The Tate Art Lark

Charles Thomson, Stuckist co-founder, has been delving into Tate's 07/08 report (CLICK) and has exposed a secret: the Tate paid £1,500,000 for Jake & Dinos Chapman's The Chapman Family Collection (2002) which it could have bought for a mere £1m if it had got its finger out. The Chapman's installation of 34 faux-African sculptures sporting MacDonald's chips and milk shakes - example shown - was shortlisted for the Turner Prize. Yes, that's how bad it is! Charles Saatchi snapped it up for a reported £1m. The White Cube gallery took its commission for the sale, percentage unknown. The Tate subsequently bought the installation for £1.5m, giving Saatchi a quick profit of £500,000. The Art Fund contributed £200,000 toward buying the Chapman's hokum from White Cube (Eh?) to "save" the installation (CLICK). From what? Saatchi? In effect, the Art Fund paid £200,000 to help move the installation a few miles down the road from one London art gallery to another: from the Saatchi Gallery to the Tate. Lost? Stop thinking "art". This is the Tate Art Lark. Charles Thomson is now calling for an investigation.