Art Galleries in the UK

The UK has a rich history of art and art collection, something that is reflected in the rich collections of the UK’s 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. Lost for a time in the Seventies and Eighties as electronic and then digital technology stole the limelight, the names of the UK’s foremost galleries are once again an everyday part of the national vernacular.
The National Gallery jostles for position with Nelson’s Column in London’s Trafalgar Square and is home to works by such prominent names as Da Vinci, Van Gogh, Turner, Monet, Titian, Caravaggio and many more internationally known artists. The National’s collection is constantly growing and a new wing was built in the Eighties to meet a growing need for hanging space. This wing was famously called ‘…a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend’ by Prince Charles who disliked the modern design juxtaposed with the neo-classical curves of National. But then this just goes to prove that architecture, like art, is a matter of personal taste.
The Tate group of galleries in London, Liverpool, Cornwall and online are incredibly popular galleries, with Tate London on Millbank, and Tate Modern at Bankside of particular attraction to visitors to the UK. Tate Britain in London concentrates on work from 1500 to the present day and includes works by Bacon, Blake and Nash.
Further down the Thames on Bankside Tate Modern is housed in the striking building of the former Bankside Power Station deals with all aspects of modern, post-modern and contemporary art and is home to works by Picasso, Kapoor, Lichtenstein, Emin and Rothko, but to name a few. Tate Liverpool deals with much the same subject matter as Tate Modern but on a much smaller scale, while Tate St Ives showcases works by artists from the west of the UK.
Just along from Tate Modern on London’s South Bank the Hayward Gallery hosts many important exhibitions by contemporary artists, while the galleries in the Victoria and Albert, and Imperial War museums also have impressive collections
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 and his depictions of industrial life in pre-war northern England. In Yorkshire the Leeds Art Gallery boasts one of the most impressive collections in the UK outside of London, while the Graves and Millennium galleries just down the M1 motorway in Sheffield also field a respectable showing of works.

UK Art galleries