Selfish selfie-takers are spoiling museums and galleries, art lovers say 

Art lovers have accused the ‘Instagram generation’ of ruining their enjoyment of leading museums and galleries by taking selfies.

Blockbuster exhibitions have become overcrowded in recent years. 

For example, there have been complaints about crowds blocking artworks and exhibits at the William Blake exhibition at Tate Britain and Tutankhamun’s Treasures at the Saatchi Gallery, both in London.

One art lover, Reece Goodall, told a student newspaper: ‘People queue for hours to see famous artworks only to take a photo of themselves with it.

‘You have to think that it’s not the art that interests them so much as a ‘been there’ shot for their online followers. Imagine the narcissism of thinking that a photo of an iconic piece of art would be improved by sticking your face in it.’

Critic Holly Williams wrote in The Independent: ‘People taking photographs in galleries is really annoying sometimes… Some of the posing and preening, the charging through the gallery just to find the best backdrop – it drives me nuts.’

The photos are put on people’s Facebook page or shared on the Instagram app.

A spokesman for the Tate said: ‘Tate allocates exhibition tickets with staggered entry times to minimise overcrowding, and we monitor this, particularly in response to visitor feedback.’

IMG, organiser of the Tutankhamun exhibition, said: ‘There is a strict cap on visitor numbers in place, which is why this is a time-ticketed event.’