Wikipedia - Benutzerbeiträge [de]

Gyula Peidl

2012-09-05T09:54:02Z

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{{Unreferenced stub|date=December 2009}}
{{Infobox_President
| name=Gyula Peidl
| image=Peidl Gyula.jpg
| nationality=[[Hungary|Hungarian]]
| order=[[List of Prime Ministers of Hungary|Prime Minister of the Hungarian Soviet Republic]]
| term_start=1 August 1919
| term_end=6 August 1919
| predecessor=[[Antal Dovcsák]]
| successor=[[István Friedrich]]
| order2=[[President of Hungary|Head of State of Hungary]] Acting
| term_start2=1 August 1919
| term_end2=6 August 1919
| predecessor2=[[Sándor Garbai]]
| successor2=[[Archduke Joseph August of Austria|Archduke Joseph August]]
| birth_date={{Birth date|1873|4|4|df=y}}
| birth_place=[[Ravazd]], [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungary]]
| death_date={{Death date and age|1943|1|22|1873|4|4|df=y}}
| death_place=[[Budapest]], [[Hungary]]
| spouse=
| party=[[Hungarian Social Democratic Party|MSZDP]]
| profession=[[politician]]
}}

'''Gyula Peidl''' (4 April 1873 – 22 January 1943) was a [[Hungary|Hungarian]] trade union leader and socialist politician who served briefly as the last prime minister and acting head of state of the [[Hungarian Soviet Republic]] in 1919.

In the six days his government ruled, he tried to minimize the damage caused to Hungary by [[communism|Communist]] rule. As [[Romania]]n troops advanced on [[Budapest]], he began to repeal and annul the unpopular decrees and measures of the Communists, restored private property, closed the [[revolutionary tribunal (Hungary)|revolutionary tribunal]]s and dissolved the Red Guards.

On 6 August 1919 his government was [[coup d'etat|overthrown]] by a rightist armed coup. Peidl went in exile in [[Austria]]. In 1921, Peidl returned to Hungary and resumed his political and trade union activities. From 1922 to 1931, he led the [[Hungarian Social Democratic Party]] in the Hungarian parliament.

Peidl died in Hungary in 1943.

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{{Succession box|title=[[List of heads of state of Hungary|Acting Head of State of Hungary]]|before=[[Sándor Garbai]]|after=[[Archduke Joseph August of Austria|Archduke Joseph]]|years=1919}}
{{Succession box|title=[[Prime Minister of Hungary]]|before=[[Antal Dovcsák]]|after=[[István Friedrich]]|years=1919}}
{{succession box|title=[[Minister of Finance of Hungary|Minister of Finance]]|before=[[Ferenc Miákits]]|after=[[János Grünn]]|years=1919}}

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{{Persondata 
| NAME =Peidl, Gyula
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH =4 April 1873
| PLACE OF BIRTH =[[Ravazd]], [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungary]]
| DATE OF DEATH =22 January 1943
| PLACE OF DEATH =[[Budapest]], [[Hungary]]
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peidl, Gyula}}
[[Category:1873 births]]
[[Category:1943 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Győr-Moson-Sopron County]]
[[Category:Prime Ministers of Hungary]]
[[Category:Finance ministers of Hungary]]
[[Category:Members of the Executive of the Labour and Socialist International]]

{{Hungary-politician-stub}}

[[es:Gyula Peidl]]
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[[it:Gyula Peidl]]
[[hu:Peidl Gyula]]
[[pl:Gyula Peidl]]
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[[ru:Пейдль, Дьюла]]

Thomas Alan Shippey

2009-01-12T22:49:07Z

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'''Thomas Alan Shippey''' (born [[9 September]] [[1943]]) is a scholar of [[medieval literature]], including [[Anglo-Saxon England]], and of modern [[fantasy]] and [[science fiction]], in particular the works of [[J. R. R. Tolkien]], about whom he has written several scholarly studies. He is widely considered one of the leading academic scholars on Tolkien. Shippey currently holds the
[[Walter J. Ong]] Chair of Humanities at [[Saint Louis University]]'s College of Arts and Sciences.

