The Patrons of British Art were formed in 1986 to support Tate's role as the national collection of British art. Membership subscriptions are used to acquire British art from the sixteenth century to the present. Among works presented by the Patrons of British Art since 1986 are paintings by William Blake, Spencer Gore, Sir Thomas Lawrence and C R W Nevinson, and sculptures by Thomas Woolner and Paule Vézelay.

Established in 1982, the Patrons of New Art support Tate's collection of contemporary art through a wide range of acquisitions of work by artists of international repute. Many of the works they have presented make use of new media and technologies. Among the artists whose work the Patrons have acquired are Absalon, Doris Salcedo, Bill Viola, Jeff Wall, and Rachel Whiteread. The Patrons' Special Purchase Fund acquires work by younger artists, many of whom were previously unrepresented in Tate's collection.