Establishing Tate Modern: Vision and Patronage The London School of Economics and Political Science Establishing Tate Modern: Vision and Patronage Caroline Donnellan A thesis submitted to the Department of Sociology at the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, July 2013 1 Establishing Tate Modern: Vision and Patronage Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the Ph.D. degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work, other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others, in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of the author. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. 2 Establishing Tate Modern: Vision and Patronage Abstract Tate Modern has attracted significant academic interest aimed at analysing its cultural and urban regeneration impact. Yet there exists no research which provides an in-depth and contextual framework examining how Tate Modern was established, nor is there a study which assesses critically the development of Tate’s collection of international modern and contemporary art. Why is this important? It is relevant because a historic conflict of interests developed within the Tate’s founding organisation which was reluctant to host it. The outcome was that gaps were created in the original National Modern Foreign Collection, which had to be later compensated for within the spaces of Tate Modern. Furthermore, Tate Modern was established by the Tate, in place of a London or national government. Manoeuvring to the position of civic patron was a long process for the Tate, which had been affected by changing political and cultural circumstances. From the organisation’s inception, a complex model of public and private vision and patronage emerged, which was impeded by conflicting national and international agendas. Modernisation and modernity impacted on the organisation through political and cultural necessity, forcing it to adjust to the new social climate. However, the underlying theme in the Tate’s development has been the relationship between culture and commerce. These are the reasons why this thesis examines how Tate Modern was established in the particular way that it was, and why it was re-imagined as a distinct kind of museum of modern art in London, and one that was relevant for the new millennium. 3 Establishing Tate Modern: Vision and Patronage Acknowledgements The topic of Ph.D. research began when Professor Robert Tavernor, Cities Programme, London School of Economics and Political Science, and Dr Victoria Walsh of Tate Britain made a joint application to the Arts and Humanities Research Council, for the funding of collaborative research studentships. The outcome was that two grants were awarded: Establishing Tate Modern: Vision and Patronage, and Establishing Tate Modern: The Cultural Quarter. During the research period for this thesis — Establishing Tate Modern: Vision and Patronage — I have received the utmost attention in my supervisions from both supervisors. Professor Tavernor has given my work meticulous consideration concerning the aims and objectives of the Ph.D., by reading the various drafts from beginning to end. Dr Walsh has also spent considerable time in her direction, with her extensive knowledge of the Tate. I am extremely grateful to both of them for their professional direction and expertise, as well as support and encouragement throughout this Ph.D. 4 Establishing Tate Modern: Vision and Patronage Table of Contents Title Page 1 Declaration 2 Abstract 3 Acknowledgements 4 Table of Contents 5 Chapter 1. Introduction 8 Background 8 Case Study Method 10 Thesis Structure 12 Cultural Policy: Museums and Galleries 14 Impact on the Tate Gallery 17 The Tate Gallery of Modern Art: A Civic Vision 21 Literature Review 25 Central, London and Local Government Publications 27 Cultural Policy and Economics Publications 33 Art History Publications 39 Tate Gallery and Related Publications 41 Museology and Theory Publications 44 Branding and Marketing Publications 51 Chapter Synopsis 55 Chapter 2. Creating the Tate 58 The Museums Act (1845) 58 Henry Tate’s Enterprise 62 Creating the National Gallery of British Art 64 A Nineteenth-Century Model of Partnership 66 Building the Urban Vision 67 Developing the Organisation 70 The Hugh Lane Bequest 73 Trustees and Funding 76 National Gallery Millbank 78 The Modern Foreign Art Galleries 79 Rejecting Matisse, Rejecting Modernism 80 Traditionalism and Modernism 82 London and New York 85 Arts Council of Great Britain 89 The Festival of Britain 92 The National Gallery and Tate Gallery Act (1954) 94 The State and the Arts 97 5 Establishing Tate Modern: Vision and Patronage The Modern Museum of Art as Spectacle 98 Chapter 3. Towards Tate Modern 101 New Government, New Tate Gallery 102 Patron: Industry Supports the Arts 106 Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin 108 ‘The Bricks’ 115 Centre National d’Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou, Paris 116 A GLC Lottery 118 The Arts: the Way Forward 119 Action for Cities: the Tate Gallery Liverpool 123 Tate Prize, Turner Prize 127 Partnership: Making Arts Money Work Harder 128 Grasping the Nettle 129 Chapter 4. Vision and Concept 132 The Tate Gallery St Ives 136 Defining the Vision 137 Operation Moby Dick 141 Site Proposals 142 Tate Canary Wharf 144 Tate Vauxhall 144 Tate South Bank 146 Tate Greenwich 146 Tate Bankside 148 Selling Bankside 151 Purchase and Consultation 153 Creating the Brief, Completing the Vision 155 Chapter 5. Patronage and Funding 158 Funding Strategy 158 Buying Bankside 161 Quantifiable Evidence 163 The National Lottery 165 English Partnerships 167 Southwark Station 170 Branding Tate 173 The Tate Gallery of Modern Art Becomes Tate Modern 175 The Change Management Programme 178 Chapter 6. Competition and Building 182 Researching the Process 183 Architecture Competition Reception 186 6 Establishing Tate Modern: Vision and Patronage The Tate Gallery of Modern Art Assessors 189 Architecture Competition 190 Shortlisted Designs 191 Architect’s Vision 193 Millennium Bridge 202 Chapter 7. Conclusion 205 The Final Analysis 205 Communicating Change 209 Defining Moments 210 Testing the Public Realm, Testing the Market 211 The Museum in the Market Place 214 Shifting Public Geographies 216 Re-thinking the Museum of Modern Art in the City 218 Evaluating the Impact 219 The Cultural Box Office 221 Debating the Tate 223 Signposting for Future Research 226 Bibliography 228 Appendix A 243 Appendix B 268 7 Establishing Tate Modern: Vision and Patronage Chapter 1. Introduction This Ph.D. examines how Tate Modern was established. From the founding organisation’s inception, a complex model of public and private vision and patronage emerged, which was affected by conflicting national and international agendas. Through political and cultural necessity, modernisation and modernity impacted further on the Tate Gallery, forcing it to adjust to new economic and social circumstances. Additionally, the interconnected relationship between culture and commerce continued to shape the practices of the Tate Gallery, which resulted in its creating a new type of museum of modern art, for the twenty-first century. Owing to the scope of these themes, to comprehensively examine Tate Modern, this thesis is cast within the framework of an interdisciplinary case study, which utilises archival data and a range of secondary sources. Furthermore, in reviewing the related literature, this has revealed a gap of relevant scholarly research in the field which this PhD aims to fill. Background There are two branches of Tate in London. The older is Tate Britain, at Millbank, which was founded originally as the National Gallery of British Art, in 1897. The aim was to exhibit work by British artists born after 1790, and non-nationals that produced work on British shores. Owing to a change in circumstances, a modern foreign collection was later given to the National Gallery of British Art. Subsequently, the organisation was renamed the ‘National Gallery Millbank’, to indicate that it was no longer solely responsible for British art. A further change in the title arose when the organisation was officially named the ‘Tate Gallery’, in 1932, after its founding benefactor. By the end of the twentieth century, however, the combined British and modern foreign art works had outgrown the available space within the Tate Gallery at Millbank. The decision was taken for the modern foreign art to be relocated to a new site, to be named the ‘Tate Gallery of Modern Art’, which later became ‘Tate Modern’. The British art was to remain at the Millbank site under the name the ‘Tate Gallery of British Art’, re-named ‘Tate Britain’. When Tate Britain and Tate Modern opened in 2000, they were established under very different circumstances from when the founding organisation had opened. The Tate 8 Establishing Tate Modern: Vision and Patronage organisation had become responsible for four permanent exhibition sites rather than one, including Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives, as well as a much expanded collection. Overseeing the entire development was the Tate’s governance in the body of the Director and Trustees, which was much more powerful than that of the original institution’s as it operated with far greater autonomy. Owing to this re-positioning of responsibility the organisation was able to re-cast the initial aims of the Tate Gallery of Modern Art into Tate Modern: Museum of Modern Art. Furthermore, the Tate’s governance, aware of the ongoing debates concerning the changing role of the modern art museum, took these accounts into consideration when defining the vision for the new exhibition site.