His work and life cross paths in many ways with that of Tolkien; like Tolkien, he attended [[King Edward's School, Birmingham]] in [[Birmingham]] and taught [[Old English language|Old English]] at [[Oxford University]]. He occupied Tolkien's former chair at the [[University of Leeds]].

In addition to writing books of his own, he has edited a number of collections, such as ''The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories'', and {{As of|2003|lc=on}} is the editor of the journal ''[[Studies in Medievalism]]''.

Under the pseudonym of John Holm, he is also the co-author (with [[Harry Harrison]]) of [[The Hammer and the Cross]] trilogy of [[alternate history (fiction)|alternate history]]/[[fantasy]] novels.

He may have been the "Tom Allen" who published the fantasy story "King, Dragon" in the anthology "Andromeda 2" edited by Peter Weston in 1977.

== Books ==
* ''Old English Verse'' (London: Hutchinson's, 1972)
* ''Poems of Wisdom and Learning in Old English'' (Cambridge: [[D.S. Brewer, Ltd.]], 1976; 2nd ed., 1977)
* ''Beowulf''. Arnold's Studies in English Literature series (London, 1978).
* ''The Road to Middle-earth'' (London: [[Allen & Unwin]], 1982; Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1983), 2nd ed. (London: Harper Collins, 1993), also Revised and Expanded edition (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003)
* ''J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century'' (London: [[Harper Collins]], 2000; [[Houghton Mifflin]], Boston, 2001)
* ''Roots and Branches: Selected Papers on Tolkien'' (Zurich and Berne: [[Walking Tree Publishers]], Cormarë Series 11, 2007, ISBN 978-3-905703-05-4)

==External links==
* [http://www.slu.edu/colleges/AS/ENG/faculty/shippey.html Tom Shippey page at Saint Louis University]
*{{isfdb name}}
*{{TolkienGateway}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shippey, Tom}}
[[Category:British academics]]
[[Category:British linguists]]
[[Category:British literary critics]]
[[Category:Literary collaborators]]
[[Category:Saint Louis University faculty]]
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Tolkien studies]]
[[Category:Science fiction critics]]
[[Category:Anglo-Saxon studies scholars]]

[[es:Tom Shippey]]
[[it:Tom Shippey]]
[[pl:Tom Shippey]]

John Hales (Politiker)

2009-01-12T18:58:03Z

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{{otherpeople|John Hales}}

'''John Hales''' (Hayles) (died [[28 December]] [[1571]]), was an English writer and politician

He was a son of Thomas Hales of Hales Place, [[Halden]], [[Kent]]. He wrote his ''Highway to Nobility'' about 1543, and was the founder of a free school at [[Coventry]] for which he wrote ''Introductiones ad grammaticam''. In political life Hales, who was member of parliament for [[Preston]], was specially concerned with opposing the [[Enclosure|enclosure of land]], being the most active of the commissioners appointed in 1548 to redress this evil; but he failed to carry several remedial measures through parliament.

When the protector, [[Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset]], was deprived of his authority in 1550, Hales left England and lived for some time at [[Strassburg]] and [[Frankfort]], returning to his own country on the accession of [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]]. However he soon lost the royal favour by writing a pamphlet, ''A Declaration of the Succession of the Crowne Imperiall of Inglande'', which declared that the recent marriage between [[Lady Catherine Grey]] and [[Edward Seymour, earl of Hertford]], was legitimate, and asserted that, failing direct heirs to Elizabeth, the English crown should come to Lady Catherine as the descendant of Mary, daughter of [[Henry VII of England]].

Hales was imprisoned, but was quickly released.

The ''Discourse of the Common Weal'', described as "one of the most informing documents of the age," and written about 1549, has been attributed to Hales. This work has been edited by E. Lamond (Cambridge, 1893).

Hales is often confused with another John Hales, who was [[clerk of the hanaper]] under Henry VIII, and his three immediate successors.

