Tate Britain and British Petroleum have organized another British Art exhibition in London. The display, available to the public free of charge, comprises of about 500 masterpieces created by major and less familiar British artists at different times within the past five centuries up to the modern times.

The exhibition, opened in London from May 14 through November, features legendary paintings by Francis Bacon, John Constable, William Hogarth, Thomas Gainsborough, J.M.W. Turner, Bridget Riley, Damien Hirst to name but a few. The collection makes up a visual narration, which unfolds room by room across 20 galleries. The exhibition is organised to highlight different historical moments, not movements or genres, so it offers “a more neutral view of the range of art being produced at any one historical moment to emerge,” as organizers describe it.

Additionally, BP supports a series of themed BP Spotlight collection displays dedicated to some particular artists, artworks or aspects of British art, from both historical and modern perspective. For more information about special seasonal displays and exhibitions, go to the dedicated page. There, one can also find a series of 11 short videos starring recognizable British personalities including musician Ghostpoet, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, iconic news reader Jon Snow and art historian Gus Casely-Hayford talking about their favorite artwork at Tate.

While this project serves to connect the past and the present of the British art, Tate has been widely criticized for collaborating with British Petroleum. The environmental activists believe that one of the most respected British art museums can’t have ay ties with the company, blamed for the biggest oil spill in history. As reported by Guardian, the sponsorship will bring the museum about 1 percent of additional income. There’s also an art activist movement of 8,000 Tate members and visitors, «Liberate Tate», protesting and performing against Tate’s ties with BP. Read more about their activity here, on the official blog of the group.

Yet, it’s not easy for Tate Britain to abandon BP. Back in 2011, the oil company announced  £10-million investment in partnerships with museums over the next five years.