A detail from Lord Leighton's Flaming June (1895). Photograph: Tate
The Tate announced today that it has had a bumper year of visitor numbers, with its four galleries attracting a whopping 7.7 million art fans. They are also celebrating the news that the Tate Modern has gained the prestigious accolade of second-most visited attraction in England, beaten only by the slightly less highbrow Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
So what is it about Tate that has captured our hearts and turned us into a nation of gallery goers?
The programming, which gives wall space to the greats and new talent alike, most definitely plays to a populist market, in favour of being edgy or groundbreaking. But it's clearly what people want, which is why the Holbein show was the second-most visited show, ever. And for discerning art lovers, it gets brownie points for holding some pretty out there events.
A trip to the Tate has also become the perfect day out for all the family. They have really good gift shops, excellent, if slightly overpriced, cafes and lots of loos. Plus art these days doesn't always mean a boring old painting: three quarters of a million people slid down the Carsten Höller slides while they were installed in the Turbine hall.
The buildings have become landmarks at each location, the Tate Modern in particular. Since its transformation from power station to place to go, it has become an iconic part of the capital's architecture, making a mark on the Thames skyline. For Woody Allen, a trip to Tate Modern was so quintessentially British that he included it in his first London film.
But popularity does have its downsides, as anyone who has had to elbow their way through a scrum to catch a glimpse of a work at a blockbuster show will know. And you do wonder if the masses are flocking just to say they've been there, done that, rather than actually wanting to enjoy some art.
Were you one of the 7.7 million who visited the Tate galleries last year? What do you like or loathe about them and why? And what would you change if you were director of the Tate for a day?