==External links==
*{{worldcat id|lccn-n85-310586}}
*{{1911}} [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Hales Source]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hales, John}}
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:1571 deaths]]
[[Category:English political writers]]
[[Category:English politicians]]
[[Category:Tudor people]]

Nicholas Serota

2008-09-09T19:05:21Z

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[[Image:2006, Stuckist Turner Prize demo 2006 (1) crop.jpg|thumb|Sir Nicholas Serota]]
'''Sir Nicholas Andrew Serota''' (born [[27 April]] [[1946]]) is a [[United Kingdom|British]] art [[curator]]. He was director of the [[Whitechapel Gallery]], London, and [[Modern Art Oxford|The Museum of Modern Art, Oxford]], before becoming director of the [[Tate Gallery]], the United Kingdom's national gallery of modern and British art in 1988. He was awarded a [[knighthood]] in 1999.<ref name=honours>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1998/12/98/new_year_honours/245096.stm "Major leads honours list for peace"], BBC, [[31 December]] [[1998]]. Retrieved [[14 April]] [[2007]]</ref> He is the usual chairman of the [[Turner Prize]] jury, and was the driving force behind the creation of [[Tate Modern]], which opened in 2000. In 2006, the Tate was censured by the [[Charity Commission]] over purchases of its trustees' work.<ref name=reynolds>Reynolds, Nigel. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/07/19/ntate19.xml "Tate broke charity laws by buying art from its trustees"], ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', [[21 July]] [[2006]]. Retrieved [[22 April]] [[2008]].</ref>

==Early life==
[[Image:ModernArtOxford.jpg|thumb|[[Modern Art Oxford]]]]
Nicholas Serota, the son of Stanley and [[Beatrice Serota, Baroness Serota|Beatrice Serota]], grew up in [[Hampstead]], North London. His father was a civil engineer and his mother a [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] Minister for Health in [[Harold Wilson]]'s government, later becoming a life [[peer]] and governor of the [[BBC]]. Serota was educated at [[Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School|Haberdashers' Aske's School]] and then read Economics at the [[University of Cambridge]] ([[Christ's College, Cambridge|Christ's]]), before switching to [[History of Art]]. He completed a Masters degree at the [[Courtauld Institute of Art]], [[University of London]], under the supervision of [[Anthony Blunt]] and [[Anita Brookner]]; his thesis was on the work of [[J. M. W. Turner]].

In 1969, Serota became Chairman of the new Young Friends of the Tate organisation with a membership of 750 in a building in Pear Place, south of [[Waterloo Bridge]], arranging lectures and Saturday painting classes for local children. The Young Friends staged their own shows and applied for an [[Arts Council of Great Britain|Arts Council]] grant, but were asked to desist by the Tate Chairman and Trustees, who were concerned with the appearance of official backing for these ventures. Serota and his committee resigned, which caused the end of the Young Friends, whose accommodation was taken over for rehearsals by the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]].<ref name=spalding150>Spalding, Frances (1998). ''The Tate: A History'', pp. 150–151. Tate Gallery Publishing, London. ISBN 1 85437 231 9.</ref>

In 1970, he joined the [[Arts Council|Arts Council of Great Britain]]'s Visual Arts Department as a regional exhibitions officer, and in 1973 he was made Director of the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford (now [[Modern Art Oxford]]. There he organised an important early exhibition of work by [[Joseph Beuys]] and formed an important working relationship with [[Alexander "Sandy" Nairne]], who would work with Serota at various points in the following years.

==Whitechapel directorship==
[[Image:Whitechapel art gallery 1.jpg|thumb|[[Whitechapel Gallery]]]]
In 1976, Serota was appointed Director of the [[Whitechapel Gallery]] in London's East End. The Whitechapel was well regarded but had suffered from lack of resources, and during his Directorship it was possible to organise only a limited number of major exhibitions a year. Serota assembled at the Whitechapel a staff including Jenni Lomax (later Director of the [[Camden Arts Centre]]) and Susan Ferlegler Brades (later Director of the [[Hayward Gallery]]), and organised influential exhibitions of [[Carl Andre]] and [[Gerhard Richter]] as well as early exhibitions of then emerging artists such as [[Antony Gormley]]. In 1980, assisted by [[Alexander "Sandy" Nairne]] , he organised a two-part exhibition of 20th Century British Sculpture, on a scale which had not been seen in the UK before. In 1981 he curated 'The New Spirit in Painting', with [[Norman Rosenthal]] for the [[Royal Academy]].

