Alan Bowness, former Tate director, dies at 92
Alan Bowness, who served as the director of Tate Britain from 1980 to 1988, has died. He was instrumental in launching Tate Liverpool in 1988, which was the first expansion of the Tate institution. Before his time at Tate, Bowness studied French painting with Anthony Blunt at the Courtauld Institute and later became Deputy Director, focusing on 19th and 20th-century art. He also wrote art critiques for The Observer, The Spectator, and ArtReview, covering artists like Henry Moore. At Tate, he championed modern art through exhibitions like 'Painting and Sculpture of a Decade 54-64,' which attracted 100,000 visitors. He played a key role in establishing the Turner Prize in 1984 and later directed the Henry Moore Institute until his retirement in 1994.
Key facts
- Alan Bowness directed Tate Britain from 1980 to 1988.
- He oversaw the opening of Tate Liverpool in 1988.
- He studied under Anthony Blunt at the Courtauld Institute.
- He taught at the Courtauld Institute and became Deputy Director.
- He wrote for The Observer, The Spectator, and ArtReview.
- He championed modern art and internationalized the Tate collection.
- He secured Francis Bacon's 'Triptych-August 1972' and David Hockney's 'A Bigger Splash' for Tate.
- The Turner Prize was inaugurated in 1984 under his tenure.
- He managed the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden.
- He was founding director of the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds.
Entities
Artists
- Alan Bowness
- Anthony Blunt
- Henry Moore
- Pablo Picasso
- Henri Matisse
- Max Ernst
- Willem de Kooning
- Anthony Caro
- Francis Bacon
- George Dye
- David Hockney
- Malcolm Morley
- Barbara Hepworth
- Ben Nicholson
- Sarah Hepworth-Nicholson
Institutions
- Tate Britain
- Tate Liverpool
- Tate
- Courtauld Institute
- The Observer
- The Spectator
- ArtReview
- Art News and Review
- Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden
- Henry Moore Institute
Locations
- London
- Liverpool
- Leeds