Cathy's Art Diary

Fascinating exhibition at the British Museum introducing the planned memorial gardens for the late Queen in St James's Park. The display had good illustrations and explanations which were shown with maquettes of the planned statues and sculptures as well as one of the park itself. I loved the one of the Queen and Yinka Shonibare's Commonwealth Wind Sculpture. My one complaint is that it was shown in the historic Reading Room which was full of tourist groups being lectured to about the room who seemed unaware of the exhibition and swarmed around it. It would have been a better experience if it had been shown in a different space. Closed 21 June 2026

Charming exhibition at the Wallace Collection of photographs of the Queen and her corgis. In just ten pictures they told the story of her love of the breed from an image of her with the first two dogs her parents owned to the two who joined the crowds lining the route of her funeral cortège on its way to Windsor. It explained how all her dogs were descended from the first one she owned, Susan, and included a family tree of them. I loved the sweet, gold silhouettes of the dogs round the edge of the room. I particularly loved this show as my father bred Corgis, albeit it Cardigan Corgis not the Pembrokes favoured by the Queen, so I grew up surrounded by these dogs and will always have a soft spot for them.  Closes 6 August 2023 Review Telegraph