The shows, where Serota was helped by his very capable administrator Loveday Shewell, often received adverse reviews in the press, which reacted with an instinctive dislike for contemporary [[avant-garde]] art. Thus Serota remained somewhat distanced from the English [[The Establishment|establishment]], although developing a growing reputation internationally in the art world.<ref name=spalding245>Spalding, Frances (1998). ''The Tate: A History'', pp. 245–252. Tate Gallery Publishing, London. ISBN 1 85437 231 9.</ref>

In 1984-5 Serota took the bold step of shutting down the Whitechapel for over 12 months for extensive refurbishment. A strip of land had been acquired, which allowed a design by architects Colquhoun and Miller for a first-floor gallery, restaurant, lecture theatre and other rooms. <ref name=spalding245/> Although receiving wide approbation, the scheme was in deficit by £250,000. In 1987 Serota raised £1.4m in an auction of work, which he had asked artists to donate, thus not only paying off the debt, but creating an endowment fund to allow future exhibitions of more unconventional work, unlikely to attract a commercial sponsor. The success of this was instrumental in Serota's appointment in 1988 as Director of the Tate Gallery.<ref name=spalding245/>

==Tate directorship==
[[Image:Tate Britain Gallery.JPG|thumb|[[Tate Britain]], previously the Tate Gallery]]

The short-listed candidates for the Tate Directorship, who included [[Norman Rosenthal]] and [[Julian Spalding]], were asked to prepare a seven-year scheme for the Tate. Serota's submission, on two sides of A4 paper, was titled "Grasping the Nettle". It analysed the various areas of Tate work and proposed future stratagems to deal with the imminent crisis caused by restricted government financial support, changing public sector management expectations and increasing art market prices. He saw many areas of the Tate's operations in need of overhaul, and concluded that the gallery was loved, but not respected enough.<ref name=spalding245/> Tate Chairman, [[Richard Rogers]] considered this by far the best proposal submitted.<ref name=spalding245/>

News of Serota's appointment as Tate Director was received enthusiastially by [[Howard Hodgkin]], who wrote in ''[[The Sunday Times]]'', "Nick Serota has enormous energy and demonstrated at the Whitechapel a tremendous sense of diplomacy. He is a passionate man, and indeed is quite unusual in this country in his commitment to modern painting and sculpture."<ref name=spalding245/> In contrast, [[Peter Fuller]] made a scathing attack in ''[[Modern Painters (magazine)|Modern Painters]]'' magazine, saying that Serota would be incapable, by temperament and ability, to maintain the Tate's historic collection.<ref name=spalding245/>

There was an interval of nine months before Serota took over at the Tate, during which time he was still employed by the Whitechapel Gallery and met monthly with the incumbent Tate Director, [[Alan Bowness]], as well as arranging some informal study groups with the Tate Chairman, Richard Rogers. Serota's first Board meeting as Director was in September 1988, and one of his first activities—acknowledging the importance of artists' involvement for the success of the gallery—was an artists' party with a private viewing of the ''Late Picasso'' exhibition, which some artists had told him they had not had a chance to view properly.<ref name=spalding245/>

In January 1989, the Tate Chairmanship passed to [[Dennis Stevenson]], who had become a Trustee three weeks after Serota assumed office, although initially rejected by [[Margaret Thatcher]] who disliked Stevenson's liberal views. She was won round by [[Timothy Bell, Baron Bell |Tim Bell]], former Chairman of [[Saatchi and Saatchi]], who had been contacted by [[Mark Weinberg]] at Serota's request. Stevenson delegated more authority to the Director for acquisitions, which he saw as personal value judgements, than had previously been the case, although trustees (particularly artist trustees) were expected to express their views. Serota worked with Stevenson to create an efficient organisation, including departmental demarcation, a monthly Management Board to review policy, and improved records with computerisation, as well as the appointment of a Deputy Director, former banker Francis Carnwarth, to renovate accounting, which was still being done by hand and failed to provide the Trustees with an annual breakdown.<ref name=spalding245/>

