Cathy's Art Diary

Useful online lecture from the National Gallery introducing their exhibition of studies by Edwin Austen Abbey for the state capital of Pennsylvania. Christopher Riopelle, the curator of the exhibition, introduced us to this American artist who came to London in 1878 and never left. He rapidly made a name for himself in England including being commissioned to paint the coronation of Edward VII. Through his friend, John Singer Sargent, he was commissioned to design the murals for a room at the Boston Public Library and as a result of that he was then commissioned to design more murals for the state capital of Pennsylvania. He did studies for these in England and sent them to the US where Violet Oakley managed the project and completed it from Abbey’s studies after his death. Riopelle took us through the seven works in the exhibition on loan from Yale University explaining how Abbey had a studio built at his house in Sussex to undertake the project. He explained how Abbey produced ...

Fascinating online lecture from the Wallace Collection looking at Maiolica ceramics. Suzanne Higgott, who had previously worked at the museum, led us though the history of Maiolica using the collection as the bones of the talk. I have been wanting to dip my toe into this world for a while and this was an excellent introduction to the subject. She started by discussing its origins and influences then looking at how it was made, talking us through the process of glazing and adding lustre. Next we worked through the main centres of production in Northern Italy and some of the more famous workshops. She showed us some beautiful examples and used them to introduce the main themes of decoration. I was interested to see how many were based on prints and how the topics reflected were the same as paintings of the time. She ended by discussing the 19th century revival which led to reproductions some of which were passed off as originals and collectors and museums vied to get the best pi...

Glamourous exhibition at the King's Gallery looking at the monarchs on the Edwardian era. It defined Edwardian from Edward VII's marriage before he became to the throne to the end of the First World War and was gently themed while showing some fabulous paintings and objects. You started by looking at their private lives and processions with the two side rooms focusing on the smaller objects like Faberge rock crystal and gemstone animals and birds and photographs taken by Queen Alexandra. It also looked at their homes and included a dress worn by Alexandra. The other large room focused on court life including Edward and Alexandra's coronation robe and dress and wonderful paintings of the event. The final rooms took on a more political feel, looking at the role of Empire at the time and finishing with looking at the First World War and the monarch’s role in its commemoration. All in all this was a delight and who can argue with a show that has tiaras and portraits ...

Interesting talk at Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair at Woolwich Works examining a collaboration between these cultural neighbours. In a day of disappointment around talks at the show (see my previous post) it seemed inevitable that the IT failed for this event and it started late but Georgia Figgis, Community Engagement Manager at the immersive theatre company, Punchdrunk, and Cia Durrante, Head of Partnerships and VIPs for the print fair coped well and luckily it was a talk that didn't really need images. They discussed how their collaboration had come about and why collaboration is important to artistic creation and to help in these straightened times for the arts. Figgis talked about how every visitors’ visit to the show was unique as they went round in their own way and like the way their theatrical productions work. The talk was full of ambition and hopefully will lead to great things in the future, but they talked about how this had to be tempered by reality so the ou...

Irritating version of this annual show at Woolwich Works focusing on the art of the print maker. The show had some good themes running through it but these weren't always clear. One featured 10 artists to mark the 10 years of the show which were scattered around the show but here was no distinct trail to find these. There were also curated sections with 50% of the hang being curated and the other 50% being space for galleries. Again this wasn't clear and some explanation of curatorial choices would have been interesting. I will also make my annual moan about the small labels often placed too low or too high to read or so close to a deep frame so they were overshadowed. Please get this right. Add to this a new moan that I booked a session with two talks I wanted to go to. The day before I got email reminders to both but on the day I found that one had been moved forward an hour and a half to a time I couldn’t make and the other had been moved to another day. As was type thi...

