Cathy's Art Diary

Intriguing lecture at the National Portrait Gallery using works from the gallery to talk about sex in the Victorian era. Catherine Philips of The University of Bristol introduced us to a number of radical Victorian thinkers both campaigning for rights of sex workers of the time or introducing laws to limit sexual freedoms starting with Charles 'Boatswain' Smith, a Baptist minister in Stepney who established a refuge for sex workers, educating them to be domestic servants and finding them jobs with families moving out to the colonies. She moved on to Josephine Butler and Dadodhal Naoroji who fought to overturn the Contagious Diseases Acts and Annie Besant who republished a pamphlet of sexual education for which she was charged under the Obscene Publications Act. She then looked at Henry Labouchere who introduced the law to criminalise all male homosexual activity in the UK and Sir Richard Francis Burton who wrote about sexual practices he came across when travelling and t...

Interesting exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery of work by the photographer Catherine Opie. I'd seen an early show by Opie at the Walker Gallery in 2014 which had stayed with me, so I was interested to see more of her work. As the blurb says Opie "makes photographs that question the who, how and why of representation". For me, what gives them weight, is their referencing of art historical work. I loved that more of her work was shown around the gallery with older portraits. Opie is a Lesbian and there is lots of references to her community and to different types of family. The works were shown in series and were well explained. Closed 31 May 2026 Reviews   Guardian Telegraph

Neat display at the National Portrait Gallery looking at Victorian photographs of family. By picking this subject in a small space it looked at this history of photography at the time from its invention to its popularisation as well as looking at the types of family in the era. I thought it stretched the latter a bit, but it meant they included the Bloomsbury Group so of course I approved. I did find things to Google including Charles Haselwood Shannon and his partner Charles Ricketts shown here. No end date given but these sort of displays are usually temporar y.

Entertaining lecture at the National Portrait Gallery focusing on the two paintings of the Bronte Sisters by their brother, Branwell, in the gallery. The talk was made by the dry, Yorkshire wit of the speaker, Sharon Wright, who has written a book of the title of the talk looking at the interior spaces of the family. At one point, as she told us a particular melancholy story, she added "I know it's a bit of a downer but it is the Brontes". She focused on the two paintings, one of Emily, cut down from a larger one of the three sisters, and the famous one of the sisters with a painted out Branwell. She talked about how they were painted and their subsequent history after their father's death. She talked about going to the house where they were found in Ireland where Charlotte's husband, Arthur Bell Nicholls lived after he left Yorkshire taking them with him. They were unknown to anyone for 50 years until they were found by a maid who was dusting the top of a ...

Fascinating exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery of works on paper by Lucien Freud. The show looks at Freud's mastery of drawing and how he used it in preparation for paintings, as an art form in its own right and as a medium to use after a painting. It also looked at his use of etching and print making. It took a wide definition of portraits based on a quote from Freud "Everything is autobiographical and everything is a portrait, even if it's a chair". It therefore included a wonderful topical drawing of daffodils and there was a wonderful section of drawings after famous paintings or inspired by them. I loved the accurate pictures of a Chardin and a detailed look at his painting in his study based on a Watteau and the show included the original. The drawings were used to discuss how Freud's style changed and yet drawings remained at the heart of it.   Closes 4 May 2026 Reviews Times Guardian Telegraph Evening Standard

A striking iteration of this annual exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery featuring the shortlisted works in this year’s photo portrait prize. As ever there were some stunning images and themes of old age and disability seemed to emerge such as Donato Telesca's stunning photograph from above of a Parolympian weightlifter. Can I have my usual moan about reflective glass on photographs? I would have loved to show you an image of Luan Davide Gray's "We Dare to Hug" showing a tender older gay couple but the reflection means you see more of me and the other people and works in the show than the picture itself. My favourite this year was Timon Benson's "About to Leave" of his father shown here just before he moved back to Kenya, pictured through his living room window. Other shout outs to Tom Parker's picture of three Mongolian contortionist girls creating great shapes, Tamsyn Warde's picture of a small child, Benji, in a pub with his favour...

