Art gallery frames second preference (5)
I believe the answer is:
taste
'preference' is the definition.
(I know that preference can be written as taste)
'art gallery frames second' is the wordplay.
'art gallery' becomes 'tate' (Tate Modern, Tate Britain etc).
'frames' indicates putting letters inside.
'second' becomes 's' (common abbreviation).
'tate' placed around 's' is 'TASTE'.
(Other definitions for taste that I've seen before include "Decorum" , "To eat sparingly" , "Nice distinction felt in the mouth" , "Small portion" , "The ability to discern good quality" .)