A striking iteration of this annual exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery featuring the shortlisted works in this year’s photo portrait prize. As ever there were some stunning images and themes of old age and disability seemed to emerge such as Donato Telesca's stunning photograph from above of a Parolympian weightlifter. Can I have my usual moan about reflective glass on photographs? I would have loved to show you an image of Luan Davide Gray's "We Dare to Hug" showing a tender older gay couple but the reflection means you see more of me and the other people and works in the show than the picture itself. My favourite this year was Timon Benson's "About to Leave" of his father shown here just before he moved back to Kenya, pictured through his living room window. Other shout outs to Tom Parker's picture of three Mongolian contortionist girls creating great shapes, Tamsyn Warde's picture of a small child, Benji, in a pub with his favour...

Innovative pop-up installation outside St Martin in the Fields by Female Invest, a website to promote financial learning and support for female investors. The work marked 50 years since women in the UK gained the right to open a bank account and get a mortgage or a credit card without the signature of a man. There was a very helpful lady with the work who explained this to me but it would have benefited from an information board to explain it as well as it was drawing a crowd. It consisted of a series of covered boxes, the lady described as seats, with labels on them naming inspirational women including those in the world of finance. You could add names to blank labels to be placed in the centre of the work. It was simple but effective. It made me realise I had benefited from this change when I opened my first bank account at 18 just a couple of years later even though I remember my father accompanying me to the bank for this historic moment partly I suspect as he was going to h...

Thought provoking exhibition at Sadie Coles HQ of three series of new work by Lisa Brice. I have come across Brice's work a number of times and love her cut back palette for works depicting female empowerment often quoting historical works and these didn't disappoint. My favourite pieces were those set in a bar, hung so the bar formed a horizon across the room. The figures at the top were reflected in the bar below. At first view they look like a party but as you look more closely there are sinister features like bottles on the bar waiting to be used as weapons and women holding the heads of men like a Renaissance Judith and Holofernes. Closed 20 December 2025 Review Times

Interesting exhibition at Hauser and Wirth of three sculptures by Cristina Iglesias. The works come from Iglesias series Littoral (Lunar Meteorite) which are evidently part of her ongoing exploration of geological themes. Made of bronze with matt and gloss surfaces, inside there is a water feature from an invisible source giving sound and movement to the work. The works looks stark in the white space but drew you in to investigate where the sound was coming from. Closed 20 December 2025

Stunning exhibition at Hauser and Wirth of new works by Swiss artist Nicolas Party. This usually large, white space was transformed by splitting it up into three spaces linked by arches and by the use of contrasting purple and yellow paint which made the paintings pop. Reading the website since coming back it says Party designs the space for his shows himself as an installation. The majority of the paintings were bright, colourful pictures of trees in Autumnal hues. They were simplified but just shone. I've found this Autumn has been particularly good in the UK for Autumn colours and these reminded me of a couple of recent long journeys. There were also two portraits evidently inspired by two sculptural works by Camille Claudel and Auguste Rodin, the website says these "serve as a conceptual springboard to also frame the group of treescapes" but I'm not sure what that means. I didn't connect with these works in the same way at the treescapes which blew me a...

Bold and colourful exhibition at Annely Juda Fine Art of new work by David Hockney. At first glance the works looked quite childlike and simple but their delight and artistry were in their simplicity. At 88 Hockney is limited in his mobility so he seems to be concentrating on the world directly around it and bringing to his images of it a sense of joy. The ground floor mainly featured multiple reworkings of domestic interior scenes. You became very fond of the blue gingham tablecloth. A number of the works which include a window or door inserted a photograph of the outdoor space in them. I loved the contrast this set up with the detailed photograph and the simplified painting. There were also six new portraits in his series of sitters in a chair including a self-portrait. Upstairs features night scenes which are surprisingly light and cheerful. My favourites were a series of four which included the side of a building with orange illuminated windows. I also loved one with a Chris...

