In 1890 Sir Henry Tate, the owner of a large sugar refinery in Liverpool, left his art collection to the nation on condition that the Government found a suitable site for gallery.

The Tate Gallery, designed by Sidney Smith, was opened at Millbank in 1897. It had eight galleries and housed sixty-five paintings donated by Sir Henry Tate. In 1910 a new wing was built to accommodate a large number of paintings given to the gallery by Alfred Stevens.