Cathy's Art Diary

Vibrant exhibition at Eames Fine Art of drawings, prints and paintings by Andrew Marr and Gillian Ayres. The works were mainly abstracts in bright colours with the artists using a similar palette. It was only later that it dawned on me that Andrew Marr is THE Andrew Marr off the telly who has turned to painting following a stroke. I liked his expressive mark making. Closed 12 July 2026

Colourful and surprising exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum looking at the textile designs of the sisters Susan Collier and Sarah Campbell. I say surprising because I hadn't realised how popular their work was and how much of it I had owned or remembered. I had bought a painting by them at an exhibition at the National Theatre a number of years ago without really knowing that much about them. The show highlighted how they not only designed the patterns but oversaw how these designs were transferred to the textile allowing them to control the colours and retain the copyright of the design. The designs were hand painted and in many cases the show had the original painting and examples of the textile in different colour way. The sisters worked for Liberty in the 1970s and designed Bauhaus for them which I recognised. Later in the decade they worked for Terence Conran at Habitat and those designed were so familiar to me. The show looked at how they adapted to the mar...

Charming small exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum of decorated pin-stuck cushions. The works were from two collectors, Simon Costin and Alessandra Curtis, and were well explained but didn’t get bogged down in the detail of each one. The blurb explained how cushions were often made from a kit although others were designed by the maker. The larger display featured pieces made in the First World War and shortly afterwards by soldiers with kits being available to purchase on the front line and the Post Office delivering the finished works back home free of charge. I am a bit of a First World War nerd, and I had not come across this phenomena before. Closed 13 September 2026

Moving exhibition at White Cube Bermondsey of recent work by the late Georg Baselitz who died in April. I love Baselitz's work and the way he paints images upside down to concentrate the idea of looking so was moved to see these recent works. These were such ambitious, physical works for a man who was 88 when he died. I think my favourites were the black and gold works because of the contrast they set up and the nod back to icons and medieval pieces. These large works looked commanding in the vast white space. Closed 30 August 2026

Interesting online lecture from the National Gallery introducing a new book for the gallery on how to read clothing in paintings. The author, Jacqui Ansell, talked us through the development process of the book explaining how, to fit the series of books, it had to have six chapters with rich illustrations. She told us how she knew the artists she wanted to include and how she wanted to theme the work rather than writing chronologically. She wanted to include social history and practical knowledge with descriptions of the paintings and clothes. She told us how she used paired images where possible, a full picture of the painting and a detail. She then led us through some of the images she had chosen but I found the talk got a bit fragmented at this point as she was trying to cover too much in a short time.

An unbalanced online lecture from the Wallace Collection on two artists who mentored Winston Churchill’s painting. This lecture complimented the exhibition at the museum of Churchill’s art and Frances Fowle from the University of Edinburgh led us though the subject. I say unbalanced as it was a good lecture on Lavery with a bit on Sickert tacked on at the end. I didn’t know a lot about Lavery so it was useful, and it did explain how he was one of the Glasgow Boys yet is considered an Irish artist which has confused me. It might have worked better as two lectures

Small exhibition at the National Theatre of photographs documenting Queer life in Britain. The works are on loan from Queer Britain to mark the theatre’s production of “Pride” which incidentally I saw a few days earlier and loved.   I managed to see the exhibition on the day of London Pride by chance so it had an extra poignance. I loved this picture of Ian McKellan and Michael Cashman leading a Pride march and this portrait of the out footballer, Justin Fashanu. Closes September 2026

Fascinating exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery looking at the output of Studio Prints, a leading printmaking workshop founded in 1968 and active until 2011. The workshop was run by Dorthea Wright and Marc Balakjian who had long term collaborations with many of the post war London artists include Lucien Freud, Frank Auerback and Leon Kossoff as well as maintaining artistic careers of their own. The show had some beautiful examples of the work they produced shown around a display of archive material. Who can resist this print of Freud's dog Pluto, but I think my favourite work was this lovely window by Wright herself. Closes 13 September 2026    

Charming exhibition at the Courtauld of photographs of Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson's studio from the early 1930s. The show compliments the main exhibition in the gallery of Hepworth's sculptures in colour from a few years later. The photographs were taken by Paul Liab during a period of intense collaboration and experimentation by the two artists. They included pictures of individual works and ones evoking the artists working in the studio. Liab photographed the work of many artists and his archive was donated to the Courtauld in 1974. Closes 4 October 2026.