Confused exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery of work by contemporary artists from the Asian diaspora. The sho w featured 13 artists in quite a small space but didn't seem to establish a dialogue between the works. There was a mix of paintings, sculpture, ceramics and textile work. I loved Lian Zhang's painting "In the Wake of Her Echo" which plays with the idea of reflections and Hoa Dung Clerget's small sculptures decorated using gel nail polish pointing to the nail art subculture of immigrant women. Closed 30 November 2025

Moving exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery from Vogue Ukraine and PhotoVogue to support and promote Ukrainian photographers. These were poignant images, some showing the effects of war, but others showing life going on despite the conflict. My favourite was this photo by Julie Poly called "Scrolling Through Violence" of a young person looking at scenes of war on their phone which reflects on their face. It says so much about the effects of war   I also liked Tania Shcheglova\Synchrodogs photograph of chairs on a beach which strangely looked like a 1950s textile design and Daniil Kotlair's "Mother of Georgia" looking up at the back of a monumental statue. Closed 16 November 2025

Striking exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery of new work by Kat Kristof. I loved these big, bold paintings of fragmented and broken figures. Painted in blocks of colour you wonder if they are deconstructing or reconstructing. They looked fabulous in the big white space and have an architectural feel. Although they had a look of posters, up close you could see the brushstrokes and a painterly hand. Closed 16 November 2025

Innovative exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery highlighting the shortlisted finalists in the inaugural Artist of the Future Prize. This first edition of the prize showcases artists who push the boundaries of digital art and the winner will be announced on 21 November. The show included work by 10 artists on large screens with earphones provided for those with sound. I found this format hard to engage with and didn't have time to watch any of them from beginning to end but some of them grabbed me with their beautiful imagery. I liked Lenar Singatullov's "Circle Dance" an abstract work involving a custom algorithm which turns the colours of flags into moving figures and James David Freeman's "In the Realm of Emptiness", scenes of empty London streets taken during the pandemic. My favourite was Dominic Harris's ball of flowers with butterflies which reacted to you walking past it. I had seen his work before at the Halcyon Gallery and loved it. ...

Interesting exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery marking 40 years of the groundbreaking gallery. I liked the fact that the show blended iconic pieces which have been shown at the gallery over the years alongside new works by their established artists and work by new artists. Spread over two floors this was quite a mix of work some of which I liked but some I didn't get. I discovered a lot of artists who were new to me such as Polly Morgan and her wall sculptures incorporating snake skin, John Squire's remarkable painting of a fragmented face and Chino Moya's wonderful small digital pictures set in settings reminiscent of the Renaissance in which the figures gently moved. Classic pieces included Richard Wilson's "20:50", a room filled with recycle engine oil which messes with your mind. Evidently it has been shown in every iteration of the gallery. I liked the room bringing together two installations, Allan Kaprow's Yard, which presents a floor covered ...

Dull exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum looking at design for and by disabled, deaf and neurodivergent people and communities. I admit this show may have suffered from the fact I went to it after the Marie Antoinette exhibition however I found it drab and impenetrable in places. They also took a broad definition of design not only objects and fashion but also design for protest and items to make a point which I felt were nearer to being contemporary art than design. I also have lots of gripes with the labels. Firstly that the labels which carefully numbered obects in a rather complex system with the room and object number. That in itself was fine but they then didn't number the actual objects so it you were scanning the works on display to work out which was the one you were reading about. Secondly the language was trying to be so inclusive that it became convoluted and complex. From the introductory board which read "For those who are non-disabled or are less...

Sumptuous exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum looking at the life, style and influence of Marie Antoinette. From the first room, with a semi-circle of 18th century dresses in display cases, I was hooked. The dresses were in stunning condition and really brought the period to life. The show moved on to look at accessories, with an amazing display of jewellery. The next section looked at the Petit Trianon examining Antoinette’s interior design style and the life which was lived there which included her piano. From there you moved on to a moving room on her imprisonment and death. The show then opened up to look at her influence on style after her death. I assumed this would jump straight to contemporary fashion but there was a good section on how the Victorian's referenced her in fancy dress and the use of her style post in First World War graphic design and fashion. The show ended with a fabulous room of contemporary fashion and costume designs. It was a real feast...