The Tate Gallery that Serota took over was in a perilous state.{{fact|date=April 2008}} The UK Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]] had declared a policy that the arts would be subject to market forces. Although the Tate Gallery received a government grant, it was not enough to provide for major purchases, especially at a time when the art market was inflated, as it was in the late 1980s. Moreover, the Tate Gallery was in need of expansion, as the existing exhibition space could show only 10% of the collection. The opening of the [[Clore Wing]] (1987) and of affiliate galleries [[Tate Liverpool]] (1988) and [[Tate St Ives]] (1993) helped to alleviate the problem.

In 1989 Serota inaugurated a programme called 'New Displays' in which the central Duveen Galleries were restored and collection works were rotated. A more ambitious programme of special exhibitions was started with 'Late [[Rothko]]' in 1988, and the [[Turner Prize]] was redefined as a showcase for emerging contemporary art (Serota was then chairman of the judging panel for the prize until 2007).

In 1992, he was offered the directorship of the New York [[Museum of Modern Art]], but turned it down.<ref>Golman, Andrew. [http://www.observer.com/node/43020 "Hey! What's the Big Deal at MoMA?"], ''[[The New York Observer]]'', [[4 June]] [[2000]]. Retrieved [[3 May]] [[2008]].</ref>

[[Image:Tate-modern-london.jpg|thumb|left|[[Tate Modern]]]]
Major expansion of the Tate Gallery had been seen as inevitable for two decades. In 1993 the creation of the [[National Lottery]] made it possible to anticipate the availability of major public funding for an enlarged Gallery. In 1995 Tate received £52 Million towards the conversion of the former [[Bankside]] Power Station to create [[Tate Modern]]. The final cost was £150 million; Serota managed to secure the funds to make up the shortfall from a range of private sources. Tate Modern opened in May 2000 and quickly became a sightseeing fixture of London. As well as housing acclaimed new works by [[Louise Bourgeois]] and [[Anish Kapoor]], the Gallery has also provided the base for successful exhibitions of [[Donald Judd]], [[Picasso]], [[Matisse]] and [[Edward Hopper]].

On [[21 November]] [[2000]], Serota gave the [[Richard Dimbleby Lecture|Dimbleby Lecture]] in London. He started it by telling of a 1987 Civil Service enquiry which ranked the pay of the Tate Gallery director with that of larger museums such as the [[National Gallery (London)|National Gallery]], because the former "has to deal with the very difficult problem of modern art."<ref name=dimbleby>Serota, Sir Nicholas. [http://web.archive.org/web/20010306001212/http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/news_comment/dimbleby.shtml "The Dimbleby lecture 2000: Who's Afraid of Modern Art"], [[BBC]], [[6 March]] [[2001]]. Retrieved from web.archive.org, [[8 July]] [[2008]].</ref> He explained this:
{{cquote|For in spite of much greater public interest in all aspects of visual culture, including design and architecture, the challenge posed by contemporary art has not evaporated. We have only to recall the headlines for last year's Turner Prize. "Eminence without merit" (The Sunday Telegraph). "Tate trendies blow a raspberry" (Eastern Daily Press), and my favourite, "For 1,000 years art has been one of our great civilising forces. Today, pickled sheep and soiled bed threaten to make barbarians of us all" (The Daily Mail). Are these papers speaking the minds of their readers? I have no delusions. People may be attracted by the spectacle of new buildings, they may enjoy the social experience of visiting a museum, taking in the view, an espresso or glass of wine, purchasing a book or an artist designed t-shirt. Many are delighted to praise the museum, but remain deeply suspicious of the contents.<ref name=dimbleby/>}}

In 1998, Serota conceived [[Frankfurt art theft (1994)|''Operation Cobalt'']], the secret buyback of two of Tate's paintings by [[J. M. W. Turner]] that had been stolen from a German gallery in 1994. The paintings were recovered in [[2000]] and [[2002]], resulting in a profit of several million pounds for Tate.

