Learning About Fine Art At The Tate Britain

Today was about British art as we visited the Tate Britain art museum. Apparently, Olivia at least was confused as to our destination. The first thing Olivia she asked was whether there would be any paintings of fuzzy water lillies. Once we explained, again, that this is a British art museum, we were back on track. That said, as is the British way, they pretty much claim anything they want as their own, regardless of pedigree. We haven't yet figured out how American-born Benjamin West, JM Whistler and John Singer Sargent qualify as British but this doesn't seem to bother anybody and their works are proudly displayed. At least these Americans are from a former British colony. It is a bit more complicated to justify the exhibition of Polish art, which perhaps is why it is stuck off in a corner. At any rate, I digress. As always, the 8-year-old seemed curiously enthralled. She quickly picked her favorite paintings, memorizing their titles and artists. (Watch for a future post of her impressions.) And she has a good eye. When we took a formal tour in the late afternoon, we found ourselves returning to works which Olivia had already picked out as favorites! Even more impressive were 5-year-old Meredith and 3-year-old Cecily who correctly identified portraits of English monarchs without any prompting or context whatsoever. In Cecily's case, we walked into the very first room called the Tudor Gallery, and she asked (from her shoulder trhone), "Why is Henry da Eight giving that boy money?" The kids weren't the only ones learning things. One of the more interesting points of discussion along the way was provoked by a guide who told us that people seem to be either Reynolds or Gainsborough afficianados but not both. When we polled to see who fell into which camp, Laura and Scott were surprised to find themselves on opposite sides, with Laura favoring the campy Gainsboroughs (example at left above) while Scott preferred the more staid Reynolds paintings (example at right above). So vote, oh friends and family: which camp are you in?