英國(guó)最頂尖的兩家藝術(shù)博物館，英國(guó)國(guó)家美術(shù)館和泰特美術(shù)館，經(jīng)過(guò)四年的磨合，終于基本達(dá)成一致，對(duì)雙方館藏珍品的分界年限漸漸不再過(guò)度計(jì)較。
根據(jù)兩個(gè)美術(shù)館在1996年達(dá)成的協(xié)議，國(guó)家美術(shù)館應(yīng)該收藏1900年之前的國(guó)際藝術(shù)作品，而泰特則應(yīng)該更多地側(cè)重在英國(guó)藝術(shù)，而且是1500至當(dāng)代的英國(guó)藝術(shù)品。但公眾漸漸發(fā)現(xiàn)，兩個(gè)美術(shù)館之間的分界日趨模糊。日前在國(guó)家美術(shù)館開幕的畢加索特展，很明顯，在一般人的眼光中，這應(yīng)該是泰特的領(lǐng)域。
近年來(lái)，國(guó)家美術(shù)館不斷地挑戰(zhàn)界限，去年三月，國(guó)家美術(shù)館的新館長(zhǎng)曾公開表示，“國(guó)家美術(shù)館的建立原本就是為收藏當(dāng)代藝術(shù)所用的。”
雖然雙邊的最新共識(shí)沒(méi)有公開，但根據(jù)推測(cè)雙方仍認(rèn)同1996年的協(xié)議方向，但對(duì)于1900年的分界線，泰特認(rèn)可國(guó)家美術(shù)館可以收購(gòu)19世紀(jì)畫家在20世紀(jì)的作品，如塞尚，莫奈和雷諾阿。同時(shí)，泰特也可以購(gòu)買20世紀(jì)主要畫家在19世紀(jì)的作品。同時(shí)，雙方在舉辦展覽時(shí)，不需要拘泥于這個(gè)時(shí)間界限。
下面是兩個(gè)美術(shù)館本年度內(nèi)的主要展覽：
National Gallery
From 25 February until 7 June: Picasso: Challenging the Past.
Tate Modern
Until 17 May: Rodchenko and Popova. The twin heroes of Russian constructivism.
From 25 February until 25 May: Roni Horn aka Roni Horn. The first UK museum show for the American photographer and sculptor
From 13 October until 5 April 2010: Miroslaw Balka. The Polish artist is the latest figure to take on the challenge of the Turbine Hall.
GALLERY GIANTS REACH UNEASY TRUCE OVER GREAT 1900 DIVIDE
20 Feb 2009
The two titans of the British art world, the National Gallery and the Tate, have finally edged towards a truce after four years of disagreement about where the cut-off between their collections should be. The armistice comes just days before the opening of the National Gallery's latest blockbuster, devoted to Picasso - an artist whose natural territory is, arguably, Tate Modern rather the National Gallery.
Broadly, Tate Modern covers international art from 1900, the National Gallery houses international art to 1900, and Tate Britain is the custodian of British art from 1500 to the present day.
But the National Gallery has been challenging this strict boundary in recent years. Last March, its then new director, Nicholas Penny, noted publicly that "the National Gallery was built to house contemporary art".
The latest agreement was not made available to the Guardian, and Penny and Serota declined to comment. However, it is understood that it affirms the same principles as those laid out in 1996. There are provisos to the "1900 rule": the Tate recognises that the National Gallery may wish to acquire 20th-century works by artists usually associated with the 19th (eg Cézanne, Monet and Renoir) - and vice versa. The institutions need not confine exhibitions to the period of their collections. Both agree not to seek bequests outside their basic timeframes.
（Source: Guardian，英國(guó)使館文化教育處提供）
