Exhibitions
Turner's seafaring ways — and his blazingly competitive art
Turner’s contemporaries regarded him primarily as a marine painter. This perception extended to his persona, with many who met him…
Daumier's paintings show he is at heart a sculptor
There hasn’t been a decent Daumier exhibition in this country for more than half a century, so art lovers have…
In the National Gallery's Vienna show, it's Oscar Kokoschka who's the real revelation
The current exhibition in the Sainsbury Wing claims to be a portrait of Vienna in 1900, but in fact offers…
Where's the fun, Barbican?
Pop Art Design, curated by the Vitra Design Museum and currently at the Barbican, opens with Richard Hamilton’s 1956 ‘Just…
The Lisson show is so hermetic, sometimes we flounder for meaning
The title of the Lisson Gallery’s new show, Nostalgic for the Future, could sum up the gallery’s whole raison d’être.…
'Squiggle, squiggle, ooh, good...' Tate St Ives shows how sexy the octopus can be
One of the more exotic attractions at the 1939–40 World’s Fair in New York was Salvador Dalí’s ‘Dream of Venus…
The painter of poetry
The famous court case in which Ruskin accused Whistler of ‘flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face’ continues…
How China's Bayeux Tapestry differs from ours
The V&A’s remarkable survey of Chinese painting begins quietly with a beautiful scroll depicting ‘Court Ladies Preparing Newly Woven Silk’,…
What my addiction to Chinese painting made me do
My addiction to Chinese landscape painting began in 1965 at the V&A, in a travelling exhibition of the Crawford Collection…
Is Paul Klee really a great modern master?
There is a school of thought that sees Paul Klee (1879–1940) as more of a Swiss watchmaker than an artist,…
The master of living, breathing landscapes
One sometimes forgets when looking at French 19th-century art that the painting revolution that produced Impressionism coincided with a political…
Braque in full flight
Towards the end of his life, Georges Braque described his vision in the following terms: ‘No object can be tied…
The big tease
Perhaps the greatest irony of many in this first solo London show of Sarah Lucas is that it is sponsored…
Andrew Lambirth: Emilio Greco's early work is undeniably his best
Emilio Greco (1913–95) is considered to be one of Italy’s most important modern sculptors, and certainly he was a successful…
Frank Holl: a forgotten talent much admired by van Gogh
The Watts Gallery, just outside Guildford off the Hog’s Back, is a delightful place to visit at any season, with…
Is the best Australian art yet to come?
Astonishingly, the last major survey show of Australian art in this country was mounted more than half-a-century ago. Then it…
Henry van de Velde — the man who invented modernism
In the Musée du Cinquantenaire, a grand gallery on the green edge of Brussels, those bureaucratic Belgians are welcoming home…
David Tress: an artist of independent spirit
Like all artists of independent spirit, David Tress (born 1955) resists categorisation. He has been called a Romantic and a…
Under the Greenwood Tree - an exhibition worth travelling for
A mixed exhibition of paintings, drawings and prints devoted to the subject of the tree might sound an unexciting event,…
Laura Knight was an artist skilled in the ways of the world
The popular conception of Dame Laura Knight is of an energetic woman piling on the paint in the back of…
At last Alfred Munnings is being taken seriously again
Sir Alfred Munnings (1878–1959) did himself a grave and lasting disservice when he publicly attacked modern art in a bibulous…
The problem with self-portraits: Ruth Borchard competition and Stranger reviewed
My wife says you can always tell a self-portrait by the quality of its self-regard. There’s something about the eyes…
State-sponsored cultural renaissance in revolutionary Mexico
Revolution shook Mexico between 1910 and 1920, but radical political change was not mirrored in the art of the period.…
Samuel Courtauld’s great collection
In 1929, Samuel Courtauld owned the most important collection of works by Paul Gauguin in England: five paintings, ten woodcuts…
Compare and contrast Rodin and Moore
One generation is usually so busy reacting against its predecessors that it can take years for a balanced appreciation of…