Interesting exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery looking at Barbara Hepworth's use of colour in her sculpture and drawings. There was a good blend of sculpture and the drawings which Hepworth referred to as sculptures in disguise. The works were beautifully displayed with a good narrative. A shoutout as ever for the Courtauld for the excellent booklet with the label descriptions in which stops bottle necks in the show and is a useful reference to bring home. I think my favourite piece was this wooden version of "(Oval Form) Pale Blue and Red" which to me evokes the sun breaking though a blue sky. I hadn’t realised before that the strings in these works are in a contrasting colour to the paint. I also loved some pieces which I assume were coloured stone but now realise form reading the booklet again that they are painted marble. Closes 6 September 2026 Review Times

Intriguing exhibition at Somerset House investigating how people create public and personal shrines to pop stars and cult icons. The first room looked at public expressions of grief from the flowers for Princess Diana to part of the tree trunk which Marc Bolan crashed into. It would have been interesting to look a further back in this section and maybe look at the idea of leaving objects at the shrines of saints as an investigation of the origins of the idea. The next room looked at personal shrines and people's collections of memorabilia and how they display them. I loved an altar to George Michael by Dot Alma which travels to events in the UK and the idea from Molly Soda that a kitchen fridge can become a shrine to family life. The last room just presented one object, a piece of chewing gum left on her towel before a performance by Nina Simone, rescued and presented as an installation by Warren Ellis. The show did make we think about things which I have kept and how they...

Strange but beautiful installation at Somerset House by Sian Fan. The work consisted of three hanging figures in a dark space who appeared like dancers. It was only from reading the accompanying leaflet that I got the finer detail that the clothing was handmade and they were set against the illusion of the night sky. The heads of the figures are 3D images of the artist. Evidently, they reference the idea of internet folklore, a new concept to me. Evidently on 28 May the work included a performance by the artist. I did feel the work needed some movement in it either possibly a breeze to make the figures sway and move. Closed 12 July 2026

Novel online lecture from the Victoria and Albert Musuem introducing their exhibition on lost music venues. Curator Harriet Reed talked us though the inspiration for the show growing from her own passion for gigs and concern in the pandemic that a lot of venues were at risk of closing. She talked about their importance, not just as places for performance but also as communities of people. She explained how the show is designed like a venue opening with an exterior wall of posters and signs and guided us around the four sections, what they cover and featuring a few of the key exhibits. She also talked about how they put the show together from the museum’s own collection but also put out a call out for new material from venues and the public. They had over 500 submissions of objects and documents. Unfortunately I didn’t manage to get to the exhibition as it was closed due to the hot weather and lack on aircon on the day I tried.

Interesting public installation at the Royal Festival Hall setting poetry by school children against the Brutalist architecture of the buildings. The work was part of their celebration of 75 years since the Festival of Britain. They worked with the poet Lemn Sissay and children from Manchester, Birmingham and London and asked them to think about their hopes and dreams for the future. The words were set in huge neon letters on the side of the building which brighten up the site and gave pockets of ideas to think about. I gather there is also a newspaper of all the work and I must go back and l ook for a copy. Closes 27 September 2026

Interesting online lecture from ARTscapades on the James McNeill Whistler exhibition at Tate Britain. I had already seen the show when I listened to the talk so I found it interesting to learn more about how it was put together and the research which went into it. Carol Jacobi, lead curator of the show, gave us a sense of her excitement about the project, even to the point of describing her favourite brushstroke in the show! As the show is arranged chronologically she took us through the artists life and the main works on display. She was particularly good on the influences on his work and how this changed over time.

