Many of the best galleries in the UK are located in London, a fact that regularly disgruntles art lovers who live in the provinces. There is hope, however. Institutions such as the Tate have begun to make their collections available online, and in a manner that is both illuminating and attractive.
The Explore sections of the Tate Britain and Tate Modern sites offer an interactive way to find out more about “the world’s largest display of British art from 1500 to the present day” and “modern art from 1900 to the present day”.
The Map feature gives online visitors the chance to roam wherever they please, and zoom in on the rooms displaying, in Tate Modern’s case, the third level’s Poetry and Dream rooms. Getting inside one such room allows users to see a catalogue of the displayed works with colour photos, including Picasso’s Weeping Woman and Arshile Gorky’s Waterfall. You can click on any selected thumbnail for a larger image.
Meanwhile, the History feature for the Tate Britain includes an interactive timeline. Facts are provided for historical context such as the Battle of Culloden and the Jacobites’ defeat in 1746, while the map then highlights the particular rooms that contain artworks from this period. During that time period, of course, works were produced by artists such as Constable and Gainsborough.
Rounding off this excellent Tate website offshoot are the Artists and My Tour features. The first offers the option of browsing a list of artists from A to Z and seeing where their works are held. The second lets you create your own tour of either Tate Modern or Tate Britain.
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www.tate.org.uk/modern/explore
www.tate.org.uk/britain/explore