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Historic and Early Modern British Art

Trace the story of British art from the Tudors to WWII

These rooms start with the oldest artworks in Tate's collection. From the Tudor courts, war and revolution to the fight for women's suffrage, discover how art reflects nation-defining moments in our history. Look out for works by Joan Carlile and Mary Beale, two of the first women artists working in Britain as early as 1650. See familiar favourites by William Blake, John Singer Sargent, Gwen John, Vanessa Bell and more. Continue your journey with Modern and Contemporary British Art.

John William Waterhouse The Lady of Shalott is on loan to Falmouth Art Gallery and will return in October 2023.

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17 rooms in Historic and Early Modern British Art

Exiles and Dynasties

The grand portraits in this room tell stories of migration and power. They date from the last years of Henry VIII’s reign to the time of Charles I

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Unknown artist, Britain, The Cholmondeley Ladies c.1600–10. Tate.

Court versus Parliament

This is a time of profound change: civil war, regicide and political revolution take place. New ideas are born and new kinds of art flourish

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Joan Carlile, Portrait of an Unknown Lady 1650–5. Tate.

Metropolis

London is the largest city in Europe, a hub of global trade and commerce. Artists such as William Hogarth show us the many sides of urban life

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William Hogarth, Heads of Six of Hogarth’s Servants c.1750–5. Tate.

Troubled Glamour

At first glance this room presents a glamorous image of 18th-century society. However, the lives and places pictured give clues to the underlying tensions of the time

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George Romney, Mrs Johnstone and her Son (?) c.1775–80. Tate.

The Exhibition Age

The first public exhibitions bring new audiences and new status to British art. This gallery recreates the spectacle of these early displays

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Sir Joshua Reynolds, Three Ladies Adorning a Term of Hymen 1773. Tate.

Revolution and Reform

These are tumultuous times. Wars and revolutions, technology and trade transform lives across the globe. The art in this room reveals the different ways artists grapple with this turbulence

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John Simpson, Head of a Man, probably Ira Frederick Aldridge exhibited 1827. Tate.

William Blake

William Blake’s driving ambition was to be recognised as an artist of national importance. He created art and poetry of great originality and imagination

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William Blake, Satan Smiting Job with Sore Boils c.1826. Tate.

Chris Ofili

Chris Ofili has selected a number of his own watercolours and sketches that resonate with the works of William Blake

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watercolour painting of a dark skinned figure smiling, floating in the sky with leaves

Chris Ofili, Harvester, 2021 © Chris Ofili, courtesy of the artist and Victoria Miro

Art for the Crowd

Prosperity in Victorian Britain helps art become spectacularly popular. Dramatic images from life and literature attract blockbuster audiences

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John Singer Sargent, Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose 1885–6. Tate.

In Open Air

In the 19th century thanks to the railway, artists start to work outside in natural settings with varied light and weather. They explore faster, more spontaneous ways of painting.

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John Singer Sargent, Claude Monet Painting by the Edge of a Wood ?1885. Tate.

Beauty as Protest

The men and women of Pre-Raphaelite circle question mainstream Victorian culture and ideas

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painting of Ophelia laying face upwards in a lake, wearing an embroidered dress and holding flowers

Sir John Everett Millais, BtOphelia 1851–2Tate

Sensation and Style

Artists in Britain turn away from Victorian values, finding inspiration in individual experience and ‘art for art’s sake’

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George Frederic Watts and assistants, Hope 1886. Tate.

Annie Swynnerton

This display celebrates Annie Swynnerton's trailblazing work as a painter and campaigner for women's rights

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A Room of One's Own

In the early years of the 20th century, British artists explore new representations of female identity, investigating the changing relationships between men and women in society

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Gwen John, Self-Portrait 1902. Tate.

Modern Times

In the years leading up to war, a new generation of British experimental artists emerges who challenge traditional artistic practices

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Mark Gertler, Merry-Go-Round 1916. Tate.

Reality and Dreams

British artists recalibrate their work in the aftermath of the First World War as they imagine how they could play a part in building a better society

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International Modern

During the 1930s, many British artists develop modern abstract art, a radical movement born of international friendships and allegiances

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