Useful online lecture from the National Gallery introducing their exhibition of landscapes by Ferdinand Georg Waldmuller. As I knew nothing about this 19th century Austrian artist it was very good to get an introduction to him and his art particularly as he didn’t only do landscapes. Sarah Herring, the curator of the show, led us through his life and the role of landscape in his oeuvre. As we came across them she showed us the works in the show on loan from the Belvedere in Vienna. She explained his love for detail and how this may have come from his training as a miniaturist and compared his work to other landscape painters of the era including Constable, the Barbizon School and the Pre-Raphaelites.  

Excellent exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery showcasing the shortlisted submissions in this year's Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award. This year's show had many striking naturalistic works in contrast to a few years which have had more abstract works. The concentration seemed to be on capturing an image and the character of the person and telling their story. Often probably unplanned themes seem to come through and this year it seemed to be stunning portraits of men of colour. Shout outs to Louise Pagnell's portrait of Pops Mensah-Bonsu the basketball player and founder of a youth basketball charity, Niall MacArthur's portrait of his friend Ronnie with an exquisitely painted glass vase in front of her, "Genealogical Deformation" by Algirdas and Remigijus Gataveckas a joint self-portrait by identical twins with contrast of textures and my favourite this year, Karin Neijenhuis's self-portrait seen from the underside of an ironing boa...

Thin exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery exploring the results of a partnership project with six universities from across England and Wales exploring contemporary portrait photography. The gallery offers a series of talks, workshops and tours to which the students respond producing works reacting to the previous year's Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize. I say it is a thin show as there are only a few works shown with minimal explanation. The majority of the work was shown in rolling av display which was quite long to watch in a space with no seating. This intriguing show deserves a better presentation. Closes 18 September 2026

Thoughtful exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery looking at Marilyn Monroe. The show concentrated on how Marilyn and others used images of her and gave her more agency than you usually see her credited for. At the core it looked at the photographers she worked with, their relationships and how the images were used. I loved the way the displays didn't just pick the one famous image from a shoot but a number to show why the one that was used was chosen plus to build more of a story of the event. I also liked the way they often showed an original photograph with the magazine cover it was used for. In response to this it also looked at how artists have represented her both in her lifetime and since. Of course, there were Andy Warhol's but it was good to see a number of Pauline Boty works as well as others by British Pop Artists. The show outlined her life story via the images and included a few artefacts such as a dress from "The Prince and the Showgirl" and ...

Fabulous exhibition at the King’s Gallery of the late Queen’s clothes. It started with her childhood clothes and war time ones culminating in her wedding dress. The small middle section looked at her everyday clothes with tweed skirts, riding boots etc and a selection of scarves. I was very touched by a pair of Fair Isle gloves. The big room was formal wear when she travelled   and was mainly beautiful evening dresses. There was fantastic embroidery and lots of detail representing the countries she visited. Next were ceremonial clothes including the Coronation dress.  The final room was formal daywear arranged in rainbow colours. Throughout you kept recognising outfits you remembered. We said we couldn’t think of any famous outfit which wasn’t there.  Closes 18 April 2027 Reviews Times Telegraph

Lively online discussion from the Wallace Collection exploring how Churchill engaged with modern art. Barry Phipps from the University of Cambridge was in conversation with co-curator of the Wallace Collection on Churchill, Lucy Davis. I got the impression that Davis had expected to just be the chair but Phipps was also asking her questions about how she picked works for the show and how she organised them. The discussion felt a bit random but covered the contemporary artists that Churchill worked with, his writings and speeches on modern art and his relationship in later life with the Royal Academy. They also talked about how his art became more well-known after the Second World War and toured America.

