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Article: The Tate Modern - For art's sake.(opening of museum in London, England)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- May 13, 2000
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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ONLY one thing happened in Britain this week which it can confidently be said will still matter in 100 years' time--the opening of the Tate Modern art gallery on the south bank of the Thames. The gallery, housed in an enormous converted power station at Bankside, already comes garlanded with superlatives. It is the biggest modern art museum in the world; it is the biggest museum to open in London in more than a century; and it is the first national gallery in Britain to be dedicated exclusively to modern and contemporary art.
The gallery's supporters argue that because of its focus on modern art alone the new Tate fills a major gap in the cultural landscape in ...