Cathy's Art Diary

Dry exhibition at the National Theatre looking at how they had performed Greek plays and how the theatre itself had been influenced by Greek theatre. I say dry as it was very text and av based. It would have benefited from a few more set models or costumes. The av wasn't displayed in an engaging way. It grouped 5 or 6 clips or interviews into a loop which took a lot time to watch while standing up in ear phones. I'm sure the content was excellent but it wasn't conducive to lingering. My favourite section looked at how the Olivier space is based on a Greek theatre design and how Sir Peter Hall, the first director, and Sir Denys Lasdun, the architect, visited theatres in Greece together for inspiration. The display marked the production "Bachaae" which I was there to see and really enjoyed. With that hindsight I realised I had got more form the display than I thought as I understood more about the work particularly about the role of music and movement in it. ...

Interesting exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery of abstract art since the 1950s. This display was prompted by the recent acquisition of a drawing by American sculptor, Alice Adams, and it traces the development of abstract art in this period throughout the Western World. A tough ask in a small space. I must admit I struggle with this type of abstract work but the show told the story clearly and I felt I knew more even if I didn't respond to the work. There was a good cross section of artists from Philip Guston to Gerard Richter. I did like this burnt work by Susan Schwalb where she burnt the paper with a candle then added precis lines with a copper stylus. Closed 12 October 2025

Clear and useful lecture at the Wallace Collection tracing Flemish art form Memling to Rubens. Richard Williams from the Royal Collection Trust used three works from the Wallace Collection, Memling’s “Angle with a Sword”, Pieter Pourbus’s “Allegory of True Love” and Rubens’ “The Holy Family with St Elizabeth and John the Baptist” to anchor the lecture over three sessions. He started with discussing what the Flemish tradition was and then looked at how Memling worked within this but also took it further. He looked at how Italian patrons commissioned work from him. He moved into the 16th century and looked at how Gossaert was influenced by his trip to Rome in 1508 with Philip of Burgundy. We looked at how more Italian art was appearing in Brussels such as the Raphael cartoons which were in the city at the time with the tapestry weavers and how this influenced artists. That session ended by looking at the Pourbus painting and the Italian and Humanist influences in it. The talk en...

Lively discussion in the Supporters’ House at the National Gallery looking at the influence of the world around him in Caravaggio’s art. Elizabeth Currie, who has written a book on clothing in Caravaggio’s art, joined Helen Langdon, a biographer of the artist to talk about some of his genre works painted in Rome. They outlined how there were two sides to the city at this time with a papal and cardinal’s courts existing alongside a disturbing underworld following an explosion in the population of the urban poor. Taking a selection of works they examined them in this context with Currie bringing insight into what the clothes tell us about the characters. This led to a fascinating discussion about feathers! My fact of the day is that the same material appears in the dress of “The Penitent Magdalene” and the lining of the man’s cloak in the second version of “The Fortune Teller” and that it may be ecclesiastical fabric.

Beautiful new commission for the Courtauld Gallery by Rachel Jones. The work consists of two large canvases made especially for the two chosen locations in the entrance foyer and ticket area. They are bright abstracts which contrast with and compliment the architecture of the space. Both are called Struck and are created in oil pastel on linen and evidently reference cartoons which I wouldn't have guessed. I love the light and colour they bring to the space and they create an inviting introduction to the building. No closing date given

Touching installation at the London Eye to celebrate women’s rugby and to mark England getting through to the World Cup final.   267 bespoke red roses make up the display in front of the Eye. On each red rose is the name of an England Red Roses player. The roses look striking en masse and it’s moving to read the names. I’m not sure I’d call it a trail but maybe the original plan was for different type of display. Anyway it sums up why it is always fun to wander round London. You never know what you’ll find. Closed 28 September 2025