Interesting exhibition at Hauser and Wirth of new work by Roni Horn. The bulk of the work was a large number of drawings of the phrase "I am paralysed with hope" written over and over again drawn over with crayon which gives the words the impression of melting. As I went on a very hot day these seemed very appropriate as I enjoyed their air-conditioning. They were shown with one of her one of her glass sculptures whose top resembles a pool of water to such an extent I had to feel it to be sure. Closes 1 August 2026

Strange exhibition at Hauser and Wirth looking at the career of 20th century artist Francis Picabia. I say strange because this gallery usually shows new contemporary work but this was organised with the Comite Picabia and covered his whole oeuvre. Having just seen lots of stunning art from this period at Sotheby's I'm afraid a lot of this felt like a pastiche as he experimented with contemporary styles including Dadaism, Surrealism and Cubism. It seemed to be guided tour of isms. Closed 1 August 2026

Interesting exhibition at Sotheby's of contemporary art. I only say interesting not anything more exciting as I came to most of this exhibition late in my visit and my mind had been blown by this point so a large Hockney print of Yorkshire, a lovely William Kentridge of a café, a Grayson Perry vase and a large Gilbert and George seemed fairly basic. My favourite pieces were three small portrait drawings by Lucien Freud, two of them shown in a hinged frame so you could see the verso. Closed 24 June 2026

Mind-blowing exhibition at Sotheby's of works for an Old Masters sale. If you've been reading these blogs you'll realise I had a really good morning at Sotheby's looking at amazing 20th and 21st century works but then I spotted a darker room at the back and my mind blew at finding Old Masters including a Botticelli and a Memling. I caught the guard's eye and made a head exploding gesture and he grinned. Looking at the catalogue online these just seem to have been a selection of works from a series of sales. I'm not sure my mind would have coped with all of them! Closed 30 June 2026

Confusing but amazing exhibition at Sotheby's of the highlights in a sale of modern art. Modern had quite a broad definition in this case basically meaning 20th century. I say confused as it was unclear in the show which pieces were from the Lewis Collection plus works from other sales seemed to be shown with them but after a while I really didn't care as I came across more and more stunning pieces. Works included Kandinskys, a Gauguin still-life, a Van Gogh drawing and a Picasso of Dora Maar. I think my favourite was this Felix Vallotton of the beach at Dieppe on Bastille Day from 1903 but I couldn’t help to smile at this rude Toulouse-Lautrec! Closed 24 June 2026

Striking exhibition at Sotheby's of work for sale in an auction of modern and contemporary art. All I can really do is list pictures which struck me as the whole thing was almost overwhelming. Start with a beautiful David Hockney from 1988 estimated at between £1.2m and £1.8. It will be interesting to see what it sells for after his recent death. Move onto a Monet Waterlilies and a study by him of his wife Camille on the beach. I loved an Anslem Kiefer with a model boat stuck on it and a Pierre Bonnard female nude and of course an Antony Gormley standing block figure. Oh and a lovely Tamara de Lempicka. Closed 23 June 2026

Stunning exhibition at Sotheby's in advance of an auction of work from the Lewis Collection . Born and raised in the East End Joe Lewis is the majority owner of ENIC Group which in turn was the majority owner of Tottenham Hotspur. He is also a prolific collector of figurative art including amazing pieces. This sale highlighted 25 pieces   but other pieces appear in another sale I will be blogging as well. Estimated at £200m this will be the most valuable single-owned collection ever offered at auction in Europe. I found it a bit hard to tell what was in which sale but using the website I can identify that it includes the wonderful "Sleeping by the Lion Carpet" of Sue Tilley by Lucien Freud, a beautiful Modigliani portrait of a woman, five Picasso's and a stunning Caillebotte of Paul Hugot. I'll certainly be looking out for results of the sale. I was struck though that this might be the last time we see some of these works in public. Lewis has been a generou...

Colourful and jubilant exhibition at Tate Britain of paintings by Hurvin Anderson. Anderson was the first child in his family to be born in the UK after his family arrived from Jamaica and his work reflects his experience here and travels back to the Caribbean.   The paintings were large and full of colour starting with images drawing on his childhood in Birmingham. I loved one of a municipal swimming pool. There were some striking images of trees. He caught the heat and atmosphere of the Caribbean and I loved an abstract looking piece which you realise is a room viewed via the iron grid which is often used in windows instead of glass to let in the air and a similar idea of a tennis court seen through chicken wire. The final room had new work made for the show including a black and white image of Haile Selassie's arrival in Jamaica in 1966 and two based on a found image of a courting couple on a raft surrounded by a luscious landscape. Closes 23 August 2026 Reviews Ti...