Abstract Expressionism was the first artistic movement that saw the centre of the art world move out of Paris and into New York City. The term, which is now largely associated with American artists like Jackson Pollock, was actually first used in a German magazine in 1919. Alfred Barr, the first director of New York’s […]
The first essay I ever wrote as an undergraduate History of Art student was about Rubens’s Peace and War (1629-30, National Gallery). While most of the art that I choose to study and write about now is starkly different to the Flemish master – I currently study the contemporary art of Asia and Africa – […]
Summer: Royal Ascot, Wimbledon, Henley, the return of the Polo season and this year, the Football World Cup. We are spoilt for choice when it comes to sport. However, there are artistic traditions too. Earlier this month the annual summer exhibition opened at the Royal Academy, a must-see for the cultural elite. For nearly 250 […]
Political cartoons are not uncommon across newspaper’s today. They are humorous and often have the courage to visually express what everyone is thinking but doesn’t really want to openly admit. Honore Daumier was a French artist who is most famous for his prints of this nature in the 19th century. These are now on display […]
Australia. An island which many of us Brits believe to be an attractive holiday destination in the southern hemisphere. A land of beaches and eternal summers. This isn’t necessarily 100% true, though I have been myself multiple times, and I can’t say it isn’t a nice place. Australia also happens to be the place where […]