Serota was awarded a [[Knighthood]] in 1999.<ref name=honours/>

In 2001, [[Stuart Pearson Wright]], winner of that year's [[BP Portrait Award]], said that Serota should be sacked, because of his advocacy of [[conceptual art]] and neglect of [[figurative painting]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1397582.stm "Winning artist slams Tate director"], [[BBC]], [[20 June]] [[2001]]. Retrieved [[8 July]] [[2008]].</ref>

In November 2004, in an interview in ''[[The Art Newspaper]]'', [[Charles Saatchi]] said that the previous year he had phoned Serota and offered to donate his entire £200m collection to the Tate, including key works by [[Damien Hirst]], [[Tracey Emin]] and other [[Young British Artists]], which the Tate was in need of but lacked funds to buy.<ref name=barkham>Barkham, Patrick. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2004/nov/29/artsfunding.arts "It may be art. But is it really a gift?"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', [[29 November]] [[2004]]. Retrieved [[8 July]] [[2008]].</ref> Saatchi said that he had been told by Serota in 2000 that planned extensions to Tate Modern would add 50% extra display capacity, but that this had been allocated by the time of his offer, necessitating its rejection.<ref name=barkham/> Serota's spokeswoman said that Saatchi's suggestion was to "move displays of his collection from County Hall to the derelict 'oil tank' spaces at Tate Modern," (which could not be renovated without major expenditure) and that "At no point was there any suggestion that the collection was being offered as a gift to the Tate", nor was there any possibility that Serota had misunderstood the conversation.<ref name=barkham/> Serota informed the Tate Chairman of the phone call, but some other trustees were unaware of it.<ref name=barkham/>

[[Image:Stuckists-Walker-Serota.jpg|thumb|[[Charles Thomson (artist)|Charles Thomson]], [[John Bourne (artist)|John Bourne]], Sir Nicholas Serota and [[Joe Machine]] at the ''[[The Stuckists Punk Victorian]]'' show at the [[Walker Art Gallery]], [[Liverpool]], on [[September 17]], [[2004]].]]
Since its formation in 1999, the [[Stuckism|Stuckist]] art group has campaigned against Serota,<ref>Cassidy, Sarah. [http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article1221073.ece "Stuckists, scourge of BritArt, put on their own exhibition"], ''[[The Independent]]'', 23 August 2006. Retrieved [[6 July]] [[2008]].</ref>
who is the subject of group's co-founder [[Charles Thomson (artist)|Charles Thomson's]] satirical painting ''[[Sir Nicholas Serota Makes an Acquisitions Decision]]'' (2000), one of the best known Stuckist works.<ref name=cripps>Cripps, Charlotte. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20040907/ai_n12797891 "Visual arts: Saying knickers to Sir Nicholas], ''[[The Independent]]'', [[7 September]] [[2004]]. Retrieved from findarticles.com, [[7 April]] [[2008]].</ref> He was dubbed the "least likely visitor" to ''[[The Stuckists Punk Victorian]]'' show at the [[Walker Art Gallery]] in 2004, <ref>Wright, Michael. [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article994648.ece "Culture: Agenda"], ''[[The Sunday Times]]'', [[18 January]] [[2004]]. Retrieved [[7 July]] [[2008]].</ref>, which included a wall of work satirising him and the Tate, including Thomson's painting.<ref>Taylor, John Russell. [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article487759.ece "Lord have Mersey"], ''[[The Times]]'', [[29 September]] [[2004]]. Retrieved [[22 March]] [[2008]].</ref> In fact, he did visit and met the artists, describing the work as "lively".<ref name=pia>Pia, Simon. "Simon Pia's Diary: Now the Stuckists are on the move", ''[[The Scotsman]]'', p.22, [[22 September]] [[2004]]. Retrieved from [http://www.newsuk.co.uk newsuk], [[15 March]] [[2008]].</ref>

