Encounter the human form – in all its complexity – in The Body Laid Bare: Masterpieces from Tate, Auckland Art Gallery’s major exhibition for 2017.
Beautiful, sensual and at times provocative, more than 100 artworks from Tate, London, tell the story of the nude and trace artists’ captivation with the human body over the last two centuries.
Journeying through time, from the classical, biblical and literary subjects of the 1800s to the body politics of contemporary art, The Body Laid Bare brings together masterpieces by renowned artists including JMW Turner, Auguste Rodin, Pierre Bonnard, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Louise Bourgeois, Cindy Sherman, Sarah Lucas and many more.
At the heart of the show is Auguste Rodin’s marble sculpture The Kiss which – although celebrated worldwide – is travelling beyond Europe for the first time. Other renowned works include Picasso’s Nude woman in a red chair (1932) and Bonnard’s The bath (1925).
This exhibition originated at the Art Gallery of New South Wales as a co-curated collaboration with Tate.
📷 Auguste Rodin, The Kiss 1901–4 (detail)
Tate: Purchased with assistance from the Art Fund and public contributions 1953. Image: © Tate, London 2017
Henri Matisse
Draped Nude 1936
Tate: Purchased 1959
© Succession H. Matisse/Licensed by Viscopy, 2017
Image: © Tate, London 2017
Tickets
Any-day admission – includes free exhibition brochure and entry to daily pop-up tours at 1pm and 3pm
General admission $23
Earlybird tickets $18
Concession $18
(Community Services Card holders, Seniors, Students with ID)
Children 12 and under FREE
(must be accompanied by an adult)
Members FREE – Become a Member
Adult groups
Booked guided tours for adult groups of 10 or more $20
(per person; must be booked two weeks in advance)
Partner offers
Rialto Cinemas Cine Buzz members $18
Delegates at Auckland Conventions’ venues $18
Open Late events
Open Late general admission $30
(4 April, 2 May, 13 June)
How to book
In advance
We're partnering with Eventfinda to offer online ticket sales for The Body Laid Bare.
On the day
You can also buy tickets on any day of the exhibition (Saturday 18 March – Sunday 16 July 2017) from the Gallery's information desk.
More information
Prices include GST. Booking and delivery fees, where charged, are additional to the admission price.
There is no entry charge for children aged 12 or under.
Auckland Art Gallery Members go FREE. Present your membership card at the information desk on the day of your visit and you will be issued with a ticket to the exhibition. Members with guest passes may also bring their guests for FREE.
Visitors receive one hour's free parking at Auckland Transport's Victoria Street car park when visiting on weekends – simply validate your parking ticket at our information desk before you leave.
Events
Our rich programme of special events is designed to complement your visit. Discover the history of the nude in art, uncover the personal stories behind the artworks, see and hear from New Zealand’s sharpest thinkers, and experience The Body Laid Bare after dark during our series of Open Late events. We're also offering free pop up themed tours of the exhibition at 1pm and 3pm daily.
...in its totality The Body Laid Bare is a hymn of praise to art’s greatest subject: us.
Hamish Coney, Newsroom
Visit
Groups
Adult groups
Booked guided tours for adult groups of 10 or more should be booked at least two weeks in advance of your visit by emailing us with the details of your group, group size and preferred date(s) and time(s) of visit. Tours will last one hour and include admission into the exhibition. Concession pricing and Member discounts do not apply. Payment can be made at the Gallery's front desk on the day of your visit.
Unguided adult groups of 10 or more should also be booked at least two weeks in advance of your visit by emailing us with the details of your group, group size and preferred date(s) and time(s) of visit. Any-day admission pricing applies. Booking is strongly recommended and booked groups will be prioritised. Large groups will be admitted into the exhibition in smaller groups.
Education groups
All education group visits to The Body Laid Bare for 10 or more people should be booked at least two weeks in advance of your visit by emailing education@aucklandartgallery.com and must be confirmed by the Gallery in writing. For full details of adult group visits, as well as links to our programmes tailored to primary, secondary, tertiary and ESOL education groups, see below. Booked groups will be prioritised. Large groups will be admitted into the exhibition in smaller groups.
To make a booking, email us.
Early childhood, primary, secondary and tertiary education group bookings
Nudity is depicted in this exhibition so guidance from a parent or guardian is recommended for younger viewers. Please contact us if you have any questions.
For all education groups participating in the Gallery’s facilitated schools programmes that feature a visit to The Body Laid Bare:
Early childhood groups FREE
Primary school groups FREE
Secondary school groups $10
Tertiary and ESOL groups $10
Teacher/helper-to-student ratios apply. Teachers/helpers up to the required ratio pay the student rate; teachers/helpers above the required ratio pay any-day admission rates.
Facilitated education programmes
Education groups that study a specific or limited number of artworks in The Body Laid Bare as part of a broader education programme will be charged the usual price for the schools programme in which they are participating. For details of these programmes, visit our Primary and Secondary pages and look out for references to The Body Laid Bare.
Photography
Photography and filming is not permitted in The Body Laid Bare, so please keep your camera or your smartphone in your pocket. View the Gallery's full photography policy.
Philip Wilson Steer
Seated Nude: The Black Hat c.1900
Tate: Presented by the Contemporary Art Society 1941
Image: © Tate, London 2017
Extras
Shop
Visit our shop on the ground level or online for gifts inspired by The Body Laid Bare. Delve into designer items, including homewares and ceramics featuring the work of the Guerrilla Girls and Louise Bourgeois and toiletries by Aesop and Petalhead, or search out our limited-edition jewellery and tote bags. Alongside life-drawing supplies, postcards and prints of key artworks from the exhibition and more, you could also pick up a copy of Nude: art from the Tate collection, the exhibition’s companion book.
