Alan Bowness
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Sir Alan Bowness is a British curator and museum director.
Between 1980 and 1988, Bowness was Director of the Tate Gallery realising the long desired expansion of the site at Millbank with the creation of the Clore Wing dedicated to the work of J.M.W. Turner. Bowness was also responsible for the creation of the outpost Tate Liverpool, both projects being achieved through gifts from charitable trusts. At a time when the public grant to the Tate had been capped, Bowness established two supporters groups to fund the purchase of new work and set up the Turner Prize to promote contemporary British artists. His acquisitions for the Tate collection included Surrealist and American artworks. He also set Tate St Ives in motion by fostering links with the Cornish town of St Ives, a location favoured by many artists, through assuming management of the Barbara Hepworth Museum in 1985.
As a curator Bowness' main area of interest was British modern art — he has close personal links with both the Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth families — and during his directorship the Tate's temporary programme concentrated on artists from this area. In 1987, the Tate's trustees elected not to renew Bowness' contract. Since then Bowness has been director of the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds, Yorkshire.
Bowness has been knighted and is an Honorary Fellow of Downing College, Cambridge.
| Preceded by: Sir Norman Reid |
Director of Tate Gallery 1980–1988 |
Succeeded by: Nicholas Serota |
