Tate Gallery: Tate Exhibitions: Papers and Correspondence

This series of records relate to Tate exhibition. Most of the files in the series fall under the generic titles of Organisation, Loans, Lenders, Publicity, Condition Reports and Tour, however, occasionally there are separate files of indemnity valuations and transportation.

Organisation files contain details of the exhibition layout; art works included in the exhibition and memos and correspondence between individuals and departments.

Loan files primarily contain loan agreements between the Tate and the lending body or individual.

Lenders files contain correspondence between the Tate and lending individuals and institutions.

Publicity files contain printed material such as pamphlets and occasionally details of promotional events held in conjunction with the exhibition.

Condition Reports give details of the condition of art works lent for the exhibition on their arrival at the Tate and prior to their return to the lender.

Tour files may include details of transportation and transfer of art works where an exhibition held at the Tate is afterwards to be shown at another museum.

Archive catalogue page is available via the Tate website

The records are arranged chronologically by exhibition title where the date range of particular files is also given.

Photographs of exhibited works, installation of the exhibition display and other related photographs are listed separately. A comprehensive series of Tate Gallery/Britain exhibition posters (TG 106) are listed separately and date from 1937 to the present. The Library holds copies of exhibition catalogues for most Tate exhibitions from 1911 to the present.

Access conditions: Subject to 30 year closure unless otherwise stated

Restrictions on use: Lenders files less than sixty years old are closed.

The creating departments have themselves also changed over many years as the Tate as an institution has expanded. In 1970 the Tate Gallery Exhibitions department was formed as part of the Education and Exhibitions Department before becoming a separate department in 1983. Consequently most of the material in the series after 1970 originates specifically from that department. However, material from the Registrar's department is also contained in both loan and tour files after that date. Condition reports always originate from Tate's Conservation department.