Last updated on March 14th, 2018Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas liked to draw women. He dabbled with horses as well, but really, it was the women that grabbed his voyeuristic attention, often of the dancing or bathing variety. These ethereal damsels are the subject of an exhibition opening on the 20th September at the National Gallery, a collection…
Historic House Museums of London
Last updated on May 24th, 2023London has some of the world’s most iconic museums displaying the finest art money can’t buy, but it’s the capital’s little treasures that I want to share with you today. Ensconced in these historical gems, you can amble around at a snail’s pace, savour every museum inch and still have…
A day out at Garsington Opera
Last updated on May 15th, 2022The Chiltern hills in Wormsley are alive with the sound of music. This Buckinghamshire haven, where Garsington Opera has its home, is England at its most seductive, the sort of place where pastoral dreams are made. And the vocal fireworks that burst from Rossini’s Il Turco in Italia last Thursday…
More is More: Miss Hope Springs at Wigmore Hall
Last updated on February 3rd, 2020Miss Hope Springs sashays over to us in ruby red sequins as I arrive in her dressing room, complete with Steinway piano, at the Wigmore Hall. She’s composed and gracious, ready for her premiere on a stage which is world-revered for its classical music repertoire. But today, the Wigmore goes…
Art Review: Echoes Across the Century
Last updated on July 25th, 2020The Guildhall Art Gallery has been on my cultural radar for a long time. After all, it’s home to some very impressive pre-Raphaelite paintings, and its belly houses the remains of a Roman amphitheatre no less, discovered in 1988 when the gallery was carrying out renovation works. But my reason…
Art Review: The Royal Canalettos
Last updated on January 28th, 2020If ever there was an exhibition to make you swoon, it’s this one: over 200 paintings, drawings and prints from the Royal Collection, on display in the majestic Queen’s Gallery in Canaletto and the Art of Venice. The Italian master is in excellent company, surrounded by his contemporaries Francesco Zuccarelli,…
The Real Ladies of London
Last updated on April 23rd, 2023What does a real Londoness like to do in the world’s greatest city? Discover what it’s like to really live and love London: from magical walks and secret gardens, to food markets, theatre, museums, afternoon tea, local restaurants and bars…come and enjoy a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious day with the Real Ladies of London!…
Art Review: Queer British Art
Last updated on March 14th, 2018The word queer sounds well, a bit queer these days, but it’s used in the title of the new exhibition at Tate Britain which opens today. Queer British Art 1861-1967 is a show dedicated to LGBT art, and it’s the first of its kind. It celebrates the 50th anniversary of…
Art Review: Selfies at the Saatchi
Last updated on March 14th, 2018I wonder how Van Gogh, Kahlo and Rembrandt would feel about sharing an art gallery with Tracey Emin, Kim Kardashian, the Queen and a macaque monkey? For the next two months, they are in bed together in the Saatchi Gallery’s new exhibition: From Selfie to Self-Expression. I admit that I…
Art Review: Imagine Moscow
Last updated on March 14th, 2018If you’re a fan of Fritz Lang’s futuristic Bauhaus-inspired science fiction film Metropolis, then you’ll be a fan of Imagine Moscow: Architecture, Propaganda, Revolution which opens today at the Design Museum in London. Imagine this: a Moscow city centre which rivals Manhattan and which includes a network of horizontal skyscrapers and…