Five Hundred Years of British Art

This beautifully presented and imaginatively curated book offers a collection of highlights from the Tate collection over the past 500 years, now reprinted in an accessible paperback format. A must-have treasure for those wanting to keep home a piece of British Art history in their own homes.

Tate Britain is the home of British art from 1500 to the present day. This beautiful guide to the highlights of the collection provides an essential introduction to the extraordinary development of British art over centuries, telling the story of the collection and presenting a selection of the stunning works on display.

The art from Britain in Tate's collection is rich with imaginative invention and reinvention. This panoramic book celebrates this aesthetic ingenuity as an ongoing story, revealing how 500 years of art can act as a fascinating lens through which to deepen our understanding of ourselves and society, past and present, in both Britain and in the rest of the world.

British art is also notable for genres unique to itself: group portraits, known as 'conversation pieces', focusing on social relations between friends, family and allies; themes from British literature, particularly Shakespeare, Milton and Tennyson (rather than classical mythology); and topical subjects in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries reflecting the wars with France and the scientific innovations of the Industrial Revolution. Hogarth brought an art of social engagement, as did the artists associated with the Young British Art movement more recently.

This generous companion to the Tate collection provides a guide to the rich history of British art, demonstrating the remarkable range of art in the collection.

Kirsteen McSwein is Senior Curator, Interpretation at Tate Britain.