Tate Gallery

A "must see" - Advantages: Good collection - Disadvantages: Light on some rooms is not 100% perfect

I knew before visiting The Tate in St Ives that the modern art I would see displayed there was not likely to be to my personal taste. My taste in art is more Turner and Blake, yet in spite of this I desperately wanted to go. One of the few drawbacks of living in Cornwall is that you can experience 'culture deprivation'. Cornwall has theatres, museums and art galleries of course, but they are smaller, more provincial and I looked forward to what I believed would be a taste of city sophistication. My first sight of The Tate, opened in 1993 and built on the site of the old gasworks in St Ives, was both a delight and a disappointment. The delight was at the ...  Read the complete review

The Tate gallery, St Ives, Cornwall is a gallery to visit for a variety of reasons including (in no particular order!): the art, the view and the building. The Building The gallery was designed in the 90’s by the architects David and Elizabeth Shalleth to occupy the site of the old town gasworks, which overlooks the world famous Porthmeor surfing beach. The site is both spectacular and vertiginous and the gallery has followed the scale of the old gasworks up the hill with galleries and public spaces rising over four floors. The main gallery looks out over the beach and provides a spectacular backdrop to some beautiful contemporary art (but more of ...  Read the complete review

I visited the Tate Gallery in St Ives after having read an opinion from “Picasso” in dooyoo. I was very fortunate because there was a break in the weather and the day was glorious. It was a sunny December day ( a rarity) which was very fortunate indeed because the car park was on top of a big hill. As a “silver surfer” it was a disadvantage having to walk down the hill,and an even bigger one having to climb back up it afterwards. However it was worth it. A great advantage for me was that because I am “past my prime” I was allowed in free. Thank you Tate and Cornwall county Council. When my wife and I ...  Read the complete review

Having enjoyed my visits to the Tate Galleries in London and Liverpool I was looking forward to seeing the Tate in St Ives. The gallery which opened in 1993 stands above the spectacular Porthmeor Beach. It is a striking white building, unusual in shape with huge windows looking out to sea. The idea is that this Tate Gallery is to display Cornish art. I love Cornwall and have bought several paintings and sketches by Cornish artists. However the paintings on display in September were by local artist Arthur Wallace who didn't start painting until he was in his eighties, apparently he started to paint during a period of depression after the death of his wife. ...  Read the complete review