Cathy's Art Diary

Useful online lecture from ARTscapades looking at the life and architecture of John Vanbrugh. Charles Saumarez-Smith, former director of the National Gallery and author of a book of the same title as the lecture, led us through Vanbrugh’s remarkable life, a story of confidence and opportunity. He told us how he was imprisoned in France returning to England with no career prospects in 1693 aged 19 but by 1705 he had written and translated plays, designed Castle Howard, was appointed Controller of the Office of Works, planned a West End theatre and been invited to design Blenheim Palace. He talked about how he got the prestigious architectural commissions and what he brought to them from his theatrical background.  

Interesting discussion at Charleston Farmhouse as part of the Charleston Festival looking at the history and future of East London. Dan Cruickshank talked about his book “Spitalfields: The History of a Nation in a Handful of Streets” which looks at that specific area of East London and charts its history. He talked about how the history of the area is also a history of migration to the UK as all migrants seem to settle in and pass thought these few streets. It’s an area I enjoy walking around and am gradually discovering so I enjoyed learning more about it. Charles Saumarez Smith talked about his book on a broader area of East London based on his regular blog posts musing on life travelling to and from work at the Royal Academy. He talked about how he worked with a photographer to produce the book. The event was chaired by the exhibition designer, Dinah Casson, and much of the discussion revolved around what is happening to the area now. They talked about planning iss...

Fascinating discussion at Charleston Farmhouse as part of the Charleston Festival between between Charles Saumarez Smith, Chief Executive of the Royal Academy and Julia Peyton-Jones, co-director of the Serpentine Gallery discussing the role of a curator. It was chaired by Dinah Casson, a designer of museum spaces. There was much talk about the misuse of the word curator and how other disciplines are starting to use it eg the idea of curating a menu. They saw it as the bringing together objects and arranging them in a space, often having to arrange to borrow the objects. They also looked at the two types of curators in museums and galleries those who look after the core collection and those who put on exhibitions and how these are often different groups of people. They discussed how museums and galleries brought together their programmes and the advantages and disadvantages of long lead up times. They also discussed what they felt had boosted the current interest in co...

Engaging talk at Charleston Farmhouse as part of the Charleston Festival between Charles Saumarez Smith, Chief Executive of the Royal Academy and Hannah Rothschild about her new novel “The Improbability of Love” which is about the art market. In the delightful atmosphere of the Charleston Festival tent this felt like listening to a dinner party conversation about the art market. There was talk of the differences between the highly inflated top end of the market compared to flatter mid to low end. I also loved some lovely insights to life at the National Gallery as he had been the director and she was a trustee. You just needed a glass of wine in your hand to set if off, and knowing me, I probably had one! OK maybe not as this was a 1pm talk!