Clever exhibition at the National Gallery looking at the candlelight paintings of Wright of Derby. I'd been looking forward to this show as I love Wright of Derby's work. I'd hoped it would be bigger than this and look at his whole career including the portraits, but this was beautifully pitched to look at a specific period in his work from 1765 to 1773. The show set the work in the context of the time but I liked the fact it put the paintings front and centre. Head to the right when you go in as this takes you through the pictures first rather than getting bogged down in the exploration of some aspects of them before you are ready for that detail. I went on members' preview day and people were in awe of a of the work. The gallery's own painting of the bird in the air pump looked wonderful and it was great to see it with the Orrery painting. I loved the fact that paintings were shown with the objects they included such as an air pump and a copy of the Renaiss...

Excellent online introduction from the National Gallery to their Wright of Derby exhibition. Christine Riding led us through the main themes of the show starting with discussing the technique displayed in these works using light and dark to dramatic effect can called Tenebrism. She examined how the ideas came from Caravaggio but Wright used them in a secular context and, having not seen the work in the flash, but worked out how to do it from experimentation. She talked about the genre of works showing study by candlelight became popular and how it reflected that nighttime was seen as the time for learning feeding into ideas of refinement and dedication. This led her to examine the two main works in the show “The Orrey” and “Bird in an Air Pump” and the fashion for scientific learning. Finally she looked at how Wright’s style changed in the 1770s, still using the dramatic effects of light and dark, but focusing on working class labour such as blacksmiths and how this reflected id...

Fascinating online lecture from the National Gallery focusing on a new acquisition and putting it into context. Melissa Baksh, a freelance art historian, described the new 15th century acquisition “The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret” which I am slightly obsessed by. She shared than dendrochronology has dated the panel to 1480 and it is Baltic oak which was frequently used in the Low Countries. It was first documented at a monastery in Ghent. The artists hasn’t been identified but she led us though some clues to its origin. She looked at the image in some detail explaining details in the St Margaret figure which come from the Golden Legend, how the order of St Michael wears is dated from before 1516 and how the architectural capitals are Old Testament scenes. She looked in particular at the dragon or monster which takes centre stage under the feet of St Margaret who has vanquished it. She put it into the context of Northern European art at the time from early bes...

Interesting online lecture from the National Gallery reflecting on their “Millet : Life on the Land” exhibition as it came to an end. Jacqui Ansell led us though various themes which had emerged from the show over its duration. She started by looking at “The Angelus” and talked about how it has become a French national icon and debating what a British equivalent might be deciding on “The Hay Wain”. She then outlined where the pictures in the exhibition had been lent from as all but “The Angelus” were from British collections. She used this as a way of looking at British collecting in the late 19th and early 20th century. Finally she discussed whether Millet was a political artist deciding that although he didn’t shy away from showing the hardships of rural life, she felt he was more driven by religious ideas and at one point he has said “the Bible is all I read”.

Calming installation in the chapel at Compton Verney by Yulia Mahr. I loved the effect of this show in the beautiful Capability Brown chapel but have no idea what it meant. The commentary said it “explores ideas that are beyond our grasp and becomes a meditation on anxiety as a defining characteristic of our time” so maybe I was not far off by not understanding it. The main piece was a black sphere surmounted by a crow and this was shown with two negative photographs of a figure crouching in an emotional stance. I did like the fact it reflected the numerous crows which visit the estate. Closed 2 November 2025

Fascinating small exhibition at Compton Verney focusing on an unusual 17th century painting of two women. The pictures shows a white woman and a woman of colour both wearing beauty patches in a colour contrasting with their skin. The work was shown with research material exploring the themes of the work. It discussed how it dates from the Commonwealth period and may be making a moral point about vanity. It also speculated that the artist may be Jerome Hesketh, who trained as a Catholic priest, as it was possibly painted for the Catholic Kenyon family. He toured Catholic houses performing secret masses and painting portraits as his cover. No end date given

Thoughtful exhibition at Compton Verney of new works by Renee So. The show investigated how the meaning of objects can be manipulated and distorted as they travel from buyer to seller. She took inspiration from the galleries collection of Chinese bronzes. My favourite section reproduced large versions of classic scent bottles exploring their exotic names and roots in the opium trade. Another took the image of the silkworm onto different objects in a variety of media to explore   the intertwined histories of Chinese women, symbols of power and luxury goods. I liked the recreation of So’s studio at the end of the show. Closes 8 March 2026

Interesting exhibition at Compton Verney by Gayle Chong Kwan. Kwan had been artist in residence at the gallery and created these seven photographic works in response to their Chinese collection of bronze food and wine vessels. The photographs placed the artist outside buildings linked to empire and immigration wearing a collaged mask of images of objects related to the building. These were shown alongside small, bronze objects made by them. I’m not sure I understood all the links and nuisances but the images were striking. Closes March 2026. 

