This Is Not a Review: Magritte in London

I have loved the work of René Magritte ever since I first encountered it as a teenager at the start of the 1970s; indeed, one of the very first books on art that I bought, in 1974, was Suzi Gablik’s seminal study of the Belgian’s oeuvre, published by Thames and Hudson. (It’s still on my … Continue reading This Is Not a Review: Magritte in London

Turner and Constable Together: surely a must-see show

I’ll confess that when I first read that Tate Britain was to mount an exhibition entitled Turner and Constable: Rivals and Originals, I wasn’t exactly filled with excitement. Don’t get me wrong: Turner has been one of my favourite artists ever since I first saw his work at the Tate in my mid-teens, and while … Continue reading Turner and Constable Together: surely a must-see show

The Marbles: a new doc about an old controversy

To return, or not to return, that is the question… More than half a century ago, as a teenage classicist at Northampton Grammar School, I recall (if memory still serves) being taught not only that the ‘Elgin Marbles’ were extraordinary sculptures that I should go and see at the British Museum should I get the … Continue reading The Marbles: a new doc about an old controversy