Migrations 

James Tissot Portsmouth Dockyard (detail) c1877 Oil on canvas © Tate / and Lubaina Himid Between the Two my Heart is Balanced 1991 Tate © Lubaina Himid

This exhibition explores how centuries of foreign influence have helped shape the face of British art.

Featuring a range of artwork from Tate’s collection from 1500 to the present day Migrations traces not only the movement of artists, but the circulation of art and ideas, looking at how individuals from around the world have become integral to the face of British art.

Focusing on specific moments over the past 500 years, the exhibition features artworks from leading artists from across the period such as Van Dyck, Whistler and Mondrian, as well as recent works by contemporary artists including Steve McQueen and Francis Alys.

The exhibition takes us through sixteenth and seventeenth century Flemish and Dutch landscape and portrait painters who came to Britain in search of new patrons, through to European artists such as Piet Mondrian and Laszlo Maholy-Nagy, who sought refuge in Britain whilst escaping political unrest and war in the 1930s and 1940s and on to Black Audio Film Collective, whose work sought to unearth the possibilities of being both ‘Black’ and ‘British’ in the 1980s.

Migrations examines how British art has been informed by a long and intricate history of the movement of people to and from the country, raising questions about the formation of a National collection with a continually changing population.

Book online:
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/migrations/tickets.shtm