Fabulous exhibition at the Royal Academy featuring work by Kerry James Marshall. This was clever, layered work and much more subtle that I’m imagined from just seeing images from it online. There was a deep awareness of art history that was used to reflect black experience and history. The labels were clearly written the explain the depth of the work and it introduced me to a variety of characters. Marshall had included a room of new work which reflected on the role of Africans in the slave trade which added a nuanced argument to the narrative. The works themselves were very painterly combining narrative with subtle details such as delicate still-lives and rather good dogs. Closes 18 January 2026 Reviews Times Guardian Telegraph Evening Standard

Strange exhibition at the Royal Academy taking the image and legacy of the Beatles as a starting point. The work was by three students from the schools, Jacob Bullen, Dandy Day and Mitch Bowles who examine themes of obsession, fandom, and personal memory via the Fab Four. It’s a striking display and appears to include archive material however from the blurb I sense some of that might be manufactured, if not it would have been good to have some sense of the source which would have added more depth. Closed 2 November 2025

Clever exhibition at the Royal Academy examining the influence of Van Gogh on Anselm Kiefer. I’m glad I’d done a lecture on the topic as the connections weren’t always clear from the blurb. They not only look at similar subjects of rural life but at 18 Kiefer undertook a tour of places Van Gogh travelled and studied his technique. I love the monumentality of Kiefer and the paintings looked great in the space but they dwarfed the Van Gogh’s which were mainly corralled in the central room. It might have worked better to show the Van Gogh’s first then open up into the Kiefer. There was one Van Gogh after Millet which created a nice link to the two shows at the National Gallery at the moment and I guess therefore a link from Millet to Kiefer. Closed 26 October 2025 Reviews Times Guardian Telegraph Evening Standard

Fascinating online lecture from the National Gallery discussing the redisplay of the Sainsbury Wing following its recent refurbishment. Laura Llewellyn and Emma Capron did a wonderful double act taking us through the reasoning around the redesign and rehang. They started by looking at why the pre-1500 collection at the gallery is so strong but the problems of the old display including the traffic jams getting to the Arnolfini Wedding in the end room. They then looked at why they start the display with the Northern European work and the challenges in showing these largely small works and why the early Italian gold ground works are now in the far corner, opening the Italian chronology. Next we moved onto how they hung the ‘nave’ of the gallery to represent how the art would have been displayed in churches when it was new. Having visited several times I think this section is particularly successful. They looked at the two themed rooms they had created on nature and gold and discus...

Beautiful lecture at the National Gallery looking at how music was depicted in art in the Renaissance focusing on the role of the courts. I had enjoyed the first part of this series of talks so was pleased I could make the second and have how now booked the third. Belle Smith started with this painting by Lorenzo Costa from the gallery's collection and talked us though the instruments shown and the fact the subjects are singing. I know the picture well but had never thought about how the outer figures are tapping along to the music on the table. The lecturer for the next talk was in the audience and as a lute player he brought fascinating insight into the how the instrument is being played here, with figures rather than a quill plectrum, and how that was a new development at the time. The talk diverted a bit with the self-portraits of Lavina Fontana and Sofonisba Anguissolo who are both shown playing a spinet emphasising their ladylike status and intellect but his led to a dis...

Interesting small exhibition at St Martin in the Fields celebrating 150 years of the Pearly Kings and Queens. The show featured photographs of the current pearly kings and queens by Alex Kurunis displayed around the crypt of the church alongside some archive materials. I hadn't realised that the Original Pearly Kings and Queens Association has a close association with this church and it has been holding its famed Harvest Festival service there since 1940 and the statue of the Associations founder, Henry Croft is displayed in the Crypt. Closed 4 October 2025

Interesting exhibition at the National Archives of art works commissioned by the Government Art Collection to mark the Coronation of Charles III. The collection commissioned artists from all over the UK to create artworks reflecting the Coronation's significance to them and their communities. They were shown alongside the coronation rolls of Edward II and our current king. I loved Joy Gerrard's complex ink on canvas drawings of crowd scenes on the Mall and at Buckingham Palace based on a series of drawings some of which were included. My favourite piece though was Hew Locke's textile work of layered images of the Gold State Coach. I love Locke's work so was delighted to find a new piece by him. Closed 1 November 2025  

