Tate Britain has announced that the new rehang, to be opened on May 23, will put an increased focus on female artists.
Last week, Tate Britain announced that it will add more than 800 works from 350 artists as part of its new display in the summer. Most of these works are new discoveries and acquisitions, as well as the latest commissions by the museum. Most notably, half of these artists would be female and include some noteworthy names from British and global art history.
Some of the works by female artists include a full-length portrait, acquired by the museum in 2016, by Joan Carlile. Carlile is widely considered to be the first female professional oil painter in Britain. The museum will also display 29 watercolor works by Emily Sargent (sister of prominent artist John Singer Sargent) acquired in 2021. The works were part of the collection of 440 works discovered in 1998. In a statement, Tate Britain talked about the increased focus on female artists, citing it to be in line with the gallery’s “longstanding commitment to diversifying its collection means the gallery can also showcase great women artists from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, including many who have never been shown at Tate before.”
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Polly Staple, who is responsible for collecting British art at the museum, added: “Tate Britain’s new displays will embody our commitment to expanding the canon and diversifying British art history. In recent years we have brought so many incredible works into Tate’s collection and visitors will soon be able to see these new acquisitions hung alongside more familiar and much-loved classics.”
