeaJ. M. W. Turner · 1796 Snow Storm: Hannibal and his Army Crossing the AlpsJ. M. W. Turner · 1812 The Fairy Feller's Master-StrokeRichard Dadd · 1855 Sunrise with Sea MonstersJ. M. W. Turner · 1845 The end of the worldJohn Martin · 1851 The Little PeasantAmedeo Modigliani · 1918 Merry-Go-RoundMark Gertler · 1916 House in SantiagoJames Wilson Morrice · 1915