An Investigation of the Architectural, Urban, and Exhibit Designs of the Tate Museums by Deirdre L. C. Hennebury A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Architecture) in the University of Michigan 2014 Doctoral Committee: Professor Robert L. Fishman, Co-chair Associate Professor Claire A. Zimmerman, Co-chair Associate Professor Scott D. Campbell Professor Raymond A. Silverman The chief function of the city is to convert power into form, energy into culture, dead matter into the living symbols of art, biological reproduction into social creativity. Lewis Mumford, The City in History (1961) For Eric ii Acknowledgements It is a pleasure to be able to thank those who have helped me to write and research this dissertation over many years. Thank you first to my dedicated co-chairs, Robert Fishman and Claire Zimmerman, and committee members, Scott Campbell and Ray Silverman, who despite my meanderings, stayed the course and provided timely and insightful commentary to buoy me along. Thank you also to David Scobey who many years ago first suggested I investigate the University of Michigan’s Museum Studies program; a program that has offered countless benefits to this project and my intellectual development. As the grateful recipient of a Museum Studies Fellowship for Doctoral Research in Museums, I was able to do the travel and research required to complete this work. In Ray Silverman and Brad Taylor, I found examples of generous and talented scholars who are also very fine people. Thank you. I am endlessly grateful to the University of Michigan’s Rackham Graduate School and Doctoral Program in Architecture for the fellowships and grant opportunities I have received throughout my years in Ann Arbor. Finally, I need to extend a very special thank you to the archivists at the Tate Archives, the Canadian Centre for Architecture, and the National Archives of the United Kingdom for their assistance and for making my research so marvelously memorable. I would like to dedicate this work to my family. To my devoted parents who always encouraged me to do meaningful work and to do my best. Thank you for providing me with an unparalleled education – as a child at home and once I was launched to seek my fortune. Thank you to my siblings for your love and many efforts to stay connected in spite of family commitments and geography that make our precious time together scarce. Finally, my deepest gratitude and thanks are for my husband and children. With you, every day is a joy and a gift. Thank you, Eric, for the many pots of fresh coffee, loving support, and for helping me to hold the family fort. iii Table of Contents Dedication ..................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... iii List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. vi Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... viii Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1 Why the Tates? .................................................................................................... 4 Conceptual Framework ....................................................................................... 8 Museums in Context.......................................................................................... 12 Chapter Outline ................................................................................................. 19 Chapter 1: Foundations ............................................................................................................. 26 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 26 The Socio-Cultural Milieu: “the March of Civilization” ............................... 28 Cultural Policy................................................................................................... 33 A National Gallery of British Art .................................................................. 38 Urban ................................................................................................................. 46 Millbank and the Penitentiary ........................................................................ 46 Building a “Reformatory” Museum .................................................................. 49 Building ............................................................................................................. 52 The Architecture of Modern Urban Life ....................................................... 52 The Tate Gallery: a Civilizing “Temple of Art” ............................................ 55 Exhibit ............................................................................................................... 61 Presenting British Works: Patronage and19th Century Hanging Practices .... 61 Collecting for the Tate: Taste, Teaching and Bequests ................................. 67 Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 71 Chapter 2: Postmodern Expansion ........................................................................................... 75 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 75 Searching for Clarity: the museum mission .................................................. 76 Leadership and Image .................................................................................... 79 Building ............................................................................................................. 87 Stirling’s Museums ........................................................................................ 90 Urban ............................................................................................................... 116 iv London Urbanism and British Planning Practice ........................................ 116 From the Academy: theories of the city ...................................................... 119 Exhibit ............................................................................................................. 121 Specialized Art Spaces ................................................................................ 121 Displaying the Turner Collection ................................................................ 125 Conclusions ..................................................................................................... 129 Chapter 3: Moving to the Provinces ....................................................................................... 132 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 132 The Tate’s Provincial Expansion ................................................................. 133 Liverpool History ........................................................................................ 138 Urban ............................................................................................................... 141 Building a Port City ..................................................................................... 141 Rebuilding: culturally-led urban regeneration ............................................. 144 Building ........................................................................................................... 152 Liverpool Architecture ................................................................................ 152 Stirling ......................................................................................................... 157 Adapting the Albert Dock ............................................................................ 161 Exhibit ............................................................................................................. 169 Specialized Art Spaces ................................................................................ 169 Programming, Outreach and Education ....................................................... 173 Conclusions ..................................................................................................... 176 Chapter 4: The Later Tates ..................................................................................................... 184 Adaptive Reuse and Brownfield Development ............................................... 184 The “New” Museology.................................................................................... 189 Tate St. Ives ..................................................................................................... 193 Community .................................................................................................. 195 Market .......................................................................................................... 198 Tate Modern .................................................................................................... 198 Market .......................................................................................................... 205 Conclusions ....................................................................................................