Art draws in the crowds

Tate Modern, the National Gallery and the V&A were among the most popular visitor attractions in the UK in 2012, according to figures published by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions. A Damien Hirst retrospective is believed to have helped Tate Modern increase visitors by 9% to become the country’s 2nd most popular attraction, while a Lucian Freud exhibition pushed the National Portrait Gallery into 8th place, with a 12% increase in numbers. However, despite a 4.9% drop in visitor numbers, the British Museum retained its top spot for the sixth year running with 5.5m people through the doors, and Grayson Perry’s ‘The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman’ proving a popular draw. Outside of London, the Museum of Liverpool was the most popular attraction; Tate Liverpool saw a visitor increase of 6%; and the Walker Gallery credited the exhibition ‘Rolf Harris: Can you tell what it is yet?’ for its 40% visitor increase. Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum was the most popular combined Art Gallery and Museum in the UK, achieving a 5.8% increase with just over 1m visitors.