Let’s draw at Tate Britain - Saturday 24 February 2018

Sketch by Lis Watkins

Join us in February at Tate Britain in Pimlico, the home of the national collection of British art from 1500 to the present day. Explore the collection, the building inside and out, and the surrounding area. Draw inspiration from artists who have represented London, including Turner, Sickert, Passmore, and French artists in exile. The day is free of charge, no need to book, just turn up with your art kit.

This sketch crawl replaces the proposed meet-up at Westfield Shopping Centre included in our published 2018 programme.

Key times and meeting points for the day:

11am: Meet at Tate Britain, just inside the Manton entrance (see photograph below). The Manton entrance is the modern entrance at the side of the building on Atterbury Street. (The entrance at the front of the building up the steps is the Millbank entrance.)

The Manton Entrance

1pm: Meet in the foyer inside the Manton entrance to look at drawings done so far.

3.30pm: Meet again in the foyer inside the Manton entrance to look at drawings done and take group photographs.

We could then go to Tate Britain’s Djanogly Café for chat and refreshments, or there are several pubs in the area.

Tate Britain is open from 10 am until 6pm.

Admission to Tate Britain’s permanent collection is free. Tickets or membership are required for temporary exhibitions. There are restrictions on art materials which can be used inside the galleries – more information below.

The front of the Tate Britain

Options for drawing include:
· The building interiors and exterior

Sculpture by Henry Moore

· The permanent collection of paintings, drawings, sculpture and installations, including works by artists who have portrayed London

J. M. W. Turner’s sketchbook

· The current temporary exhibition ‘Impressionists in London’ (ticket or membership required) which shows works painted in London, including many location views, by French artists in exile and escaping the Franco-Prussian war

Chelsea School of Art

· Next to Tate Britain, the Chelsea Art School
· Across the river, the famous MI6 building, and Vauxhall Bridge
· There are riverside walks on both sides of the River Thames and west of Vauxhall Bridge you can see extensive new development, including the new USA embassy – but ‘in an off neighbourhood’ according to Donald Trump!

The new USA embassy from the riverside walk

Background

Tate Britain is the original Tate Gallery, opened in 1897. It now houses the British national collection of art from 1500 to the present day. The original building was designed by Sidney R. J. Smith, the Clore Gallery which houses the Turner Collection is by James Stirling, and there have been recent developments by architects Caruso St John.

Clore Gallery

Practical information

Admission to Tate Britain is free of charge for the building and permanent collection, with a ticket or membership needed for the ‘Impressionists in London’ exhibition.
The nearest underground station is Pimlico on the Victoria Line, and there are several nearby bus routes; more information is on the Tate website (link below).
Tate Britain has a café and restaurant, cloakroom, toilets, stools and a shop.
In the galleries, permitted art materials are: dry materials such as pencils, graphite sticks, fine-tipped pens, wax crayons, conte and charcoal pencils (must be wood or plastic encased), oil pastels encased in paper. Loose dry materials such as charcoal and soft pastels, and paints are not allowed.

http://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-britain

The day is run by Lis Watkins and Homephoenix Wong

Let’s draw at Tate Britain - Saturday 24 February 2018