Cathy's Art Diary

Wonderful exhibition at the Garden Museum of Melissa Scott-Miller's paintings of London Gardens. I had come across Scott-Miller's work before in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and loved it so it was fantastic to see it en masse. She pulls you in to look at the detail and to spot people, dogs and cats dominated by the foliage. Most moving was to see paintings of the museum's own gardens alongside as some aspects of the London great parks I didn’t know so I need to do more wandering. Closed 29 March 2026

Delightful exhibition at the Garden Museum exploring a botanical collaboration in the 18th century to collect seeds and botanical specimens from China. John Bradby Blake travelled to China as a supercargo (my fact of the day), a commercial agent overseeing cargo and trade employed by the British East India Company. While living there he worked with Chinese experts to documents 138 plants native to China, Whang at Tong, an expert on plants and Mak Sau, am artist. The show included lots of Mak Sau's beautiful detailed botanical studies often done over a number of months so he could record the full cycle of a plant. These were shown with extensive archive material from Blake's archive which was brought back to England by Whang at Tong on his death. I loved two portraits of Whang at Tong by Reynolds from his time in England and his presence dominated the show. Closed 10 May 2026

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...

Beautiful exhibition at the Garden Museum of portraits by Ruth Murray. These were large, striking pictures of women exploring the psychological impact of gardens as spaces of refuge and connection. They worked beautifully in the space. I loved the two portraits of a woman looking into water from a boat and the wonderful texture of the tree branches and their reflections. I also liked the intense night scene of women in a greenhouse. Closed 27 April 2025    

Disappointing exhibition at the Garden Museum looking at London gardens which are now lost. There were some fascinating stories but it all felt quite random. The show needed more structure and a stronger narrative. This could have been done with chronology or geography. It was also a shame that a disproportionate number of the exhibits were reproduced images. I felt the broad overview meant that a number of more obvious lost gardens were missed such as Tradescant’s Ark which was on the site of this museum and I didn’t spot Vauxhall gardens. Chatting to a friend after he mentioned monastery gardens which were also missing. It might have worked better as a series of shows on areas of London or dates rather than trying to cover everything in one hit. Have a picture of Smith’s Dust Heap. Not a garden as such but a notable landscape feature of Regency London it was eventually removed in 1848 'bought in its entirety by the Russians to help make bricks to rebuild Moscow”. Close...

Fun installation at the Garden Museum by Ian Berry. Berry has created a garden made of denim complete with wisteria, exotic plants and a pond with fish in it. From a distance I was convinced the plants were green and real and was intrigued when I found they were all made from discarded denim. It was fun to walk through but also raised questions about sustainability. Closed 8 September 2024

Interesting lecture at the Garden Museum on the Bloomsbury socialite Ottoline Morrell. The talk was given by Miranda Seymour, whose biography of Morrell has just been republished. She led us though Morrell’s life with an emphasis on her house and garden at Garsington as she had been invited to compliment the current exhibition on female Bloomsbury gardeners. Given the topic it wasn’t a surprise that I bumped into someone I knew.  

Beautiful small exhibition at the Garden Museum looking at the role of garden to the women of the Bloomsbury Group. If you read this blog you’ll know I’m a great Bloomsbury fan so I was excited to see this show and it delivered. It’s only a small exhibition space but it was used well to look at Ottoline Morrell, Vanessa Bell, Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West. It made good use of paintings, particularly in the section on Ottoline where it featured many of the artists who had stayed with her at Garsington. There was also lots of archive material and good use made of books and book covers in Virginia’s section. It would have been nice to have had a small section on the gardens as they are today as at least three of them can still be visited however I think they may have videos online to cover this. If you don’t know the group this would be a nice gentle introduction. Closes 29 September 2024 Review Telegraph

Interesting small exhibition at the Garden Museum highlighting the “Why Women Grow” podcast by Alice Vincent. On the podcast Vincent interviews inspiring women about their relationship with their gardens and the land. It grew out of a book she developed in lock down of the same title The display consisted of photographs by Shiobham Watts of the women Vincent had interviewed in their garden or a garden space which means a lot to them alongside a commentary on their interview. I was pleased to see one, Jamaica Kincaid, had been photographed in the gardens at Charleston. Have a photo of the section on Salley Vickers, one of my favourite authors, in Kew Gardens. Closed 30 June 2024    

Charming exhibition at the Garden Museum of work by Jean-Marie Toulgouat, Monet’s step great-grandson. Toulgouat moved back to Giverny in 1964 and helped with the restoration of the gardens which was also covered in this show. He had been an architect but had always painted and on returning to the garden he started to paint full-time inspired by it. I preferred the more abstracted works but loved the bright colours of all of them. They were hung with photographs of the garden by Andrew Lawson in a nicely designed display including a wisteria arch. Closed 24 April 2024    

