I’m Venus at Her Mirror, but some people call me the Rokeby Venus or the Toilet of Venus. You can just call me Venus. The little fellow holding my mirror and helping me with my toilette is my son, Cupid. Maestro Diego Velasquez’s bold brushstrokes poured life into this, my divine facsimile, in the seventeenth…
Art & Exhibition
London art and exhibition: Discover the latest exhibitions in London and explore museums and art galleries in the capital.
In Conversation with: The Laughing Cavalier | Wallace Collection
People call me The Laughing Cavalier, and I am the international man of mystery at the Wallace Collection in London. No one knows precisely who I am, and whilst people refer to me as laughing, I am, in fact smiling under those magnificent whiskers of mine. I like to think of myself as the Mona…
Watts Gallery and Artists’ Village Highlights
If ever there was an excuse to visit the village of Compton in Surrey, the Watts Gallery is it. Located near Guildford, the Watts Village is dedicated to the works of the Victorian painter and sculptor, George Frederic Watts, and it’s one of the few galleries in the UK devoted to a single artist. And…
A day out at Royal Museums Greenwich (with social distancing measures)
Hurrah! Royal Museums Greenwich is now ready to welcome everyone back with open arms. The fab four, which includes Cutty Sark, the Royal Observatory, the Queen’s House and the National Maritime Museum, offer the perfect post-lockdown family day out. You’ll get some of the best views in London, plenty of fresh air, a healthy dose…
Technicolour Dickens at the Charles Dickens Museum
Think you know your Dickens? He’s poised, sombre, a mass of Victorian beard and he looks a little worn out, right? But you’ll be thinking your Dickens again after touring Technicolour Dickens, a new exhibition at the Charles Dickens Museum which brings him full throttle into the glossy age of technology. The celebrated author also…
A Guide to London Art Week 2019
London Art Week, a six-day festival where art adrenaline courses through the veins of St James’s and Mayfair, kicks off on Sunday, December 1. Galleries and auction houses across both areas throw open their arty doors to the public with 32 exhibitions dedicated to pre-contemporary art. There’s also a range of events and talks, most…
The Moon and beyond – National Maritime Museum
Old blue eyes Frank Sinatra and Tintin wanted to go there, whilst Constable, Turner and Kubrick were all infatuated with it. The moon has always held us in spellbinding fascination, as far back as the Ancient Mesopotamians. And over at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, you can go to the moon and beyond with…
Charles Dickens Museum – Christmas and Beautiful Books
As one of London’s top destinations for booklovers, it makes sense to see beautiful books headlining a new exhibition at the Charles Dickens Museum this November. As the house dresses itself for Christmas, it’s also preparing for the festive display Beautiful Books: Dickens and the Business of Christmas, where you can gaze at the world’s…
The Lost Dress of Elizabeth I – Hampton Court Palace
There are some royal portraits that just take your breath away. The ‘Armada Portrait’ of Elizabeth I at the Queen’s House in Greenwich is one of them. Thomas Sully’s ‘Queen Victoria’ at the Wallace Collection is another, and let’s not forget ‘Queen Elizabeth II, Lightness of Being’ by Chris Levine. Then another comes along which…
Meet the winners of the 2019 MullenLowe NOVA Awards
A balloon dress designed by Central Saint Martins student, Fredrik Tjærandsen, bagged the top prize in the 2019 MullenLowe NOVA Awards announced last Thursday evening. 1300 final year students were whittled down to a mere 14 to represent the school in the coveted design prize. A total of six awards were presented, but Tjærandsen’s design,…