Interesting online lecture from the London Art History Society on Toulouse-Lautrec. Writer and lecturer, Juliet Heslewood, led us through Lautrec’s life and art discussing how although he was a painter it was his poster designs which were pioneering and for which he is most well known. She discussed how his art reflected his lifestyle and outlined the main subjects he painted from animals to brothels and places of entertainment. She also highlighted the main models he used and pointed out how many of them had red hair at a time when artists were studying colour contrasts. As I typed the talk up I realised it had been a bit disjointed, swapping between subjects and models, to maintain a chronological narrative. I’m all for chronology but I this case it might have been better to take a list based approach.

Useful online lecture from the National Gallery looking in detail at the life of Elizabeth Vigee Le Brun the gallery’s self-portrait of her. Jacqui Ansell, an expert on historic dress, interviewed Lucy Davies, author of a new book on this picture for the National Gallery, and they outlined Le Brun’s exciting life story from being an untaught artist to court painter before having to flee Paris in the Revolution and travelling around Europe. They discussed how Le Brun saw Ruben’s “Le Chappeau de Paille” which is also in the National Gallery, when she visited Antwerp with her art dealer husband, and how she based her self-portrait on it. They also looked at other self-portraits by her and discussed how and why she liked to depict herself.

Intriguing online lecture from the British Museum introducing a travelling exhibition on ‘inauthentic objects’. Tom Cummins led us through the themes of the show telling us some of the fascinating stories of the objects included. He outlining all the different reasons objects are inauthentic from the obvious one of fakes, through copies made for study, positive uses of copies to replace or enhance original pieces and overly restored pieces. I knew some of the stories but my favourite, which I hadn’t known before, was that of the Risley Park Lanx, which had been known via a drawing from the 18th century but which reappeared in an auction in 1991 however it was proved to be a fake made by Shaun Greenhalgh based on the drawing. I was also interested to hear how 3D printing had been used at the Hieroglyphic Stairway at Palenque in Mexico to basically produce a cover for it based on an 1891 photograph to both protect it and to show its condition over 100 years ago as it has already ...

Delightful lecture at the National Gallery in the Supporters' House on how music was depicted and what it meant in the Netherlands in the 17th century. This was the third lecture and all of them have been excellent but this was made more magical by the addition of the lute player Andrew Maginley who joined the course leader, Belle Smith, and brought insights into the history of music at the time pointing out things like the fact music started to be printed in Venice in around 1510 meaning it could be more easily disseminated. He also told us how this was a period of experimentation with instruments. Smith led us through a series of images from the period and it was magical to watch Maginley play the lute in front of this work by Jan Miense Molenar. We dissected this and other works from the collection to look at what instruments were being played and what they meant. It was a nice touch to add a still life from the period which included a violin, a flute and music. Smith poi...

Annoying exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery looking at the life and photography of Cecil Beaton. There were some beautiful images and the show told the story of his life well, but I thought it tried to cover too much ground. The introduction said it was going to look at his portraits and fashion work but it included quite a number of photographs and drawings of him by other people and did venture into his war work although the images they used did all include people. The show felt quite cramped in the space particularly in the usually large room at the end which had been divided into about 6 or 7 separate spaces. In a number of cases the room introduction panel had been placed in the entrance space causing bad bottle necks. A lot of the labels were quite long too with good but complex biographies of the sitters. You did get an ideal of a strata of society in the early 20th century but, despite his being a period I love, I quite quickly didn't care. I kept remember...