Fascinating, dense exhibition at the National Archives looking at the work of MI5 since its foundation in 1909. I say dense as being based mainly on documents there was a lot of reading with just a few objects however it was worth taking time over as it was packed with fascinating stories and I came away with lots to look up, such as the Woolwich Arsenal Spy Ring in 1938 as I live at Woolwich Arsenal. The show was arranged chronically with each section having an introduction, a selection of case studies, staff profiles of the prominent MI5 staff and an outline of the techniques and methodology used and was shown as if in an archive on shelves with case file boxes around the exhibits. As well as the Woolwich reference I found two other connections in the show. There was a section on Karl Fuchs, the atomic spy who was arrested at Harwell where my father worked. Some of his friends remembered Fuchs. Also there was a mortar bomb from the IRA attack on Downing Street in 1991 which I ...

Striking display at London Bridge Station, as part of the Totally Thames Festival, of large, collaged photographs of river scenes by Henry Reichhold. The views were of Henley Regatta and the Great River Race and were compiled of a montage of images capturing the complex event into one image. The large, freestanding display, had two large and two smaller images of Henley on one side which were full of people and action. On the other side, the river race is shown as an aerial view of lots of boats going in different directions against an oddly blue river. The display might have had more impact if a charity stall hadn't set itself up at one end making it a bit off putting to stop to admire and engage with the work. Closes 30 September 2025

Thoughtful online lecture from the National Gallery discussing the role of politics in art. To accompany the exhibition at the gallery Matthew Morgan blended a discussion on whether Millet’s paintings of rural life had a political meaning, as many critics said at the time, with looking at whether in general art can or should be political. It was interesting to see Millet compared to contemporary artists. He outlined the politics of 19th century France clearly pointing out where Millet’s art may reflect this even if Millet himself denied this. He also discussed whether the meaning was religious rather than political. As ever with Morgan’s quite open lectures, raising questions to think about rather than answers, lead to good questions from the audience which broadened the subject eve further.

Interesting exhibition at the Garden Museum showcasing some of the gardens created by the Project Giving Back charity. The charity funds gardens for good causes at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show where it partners with other charities to create gardens which appear in the show and are then moved to permanent locations around the UK. There were pictures of a selection of the gardens with a description of the charity and the legacy of the garden which was created. Around the information displays were small features from some of the gardens. As an avid watcher of the annual Chelsea Flower show tv coverage it was nice to see an update on some of the gardens which I remembered. Closed 28 September 2025

Delightful exhibition at the Garden Museum looking at Cecil Beaton's gardens and the influence of gardens and flowers on his work. This show was beautifully designed by Luke Edward Hall incorporating his delicate murals reflecting Beaton's style. I had recently seen him do a similar response to the work of Oliver Messel at Glyndebourne and of course Beaton and Messel were friends. I will say though that I didn’t see the purpose of the tin foil in the display cabinets other than that they gave a sense of glitz. The coverage of the show was broader than I expected covering theatrical designs by Beaton which were influenced by flowers and portrait photographs which included them. I loved the inclusion of a set model for Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera House alongside headdresses from the Covent Garden version of the production. My favourite sections looked at the gardens he created at Ashcombe House and Reddish House and how he used them for parties and with friends. C...

Glorious exhibition at the National Gallery of the Neo-Impressionist collection of Helene Kröller-Müller. This show included many beautiful paintings. The Neo-Impressionists are the artists we might think of as pointillists which is s a style, I am fond of so I was so excited to see so many of the works together. The subjects were much broader than I expected. I tend to think of the pictures as landscapes, but I loved a room of portraits. I expected to see Signac and Seurat but new finds included the Belgium artist Theo van Rysselberghe and my favourite work in the show was this picture by him of five women in a garden. I love the way you can't see their faces. A lovely touch was to include two paintings inspired by works by Millet as there is also a small exhibition of his work in the gallery at the moment. These included a Van Gogh who wasn't a Neo-Impressionists but experimented with some of the techniques and he visited Seurat's studio. This is a show that work...

