Cathy's Art Diary

Stolid exhibition at the Photographers' Gallery looking at Japanese women photographers since the 1950s. The show was well presented under the themes of pioneers, elevating the day, self, gender and society and experiments but it was large, taking over all three floors of their galleries. I liked that it was shown in groups by individual photographers with good information boards including quotes by the artists. However the work lacked a sense of lightness and it all felt quite serious and worthy. I met a friend after and told her where I'd been and as she said "That's a bit niche". I think the “Elevating the Everyday” section was my favourite with street and diary photography. I loved Ushioda Tokuko's pictures of the inside and outside of her fridge as a commentary on her life. I was intrigued by Yanagi Miwa's staged pictures commenting on Japanese elevator girls (although I thought they were air hostesses from the image). The one shown here was us...

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

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

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 ...

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.

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

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...

Disappointing exhibition at Charleston in Lewes focusing on the 20th century artist Gladys Hynes. I was looking forward to this as Hynes had come up recently in a lecture and I was interested to see her work and learn more about her. The disappointment came because there was more work by other people in the show than by her. This did set her well within her circle and the art of the time, but it took the focus off her. I suspect part of the problem was that she was so of her time that some elements were problematic now such as her friendship with known Fascists in the 1930s and in some cases I felt art by others was used to put forward alternate views. Obviously, it was right to acknowledge these issues but it made the show a bit heavy handed in places. I loved her pale colours and elongated figures and the inclusion of a beautiful portrait sculpture by her and well as designs for book covers. Closes 11 October 2026

Enlightening exhibition at Charleston in Lewes looking at the life and work of Walter Sickert with an emphasis on his works on paper. The show followed his work chronologically looking at the role of drawings and print making at the various stages of his career. It also looked at how he repeated images and examined the everyday. There were some paintings, many from Charleston's own collection, but most interesting were the drawings and prints particularly a couple of examples where they were shown together to give an idea of how an image developed between forms. Closes 11 October 2026

Interesting online lecture from the Wallace Collection looking at the artist William Nicholson and his influence on the art of Winston Churchill. Simon Martin,   director of Pallant House Gallery, which recently had an exhibition on Nicholson, led us through his life and art. I had seen the show and loved I so it was interesting to be reminded of it. Talked us through his early print work, his portraits and landscapes and his wonderful still-lives. Given the lecture was put on to mark the Wallace Collection’s Churchill show I would have liked to know a bit more about the connection. They met in 1933 when Nicholson was commissioned to paint a portrait of Churchill and his wife and in subsequent years Nicholson is known to have visited Chartwell, Churchill’s home on at least 10 occasions and they were known to paint side by side. Churchill referred to Nicholson as his Cher Maître or Dear Master.

Colourful exhibition at the Wallace Collection examining the paintings of Winston Churchill. The show was arranged chronologically starting with some crude early works done in the First World War. Throughout there was an emphasis on how he painted to help his mental health. I know his work fairly well from Chartwell but it was interesting to see the work up close and to realise how thick the paint was. Often the work felt a little basic up close but worked well from a distance. I was fascinated to see he’d given the works to and the show also became an insight into friendship and political ties. Closes 29 November 2026 Reviews Times Guardian Telegraph

Lovely small exhibition at Chichester Cathedral looking at their tapestries by John Piper. The show put the tapestries in the context of Piper's wider work for churches and how this reflected his religious beliefs. It also talked about the influences on these projects including the colours of stained glass. It then went on to discuss the commissioning of this work and others for the cathedral and took us though the iconography of the work. I must admit I love the work but never really looked at it properly. There was some fascinating archive material including a postcard with a preliminary sketch of ideas. It was a nice touch to include a chasuble designed for the cathedral by Piper which provided a nice focal point for the show. Closes 15 November 2026

Glamorous exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum on the life of Elsa Schiaparelli and her fashion house. I loved this show! It was so well set out and full of beautiful clothes both from the original house and its reboot in this century under Daniel Roseberry. I liked the way it set out the ethos of Schiaparelli's designs then built on that to look at her clients and accessories. It used Roseberry's pieces sparingly through the early rooms before introducing a dedicated display at the end including Ariana Grande's Oscar dress complete with ruby slipper on the back. I think my favourite room was the semi-circle of jackets displayed like art works and at eye level so you could study the details. That was the only place where I experienced a bottle neck partly caused by the dramatic changing lighting which meant people were pausing to get the best light for a photograph and yes, I admit I was one of the guilty parties. I loved the room examining her collaboration ...

Useful online lecture from the Victoria and Albert Museum introducing their exhibition on the designer Elsa Schiaparelli. I went to the show the next day and this was a very useful introduction to it. I was so overwhelmed by the beautiful clothes it was good to have a narrative in my head already rather than having to piece it together via the labels. The was both enhanced by but also suffered from having four speakers, Sonnet Stanfill, Lydia Caston, Rosalind McKever and Simon Sladen. All of them were good but it made the talk a bit fragmented. They outlined the four themes of the show and talked us through the highlights.

Beautiful exhibition at Eames Fine Art of prints made from Klimt drawings in 1915. These were delicate drawings of women both clothed and naked dream with a few expressive lines. Weirdly despite being in black and white your eye imagined Klimt’s colours in them. There was a good narrative about how Klimt used drawing and describing how and why the prints were made. The prints were collotypes and the blurb explained the process. Most movingly the original drawings had been in the collection of August and Serena Lederer that was later seized and largely destroyed by the Nazis in 1938 so most of the originals are now lost. Thank you to the chap looking after the gallery for a warm welcome and a good conversation about the work. Closed 29 March 2026

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