On October 9th, Tate and the Arts Council Collection announced several acquisitions at Frieze London and Frieze Masters. This announcement coincided with the fair’s VIP Day at Regent’s Park, which was led by an $8.5 million Arshile Gorky painting. Both fairs will run through October 13th.
As part of the ninth edition of the Frieze Tate Fund, Tate acquired works from four artists: Berlin-based Bani Abidi, Indigenous Australian artist Naminapu Maymuru-White, London-based Mohammed Z. Rahman, and the late Czech artist Eva Švankmajerová. Each year, the Frieze Tate Fund sets aside £150,000 ($195,000) to acquire works at Frieze London and Frieze Masters for the Tate’s collection. The acquired works include:
- Three 2024 pastel works from Abidi’s “Society for Aching Bodies” series were acquired from Experimenter at Frieze London.
- Maymuru-White’s Milnyawuy (2024), comprising 17 abstract panels made from natural earth paint on bark, was acquired from Sullivan+Strumpf at Frieze London.
- Two acrylic paintings by Rahman, The Lovers and The Spaghetti House (both 2024), were acquired from Phillida Reid at Frieze London.
- Švankmajerová’s Spící Venouš (Sleeping Venus) (1969) was acquired from The Gallery of Everything at Frieze Masters.
“Acquisitions like this enable Tate to continue showcasing the very best contemporary art and ensure they are available to museums and galleries across the U.K. for all to enjoy,” said Maria Balshaw, director of Tate. In 2023, Tate acquired works from five artists: Ayoung Kim, Santiago Yahuarcani, I Gusti Ayu Kadek Murniasih, Tessa Boffin, and Adam Farah-Saad.
Meanwhile, the Arts Council Collection (which collects artwork to loan out to public venues nationally) acquired works by three U.K.-based artists. The acquisitions committee selected Libyan artist Nour Jaouda, German sculptor Nicole Wermers, and British artist Shaqúelle Whyte. In its second year, the Arts Council Collection Frieze Acquisitions Fund provided £40,000 ($52,000) to acquire work for the collection. These works include:
- Jaouda’s tapestry The Light in Between (2024), which was presented by Union Pacific at Frieze London.
- Wermers’s sculpture Reclining Female #3 (2020), which was presented by Herald St at Frieze London.
- Whyte’s oil painting Form i: Under the lonely sky (2024), which was presented by Pippy Houldsworth Gallery at Frieze London.
“In line with our founding principle to support artists at a critical junction in their artistic development, the Frieze Fund underlines our commitment to nurture contemporary practice across all mediums,” said Alona Pardo, director of the Arts Council Collection. “Under the guidance of our Acquisition Committee and with the support of our dedicated patrons, we are delighted to build on last year’s fund and look forward to seeing these significant works travel across the length and breadth of the U.K. in the coming years.”
Last year, the Arts Council Collection selected four artists—Anne Tallentire, Mark Corfield Moore, Tanoa Sasraku, and Julian Knox—for its inaugural Frieze Art Fund.