In 2005, the Stuckists offered 160 paintings from the Walker show as a donation to the Tate. Serota rejected this on the grounds that the work was not of "sufficient quality in terms of accomplishment, innovation or originality of thought to warrant preservation in perpetuity in the national collection", and was accused of "snubbing one of Britain’s foremost collections".<ref name=rejects>Alberge, Dalya. [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1710820,00.html "Tate rejects £500,000 gift from 'unoriginal' Stuckists"], ''[[The Times]]'', [[28 July]] [[2005]]. Retrieved [[1 February]] [[2008]].</ref> The rejection galvanised the Stuckists into a media campaign over the Tate's purchase of its trustee [[Chris Ofili]]'s work, ''[[Tate's purchase of The Upper Room|The Upper Room]]''.<ref name=punks>[http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,1664698,00.html "How Ageing Art Punks Got Stuck into Tate's Serota", The Observer, [[December 11]] [[2005]]] Retrieved [[1 February]] [[2008]]</ref>

In September 2005, Serota wrote to the [[Department of Culture, Media and Sport]] (DCMS), assuring them that this purchase of a serving trustee's work was "exceptional" and had happened on only one other occasion.<ref name=disregarded>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article591733.ece "Tate Disregarded Official Advice in Buying Trustee Art" The Times, [[November 19]] [[2005]]] Retrieved [[March 23]] [[2006]]</ref> [[David Lee (art critic)|David Lee]], editor of ''The Jackdaw'' magazine, showed that the Tate had acquired work by six serving artist trustees, in one case 50 works.<ref name=disregarded/> ''[[The Art Newspaper]]'' pointed out that work had been acquired by every serving artist trustee during Serota's tenure.<ref>Bailey, Martin. ''[[The Art Newspaper]]'', no. 164, December 2005, p. 19.</ref>

In December 2005, Serota admitted that he had filled in with false information an application form to the [[National Art Collections Fund|Art Fund]] (NACF) for a £75,000 grant towards buying the work, stating that the Tate had made no commitment to purchase the work (a requirement of the grant), whereas they had in fact already paid a first instalment of £250,000 several months previously. He attributed this to "a failing in his head". The NACF allowed the Tate to keep the grant.<ref name=rules>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/12/18/ntate18.xml "Tate Broke Own Rules on Ofili Buy" The Sunday Telegraph, [[December 18]] [[2006]]] Retrieved [[March 23]] [[2006]]</ref>

In 2006 the [[Charity Commission]] ruled the Tate had broken charity law (but not the criminal law)<ref name=reynolds/> over the purchase and similar trustee purchases, including ones made before Serota's Directorship.<ref>Higgins, Charlotte. [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1823781,00.html "How the Tate broke the law in buying a £600,000 Ofili work"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', [[19 July]] [[2006]]. Retrieved [[1 February]] [[2008]]</ref> ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' called the verdict "one of the most serious indictments of the running of one of the nation's major cultural institutions in living memory."<ref name=reynolds/> In April 2008, Thomson started a petition<ref> [http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/tatedirector/ 10 Downing Street E-petitions, Submitted by Charles Thomson of Stuckists ]</ref> on the Prime Minister's web site against Serota's Tate directorship.<ref>Duff Oliver, [http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/columnists/pandora/pandora-miliband-meets-his-match-814756.html "Blades out for Serota in petition to No 10"], ''[[The Independent]]'', [[24 April]] [[2008]]. Retrieved [[3 May]] [[2008]].</ref>

==Personal life==

Serota's first wife was [[ballet]] dancer [[Angela Beveridge]]. They married in 1973 and had two daughters. Serota married his second wife, Teresa Gleadowe, in 1997.

==Notes and references==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/saturday_review/story/0,,212877,00.html Profile] in ''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper (2000)
* [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1483005,00.html Profile] in ''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper (2005)
 
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{{succession box | before=[[Alan Bowness]] | title=Director of the Tate Gallery | years=1988– | after=Current incumbent}}
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{{Tate}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Serota, Nicholas}}
[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:British curators]]
[[Category:Directors of the Tate Gallery]]
[[Category:Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art]]
[[Category:British knights]]
[[Category:British Jews]]
[[Category:Old Haberdashers]]