Art lovers are in for a treat in 2018 as London revs its arty engines for what promises to be a triumphant year. Masters of the old and masters of the new are out in full swing this year, with painting, photography, sculpture and design making an appearance in museums and galleries across the capital….
King of Bling: Charles II at the Queen’s Gallery
The English weren’t as partial to the chopping of a royal head as the French were, but the story of this exhibition starts with the trial of Charles I, the ill-fated king whose head was to be severed from his body on the 30 January 1649. Fast forward to 1660 and enter his son, Charles…
The Talented Mr Linley
Tucked behind the green door of Number 18 Stafford Terrace in Kensington is a house museum which time forgot, a five-storey cabinet of curiosities. You may have seen it before in Merchant Ivory’s ‘A Room with a View’ or in ‘Maurice.’ It’s the former home of ‘Punch’ cartoonist, Edward Linley Sambourne, his wife Marion and…
Art Review – Modigliani at Tate Modern
I am doing something remarkable. I am a voyeur in an artist’s studio in Paris – in Montparnasse to be exact – for a full six and a half minutes. But, I am actually in London. I am gazing out of Amedeo Modigliani’s studio window, towards the smoky chimney tops and listening to the drizzling,…
An Alternative Guide to Christmas in London
Yes, London, it’s that time of year again when the city is all wrapped up for the Christmas season. The festive lights have been switched on, Regent’s Street is looking angelic, the royal palaces are open for skating business, and Scrooge is warming up all over town for variations of ‘A Christmas Carol’. From quirky…
I’m MAD AS HELL and I’m not going to take it anymore
In 1976, a film called Network cleaned up at the Oscars, winning four Academy Awards. Written by Paddy Chayefsky and directed by the great, late Sidney Lumet, the black comedy was written and released during the Watergate Scandal and the Vietnam War, poking fun at the lengths to which the networks would go to get…
Must-see London exhibitions in November
As London shifts into Christmas gear, it’s nice to know you can escape tinseltown’s seasonal madness from time to time, and what better way than with some art? How could you possibly fail to be impressed by the Impressionists in London at the Tate Britain or by Modigliani’s collection of nudes at Tate Modern? You…
So Long and Farewell Lord Mayor of London
The Lord Mayor of London, Andrew Parmley, and I go back a long way. To 2003 precisely when he was known simply as Dr Parmley, or Dr P. I would be invited to his office on an all-too regular basis to discuss the very bad behaviour of my eldest, Clarissa. He was head of the…
Soutine’s Culinary Artistry
Monsieur Soutine had a knack for finding good staff. And he certainly liked a man in uniform. Bellboys, waiters, valets, pastry cooks and the occasional maid, would make their way from the grand hotels and restaurants of Paris’s Roaring Twenties onto his fiery canvases. London hasn’t seen a Soutine show for 35 years, but thanks…
Potty for Harry at the British Library
Can you believe it’s been 20 years since ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ was first published? And just in time for Halloween, there’s an enchanting exhibition opening at the British Library. Harry Potter: A History of Magic is a treasure trove of rare books, manuscripts, magical objects and illustrations that will bewitch even the most cynical…