Tate

It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

One of the Tate's most publicised art events is the awarding of the annual Turner Prize to a British visual artist, which takes place at Tate Britain every other year (taking place at venues outside of London in alternate years).

The idea of a National Gallery of British Art was first proposed in the 1820s by Sir John Leicester, Baron de Tabley.

Forty years later Sir Henry Tate who was a sugar magnate and a major collector of Victorian art, offered to fund the building of the gallery to house British Art on the condition that the State pay for the site and revenue costs.

It was initially a collection solely of modern British art, concentrating on the works of modern—that is Victorian era—painters.

In 1926 and 1937, the art dealer and patron Joseph Duveen paid for two major expansions of the gallery building.

In 1979 with funding from a Japanese bank a large modern extension was opened that would also house larger income generating exhibitions.

In 1987, the Clore Wing opened to house the major part of the Turner bequest and also provided a 200-seat auditorium.

(The "Centenary Development", in 2001, provided improved access and public amenities) In 1988, an outpost in north west England opened as Tate Liverpool.

This shows various works of modern art from the Tate collection as well as mounting its own temporary exhibitions.

It is administered by a board of trustees, who are responsible for the running of the gallery and appoint the Director (for a period of seven years).

Tate now spends around £1 million of its general funds each year on purchasing acquisitions and their related costs.

The Outset Contemporary Art Fund was established in 2003, by Tate patrons Yana Peel and Candida Gertler.

[15] The Tate logo was designed by international brand consultancy Wolff Olins in 2000 as part of a larger rebranding effort focused around the idea "look again, think again."