Colourful exhibition at the Garden Museum of new work by Maria Bell-Salter. I was particularly interested to see this show as Bell-Salter organises and hosts the ARTscapes lectures I have been doing. She hosts from her studio and you see these big, vibrant paintings of flowers and plants in the background of Zoom events. It was great to see them in the flesh. I love the boldness and colour of these works. Most were about a meter squared. They showed collections of flowers growing in the earth. They felt like a Dutch still-lives off flowers with the vibrancy of Impressionism. I was interested to see an introduction in the handout by Frances Spalding, who I know slightly from Charleston. I remembered a conversation with her about a lecture she was about to do for ARTscapes and talking about the set up. Closed 17 March 2024

Innovative exhibition at the Garden Museum looking at the life and work of Antiguan artist, poet and gardener Frank Walter. The show was imaginatively arranged almost like an installation. You entered via a slightly claustrophobic recreation of a shed with small paintings and sculptures by Walter as well as archive material set into vitrines sometimes only visible via a peep hole. The space then opened into a bright area with a recreation of his garden and a selection of his larger, bright paintings ranging from abstracts, through landscapes to strange imaginings of outer space. I particularly like the landscapes both those of the Caribbean and his pictures of a remembered Britain. The show then expanded into the archive space with examples of his imagined heraldic coats of arms and invented genealogies linking him to Charles II. All a little strange but fascinating. Closed 25 February 2024 Review Telegraph    

Interesting display at the Garden Museum of repurposed Ikea cabinets to work as indoor greenhouses. Based on a project by the museum and Queen Mary, University of London, the show reflects on collective attitudes towards houseplants' value by making visible research about their roles in our social and political lives. Evidently it is based on an Instagram trend. I didn’t come away knowing much more about houseplants but I did want to try this. I’d have liked a bit more on whether you heat them and if so how. It makes my one house plant look a bit sad. Clo sed 8 September 2023

Charming exhibition at the Garden Museum, aimed at children, looking at the science of gardening. Based on books by zoologist and author, Nicola Davies, illustrated by Emily Sutton and Mark Hearld the show combined original artwork and simply written explanations of scientific phenomena like microbes. It felt a bit wordy for children but the text was clear and interesting. I loved the delicate illustrations. Closed 14 September 2023    

Fascinating exhibition at the Garden Museum looking at the life and work of Jean Cooke. I’d been drawn to the show by a picture on an email but then realised I’d come across Cooke’s work before in a show at the Barbican. She’d married another artist who was abusive to her, restricting the hours she could work and sometimes not letting her leave the house. She often showed herself in self-portraits with a black eye. Her work was delightful despite being limited in its range by her husband. I loved the full, verdant scenes of a neglected garden and the area around one of her homes in East Sussex but she also did lovely, paired back minimal works. I think I was particularly drawn to her as she lived between Blackheath and East Sussex, two places I spend a lot of time in myself. Closed 10 September 2023 Review Telegraph    

Small display at the Garden Museum to mark the donation of Joy Larkcom’s archive to the museum. Larkcom was a vegetable growing pioneer, affectionately known as ‘The Queen of Vegetables’. It explained how she went on journeys with her husband to research vegetable growing around the world. In particular the display focused on her trip to China in the 1980s and included tools she bought there, her language flash cards and seed catalogues. Closed 23 May 2023  

Beautiful exhibition at the Garden Museum of works by early 20th century British artists of gardens and public spaces. This turned out to be a selling show co-curated by dealers Liss Llewellyn to raise money for the museum’s education programme. It is a period of art I know well but I discovered a number of artists I don’t know. I was most interested in how many artist couples were represented. There were some lovely works by Gilbert Spencer including the attached of a balcony in Devonshire Hill in Hampstead. I was introduced to the work of Charles Mahoney and Evelyn Dunbar and there were some beautiful Eric Ravilious pieces. Closed 4 June 2023    

Insightful online lecture from ARTscapades on the Lucien Freud and plants exhibition at the Garden Museum. I went to the exhibition a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it but Giovanni Aloi’s insightful talk added another layer to the show which I hadn’t thought about. Aloi is from the Art Institute of Chicago and has written “Lucian Freud: Herbarium”. He set out the argument that Freud approached plants and gardens in the same way as his nudes concentrating on the detail and reality of the subject rather than seeking a sense of idealised beauty. He talked us through a selection of the pictures and I understood more about they. For example I hadn’t realised that the large work “Two Plants” from 1997 was painted over three years. It shows fresh and faded parts of the plant. When it was bought by the Tate Freud said he had been painting small portraits of leaves not the plants as a whole. He also talked about how Freud’s life often overpowers his art and how he has reached “...

Thoughtful exhibition at the Garden Museum focusing on Lucien Freud’s painting of plants and gardens. With just a few works the show told the story clearly and comprehensively beginning with drawings from when he was six kept by his mother of trees. There were sections on his portraits of people with flowers and his paintings of the gardens and backyards outside his studios which one description called an anti-garden. I loved the inclusion of a room on his murals of cyclamen both at his own home at Croome in Dorset and Chatsworth which included the painting materials he left behind, presumably to finish the work on a future trip. The main fact I took away is that the zimmerlindes which appear in a lot of his pictures was probably a descendent of one in Sigmund Freud’s office in Vienna and the plant became a family emblem. Closes 5 March 2023 Review Telegraph