James Tissot • Portsmouth Dockyard c.1877 • © Tate

  • Migrations 3 Feb 12

    Penelope Curtis’s very thoughtful introduction to the accompanying book explains the thinking behind Tate Britain’s new exhibition, flagging up how much of ‘British’ art is not ‘British... Read More

  • The Great Experimenter 3 Feb 12

    David Hockney, at rising seventy-five, is now the unofficial Grand Old Man of British painting. There are three criteria, aside from personal antiquity, that have to be met to be worthy of such a... Read More

  • The Gift Of The River Nile 2 Dec 11

    While the protesters fought in Cairo last week, I was being escorted around the new Galleries of Ancient Egypt and Nubia in Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum by a curator whose mind was as much on his... Read More

  • A Treasury Of History 18 Nov 11

    The preparation and presentation of this exhibition has been, you can tell, a mammoth enterprise – and the viewing of it is a similarly huge undertaking, an intellectual adventure that takes you... Read More

  • Faith, Care & Valour 4 Nov 11

    What’s in a name? When it comes to London streets, the answer is dozens of long lost forgotten historical associations. At Farringdon, for example, you exit the Underground into the hubbub of... Read More

  • Moving Pictures 23 Sep 11

    It’s fair to assume that almost no-one nowadays finds the art of the Impressionists ‘difficult’. An old Cockney acquaintance of mine used to joke that a Claude Monet landscape looked like it... Read More

  • Journey Into Art 23 Sep 11

    While there are, of course, notable exceptions, largely speaking we look to the West End to satisfy our cultural needs and aspirations and – let’s be honest – we’re extremely fortunate to have... Read More

  • The Grand Old Man of English Art 26 Aug 11

    In his advancing years, George Frederic Watts was frequently photographed wearing a skull-cap and a long, flowing gown. With his white hair and beard and his introspective demeanour, it created an... Read More

  • The Lost Age Of The Matinee Idol 22 Jul 11

    In the age of Twitter, camera phones and the round-the-clock news, it seems as if an actor can’t break wind without someone noticing it and making a story out of it. Regrettably, too many stars... Read More

  • Ian Rastrick Fine Art

    After fifteen years of dealing privately in London, Modern British picture specialists, Ian Rastrick Fine Art have opened new premises at 38 Holywell Hill, St Albans. Originally concentrating on the... Read More

Find Your Local...