Author Philip Hoare takes the reader on an exploration of the sea and the way it has provided a deep source of inspiration for artists featured in the Tate collection, from William Blake to Maggi Hambling. Artists have always seen the sea as a mirror of their anxieties and desires; an endless resource for their creativity and their dreams. Under our human sway, the sea has shifted in meaning, from creation myth to economic wealth, from mystic wonder to modern exploitation. “Look Again: The Sea” dives into the breadth of historical and contemporary works in Britain’s national collection of art, as well as the beloved literature they have inspired. “Look Again” is a series of short books from Tate Publishing, opening up the conversation about British art over the last 500 years, and exploring what art has to tell us about our lives today.

“Where did the sea begin? In the past, or in our heads? How can we talk about something that has no colour, form or shape of its own, only an echo of the clouds or the sky?”

“Phrenology” 2009 by Angela Cockayne in the book and in the Sea Library

Philip Hoare “Look Again: The Sea”. Published by Tate Publishing in 2022. Donated to the library by the publisher ❤️

Photos by Anna Iltnere / Sea Library