Henri Matisse
Pacific Bodies
On the occasion of The Body Laid Bare, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and British Council invited New Zealand artists of Pacific heritage to offer a counter-narrative to the themes of the exhibition.
Video
Interviews with Emma Chambers, Curator Modern British Art at Tate
FAQs
The Body Laid Bare: Masterpieces from Tate is on show at Auckland Art Gallery from Saturday 18 March – Sunday 16 July 2017. The exhibition is open during normal Gallery hours, 10am–5pm with the exception of our Open Late events on 4 April, 2 May and 13 June when it will be open 6–10pm.
Alma-Tadema, Sir Lawrence
Archipenko, Alexander
Bacon, Francis
Bell, Vanessa
Bellmer, Hans
Bonnard, Pierre
Bourgeois, Louise
Brown, Cecily
Colquhoun, Ithell
Coplans, John
Currin, John
De Chirco, Georgio
De Kooning, William
Degas, Edgar
Delvaux, Paul
Dijkstra, Rineke
Draper, Herbet
Dumas, Marlene
Emin, Tracey
Etty, William
Ernst, Max
Freud, Lucian
Fuseli, Henry
Gaudier Drzeska, Henri
Giacometti, Alberto
Gilbert, Sir Alfred
Grant, Duncan
Gruber, Francis
Guerrilla Girls
Highmore, Joseph
Helion, Jean
Hendricks, Barkley L.
Hepworth, Dame Barbara
Hockney, David
John, Gwen
Klossowski de Rola, Balthus
Leighton, Frederic
Linder
Lewis, Wyndham
Matisse, Henri
Merritt, Anna Lea
Millais, Sir John Everett
Moore, Henry
Mulready, Willam
Neel, Alice
Nevinson, CRW
Picasso, Pablo
Ray, Man
Roberts, William
Rodin, Auguste
Schmidt-Rottluff, Karl
Sherman, Cindy
Sickert, Walter Richard
Sleigh, Sylvia
Smith, Sir Matthew
Spence, Jo
Spencer, Sir Stanley
Steer, Philip Wilson
Stevens, Alfred
Strang, William
Thornycroft, Sir Hamo
Turner, JMW
Wilke, Hannah
Wojnarowicz, David
The Body Laid Bare is located on Level 1. Download a map of the Gallery.
In advance
We're partnering with Eventfinda to offer online ticket sales for The Body Laid Bare.
On the day
You can also buy tickets on any day of the exhibition (Saturday 18 March – Sunday 16 July 2017) from the Gallery's information desk.
Children aged 12 and under are FREE. Please note that children aged under 14 must be accompanied by an adult.
Gallery Members receive free unlimited entry to The Body Laid Bare and all ticketed exhibitions at Auckland Art Gallery.
Yes. Bookings for groups of 10 or more people should be made in advance by emailing education@aucklandartgallery.com with the details of your group, group size and preferred date(s) and time(s) of visit.
Booked groups will be prioritised.
For online tickets, Eventfinda's standard terms and conditions apply.
Any-day tickets provide you with exhibition admission on a single day only, but you may visit the exhibition more than once during that day. Open Late tickets are only valid on the evening of the event for which they have been purchased.
Auckland Art Gallery Members and Members Guests receive FREE unlimited entry to The Body Laid Bare.
All with entry to the exhibition, your ticket price includes a free exhibition brochure and access to the daily pop-up tours which are offered at 1pm and 3pm.
Your ticket price contributes to the costs involved in bringing an international exhibition of this scale and calibre to New Zealand.
No. Entry to Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is free. All other exhibitions, the Todd Foundation Creative Learning Centre and the E H McCormick Research Library remain free of charge.
We recommend allowing at least 60 minutes to view The Body Laid Bare. Last entry will be at 4pm daily.
Yes, The Body Laid Bare is accompanied by a special visitor programme. See What’s on for more details. You can also subscribe to our fortnightly enewsletter to receive the latest information on upcoming events straight to your email inbox – sign up at the bottom of any page on our website.
We provide everyone with a free visitor guide to the exhibition to help you get the most from your visit.
Free pop-up themed tours of The Body Laid Bare will also be offered at 1pm and 3pm daily as part of our programme of special events. Tour themes:
- Heart Laid Bare
- Dream Laid Bare
- The Soul Laid Bare
If you are an adult group of 10 or more, you may also book a longer, guided tour of the exhibition. Tours should be booked at least two weeks in advance of your visit by emailing us with the details of your group, group size and preferred date(s) and time(s) of visit. Tours will last one hour and include admission into the exhibition. Concession pricing and Member discounts do not apply. Payment can be made at the Gallery's front desk on the day of your visit.
Nude: Art from the Tate Collection is SOLD OUT. Published by the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the 224-page book is split up into eight sections and features introductory essays by Emma Chambers (curator, modern British art at Tate, London) and Justin Paton (head of international art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney).
No. Photography and filming is not permitted in The Body Laid Bare due to copyright restrictions, so please keep your camera or your smartphone in your pocket. View the Gallery's full photography policy.
Families with children of all ages are very welcome, although due to the nature of some of the content in the exhibition, parental guidance is advised.
Children aged 12 and under go FREE to The Body Laid Bare.
Please note we don't allow food or drink in the exhibition and ask that you don't touch the artworks.
After viewing the exhibition, extend your visit with a trip to Todd Foundation Learning Centre exhibition Once Upon a Time in Art or join a Family drop-in on Saturdays from 1–3pm.
We recommend Auckland Transport's Victoria Street carpark which is located a few hundred metres up the road from the Gallery.
Visitors receive one hour's free parking when visiting on weekends – simply validate your parking ticket at our information desk before you leave.
The Auckland exhibition is your only chance to see The Body Laid Bare in New Zealand.