Cathy's Art Diary

Confusing exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum marking 100 years of them collecting material on performance. I  say confusing because that had used Gabrielle Enthoven's donation of her collection of over 80,000 playbills, play texts and programmes to the museum as the hook but the display had very little link to her. It would have been nice to flag any items which had come from her original donation. Instead the show reflected her nickname as "the theatrical encyclopaedia" to display items from the larger collection as an A-Z of themes to explore how performance continues to entertain, provoke and inspire. I must admit this was lost on me at the time and it just felt like random groupings with a letter attached. It followed similar themes to the main collection. It was a nice excuse to show items which might usually be in storage and who doesn't want to see one of Lily Savage's costumes and Kenneth Williams costume for Carry on Cleo. Closed 29 Mar...

Interesting display at the Victoria and Albert Museum looked at female printmakers since 1900. The display was quite small but included a number of well-known names as well as introducing some less famous. I liked the inclusion of some of the women who had worked on London Transport Posters and well as a Suffragette one. Highlights for me must be two by Dame Laura Knight and a lovely print by Mary Anne Sloane of her friend, the printer, Constance Pott. Closes 27 September 2026

Fascinating exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum looking at the collaboration of the painter John Constable with the engraved of his prints, David Lucas. I had done a useful talk on this show which meant I knew a lot more about the works and relationship that was brought out in the display. The first room looked at how they worked together with a selection of Constable's small sketches and proofs of the engravings Lucas made of them. Many included notes from Constable of changes he wanted making. There was also an explanation of the mezzotint technique that was used. The second room focused on the print series they produced "English Landscapes" and showed a complete set of the prints along with a couple of the bound volumes. They also showed two of Lucas's larger prints of Constables more famous work. It was sad to read that despite this beautiful work that Lucas died in poverty in the workhouse. Closed 14 June 2026

Clever refurbishment and enlargement of the galleries for the Gilbert Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum. I admit I don’t think I'd done the old galleries for this collection, but I was very impressed by this new version. The collection consists mainly of small, precious, decorative items and it would be easy for the display to just be about looking at pretty things and believe me, there are some very pretty things but the narrative becomes about craftsmanship with useful displays and videos about how the pieces were made. I had learnt from a talk the day before (see previous blog) that the space had been expanded by adding three rooms which had been offices. I wouldn't have guessed this and the whole space looked cohesive. There were beautiful new fixtures and furniture. I'd thought I would just walk through the space but I was drawn to study the exhibits and wonder at their beauty. I think my favourites were the glass micro-mosaics which were so fine many...

Fascinating online lecture from the Victoria and Albert Museum introducing the refurbished galleries and redisplay of the Gilbert Collection. Jessica Insley and Isabella Warnham introduced us to Rosalind and Arthur Gilbert and their collection and talked about it was now held at the museum. They explained how they had the chance to expand the galleries into old office space and talked us through the design decisions they made   and how they worked with dementia focus groups to make the space accessible for everyone as the trustees of the collection support dementia charities. They talked about how they introduced sensory experiences into the space to enliven the collection and make it more approachable. They then talked us through the works room by room explaining the decisions they made in displaying it and highlighting key objects with excellent illustrations. They explained how the collection and display have an emphasis on craftsmanship and how they have also used it to ...

Surprising exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery looking at the conservation of the wall paintings in a medieval tower near Peterborough. I say surprising because I didn't know the show was on and didn't know about the paintings. I love this period of art and there is so little left. I was intrigued by the story of how they were found by a Home Guard troop in the Second World War and to learn that the students of the Courtauld are now working to conserve them. The first room concentrated on the paintings themselves with a reproduction of one wall hitting you as you walked into the small space. There were good photographs of the other walls and some wonderful watercolours by Clive Rouse who conserved the paintings in the 1940s. They also included a psalter and bestiary from Peterborough Cathedral which may have influenced them. The second room looked at the current conservation project and the history of wall painting conservation at the Courtauld. There was a good video sh...