Useful lecture at the National Gallery introducing their exhibition of Neo-Impressionist works from the collection of Helene Kröller-Müller. The co-curators of the show, Christopher Riopelle, curator of post 1800 works at the gallery, and Julien Domercq, formerly of the gallery and now at the Royal Academy, talked us through the story of the collection and the context of the works in it. They explained how Helene Kröller-Müller started collecting in the early 20th century aided by the painter and architect, Henry van de Velde and how the design for the exhibition references the museums he built for her. She was also a collector of Van Gogh's and owned 90 of his paintings but started collecting the works of the Neo-Impressionists, which we might think of as Pointillists, and how she thought of the collections as the yin and yang of art, one full of passion and one calm and serene. They talked us though a simplified explanation of the colour wheel and how these artists placed ...

Delightful online lecture from the Victoria and Albert Museum interviewing Anna Robbins, costume designer for Downton Abbey. Robbins has designed for the last two series of Downton and the three films. One stage with her were some of the pieces from the latest film, which hadn't come out when the talk happened, and she talked us through the design process for them. She was ably interviewed by Emily Harris from the museum who got her to talk though how she gathered her ideas, how the outfits were constructed and how she used vintage pieces. She talked about how the clothes had to be historically accurate but were to be used in a world of imagination and had to reflect the narrative arch of each character. I was fascinated to hear how often one outfit then sets the palette for a whole scene with other pieces reacting to it. I now can't wait to see the film at the weekend! Stop Press: I have seen the film by the time of writing, in fact I’ve seen it twice, and loved it.

Interesting exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery as a result of their annual partnership project with six universities exploring contemporary portrait photography. For this partnership the gallery brings together curators and photographers with students via talks, workshops and tours and invites them to make their own work based on themes from the previous year's Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize but these weren’t outlined. The show was in a small gallery so there was a disappointing number of works on show which they compensated with by three audiovisual displays, which was a bit much for the space. I would also have liked to know a bit more about the works in the av show as it was they were just interesting images. Closed 28 September 2025  

Excellent iteration of this annual exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery showcasing the shortlisted paintings in the competition for contemporary portraits. This year included a number of works which referenced art history as well as a number of hyper-realistic pieces which I loved. These included Simon Thomas Braiden's beautiful portrait of impresario, Philip Sallon in a wonderful turquoise outfit. I always find themes emerge and this year it seemed to be age and in particular dementia such as Paul Wright's large painting of his mother in a room of objects reflecting her life in bright colours. As ever there were also some great self-portraits such as Comhghall Casey's close up. My favourite this year, and I admit I am quite shallow, was Jose Antonio Martinez Santos's portrait of a fireman sitting on the running board of his engine. It dominated the room with its detail and direct gaze. A close second was Dide's "Portrait of a Sculptor" showi...

Small exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery showcasing new photographic portraits created by secondary school students as part of the gallery's Law Photography Programme for Schools.   I hadn’t realised the gallery has a photography studio and the first selection you saw were taken in the studio by students of their friends. In this and the other sections, the photos were accompanied by a small piece written by the photographer explaining what the sitter meant to them. Other sections on teachers and family were photographed in the schools and at the students homes. The works were of a high quality, and the descriptions were moving. Closed 28 September 2025

Baffling exhibition at the Photographers' Gallery looking at the effects of AI by Felicity Hammond. I'm afraid I didn’t understand this show and found the description impenetrable. I got that AI is based on the images which you feed into it and that after a while it starts to feed in the images it has created itself into the algorithm but I didn’t get how this then led to broken up images or to then grasp how the works I was looking at represented this. I did watch the accompanying video as well as was none the wiser. Sorry. It possibly didn't help that this was the third in a series of four exhibitions called "Variations" by Hammond on the topic each of which fed into the next. Maybe by not seeing the progression I was missing something. I quite liked the installation at one end of the gallery but have no idea what it meant. Closed 28 September 2025

Interesting exhibition at the Photographers' Gallery looking at the career of Dennis Morris. Morris came to the UK from Jamaica with his mother in the 1960s and from an early age began taking photographs of the people around him in Haringey both on the streets and in a makeshift studio in their home. I loved these early insightful works. In 1973 he went to see Bob Marley at the Speakeasy club and they struck up a friendship which led to Morris leaving home and school to tour with Marley and take iconic photographs. These ranged from iconic images for album covers to impromptu pictures of Marley relaxing. I liked this one of him smiling. Later in the 70s he was invited by John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) of the Sex Pistols to document the bands rise to fame and half a floor of the show was devoted to this period. On the 3rd floor of the gallery, in the media gallery, there was a display of album covers and mechanise which features images taken by Morris. Closed 28 September...

Luxurious exhibition at Bonhams to mark the auction of the contents of Kerfield House. The pieces were shown in room settings against hand painted wallpaper by Gournay and some pieces were used in the Downton Abbey exhibition downstairs. There was a strange mix of ornate French 19th century pieces and modern Italian furniture, but it worked well together. I loved this lacquer cabinet by Piero Fornasetti.   Closed 10 September 2025

Fabulous exhibition at Bonhams of costumes and props from the Downton Abbey series and films which are to be auctioned. Having just watched the series and first two films again I was so excited to see this and it didn’t disappoint. There were two large rooms, one for upstairs and one for down. The clothes and objects were arranged in tableaux. The costumes were fabulous and it was like seeing old friends. From Lady Sibyl’s hareem pants, through the iconic wedding dresses to Lady Edith’s London business dress it was all beautiful. I loved a display of maids off duty clothes hanging up. The attention to detail in the faked documents was wonderful. I’m sure many were never seen close up in the series but they had the words which were read out on them and all the correct headings and stamps. They even had Marigold’s birth certificate which I don’t remember seeing at all.   Closed 16 September 2025 Reviews Times Guardian Telegraph Evening Standard

Enlightening exhibition at Buckingham Palace as part of the summer opening of the palace of works by artists commissioned by King Charles to accompany him on official tours to record them. The pictures belong to the King's private art collection and feature of a variety of artists he has commissioned since 1985. Their brief is to draw or paint whatever inspires them on the trip. Forty-five artists have now been involved over seventy trips to ninety countries. The work was quite conventional but reflected the King's taste. They seem to amount to posh holiday postcards. My favourite was this work by Phillip Butah of an elephant sanctuary in Nairobi. Closed 28 September 2025 Reviews Times Telegraph

Interesting exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery of drawings by Lousie Bourgeois. The show featured works from the 1960s and highlighted Bourgeois daily practice of drawing. These works come from a period following course of psychoanalysis and a hiatus from the art world. The drawings echo her sculptures on show in another show in the gallery at the time as well as the curves of landscapes and bodies. They also move from a monotone period to using more colour. I didn't find myself responding to the works but I loved the quotes from Bourgeois on drawing such as "the drawings allow me to pinpoint and define anxiety. And to turn it at least into fear." and calling drawing "thought feathers".    Closed 14 September 2025

Charming exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery featuring some star works from the Barber Collection. This is the second show of works from the Barber Collection in Birmingham which I have seen recently as it is currently being refurbished and its collection is on tour. This selection was a wonderful who's who of artists and formed a good overview of art history. From a small Bellini to Degas and Toulouse Lautrec there were many moments of meeting old friends and works I have seen in so many online talks. It was a lovely touch to show three works within the Courtauld's main galleries to highlight links between the two collections. A particularly good hang was the bringing together of two versions of an "Ecce Homo" by Van Dyck next to each other to give the opportunity to compare and contrast.   Closes 22 February 2026