Interesting exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery as a result of their annual partnership project with six universities exploring contemporary portrait photography. For this partnership the gallery brings together curators and photographers with students via talks, workshops and tours and invites them to make their own work based on themes from the previous year's Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize but these weren’t outlined. The show was in a small gallery so there was a disappointing number of works on show which they compensated with by three audiovisual displays, which was a bit much for the space. I would also have liked to know a bit more about the works in the av show as it was they were just interesting images. Closed 28 September 2025  

Excellent iteration of this annual exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery showcasing the shortlisted paintings in the competition for contemporary portraits. This year included a number of works which referenced art history as well as a number of hyper-realistic pieces which I loved. These included Simon Thomas Braiden's beautiful portrait of impresario, Philip Sallon in a wonderful turquoise outfit. I always find themes emerge and this year it seemed to be age and in particular dementia such as Paul Wright's large painting of his mother in a room of objects reflecting her life in bright colours. As ever there were also some great self-portraits such as Comhghall Casey's close up. My favourite this year, and I admit I am quite shallow, was Jose Antonio Martinez Santos's portrait of a fireman sitting on the running board of his engine. It dominated the room with its detail and direct gaze. A close second was Dide's "Portrait of a Sculptor" showi...

Small exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery showcasing new photographic portraits created by secondary school students as part of the gallery's Law Photography Programme for Schools.   I hadn’t realised the gallery has a photography studio and the first selection you saw were taken in the studio by students of their friends. In this and the other sections, the photos were accompanied by a small piece written by the photographer explaining what the sitter meant to them. Other sections on teachers and family were photographed in the schools and at the students homes. The works were of a high quality, and the descriptions were moving. Closed 28 September 2025

Monumental exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery of work by Jenny Saville. I love Saville’s work and it was dramatic to see so much of it together. The work is on a monumental scale. At first view it can be quite brutal but the more you look the more beautiful it appears and the clearer the detail becomes. I particularly liked the multi-figure works and the blending of different coloured flesh. Closed 7 September 2025 Reviews Times Guardian Telegraph Evening Standard    

Beautiful exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery of late 19th century portraits by Stanisław Wyspiański better known as a playwright, poet and the originator of modern Polish theatre. I loved the expressive nature of these works which were an interesting comparison to the Munch exhibition which was on in the gallery at the same time. I had a real sense of seeing and getting to know Wyspianski’s friends and family and seeing a cross section of intellectual Polish life at the time. Closes 13 July 2025 Review Times

Intriguing small exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery looking at a photographers’ studio in London run by women and specialising in photographing women. The studio was set up at the end of the 19th century by Lallie Charles and run with her sisters Rita and Isabella Martin until Rita set up her own studio.   Charles specialised in photographing society ladies for the magazines which were becoming popular. The show featured the photographs alongside the features they were used in. Martin concentrated on stars of the stage and screen and there was a delightful selection of her work. Needless to say my favourite was a picture of the actress Gertie Miller with her dog Chum. As well as showcasing the work of these photographers the show also reflected the changing role of women in the early 20th century. Closes 19 October 2025  

Surprising exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery of portraits by Munch. I say surprising as it was relatively cheerful. Munch’s expressionist work can feel quite full on and miserable but I got sense of friendship and communities. The works were arranged by how he knew the sitter with sections on family, Bohemians, dealers and collectors and supporters. There was a sense of sadness though, bordering on the comical as you read the labels and many of the sitters died young or were involved in other tragedies. The bold colours struck you and in the enclosed space particularly in the end room of full length works you felt you were walking among a group of friends. I will moan though about the placement of some of the room labels and some pictures in the spaces between displays which had been created. There wasn’t enough space for people to stop and read and it created bottle necks particularly at the busy members’ preview I attended. Closes 15 June 2025 Reviews Times ...

Pretentious exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery looking at the style magazine The Face. The magazine ran from 1984 to 2004 and the blurb says it "played a vital role in creating contemporary culture". I'm afraid hadn't been part of my personal culture although I did recognise a number of the iconic images from it. The show emphasised the role of the photographers for the magazine both of celebrities and fashion and most pictures were accompanied by a quote from the photographer and I quite liked that geeky aspect of it. However I would have liked to have had a bit more information on the subjects of the pictures both the people and the clothes. The show was party a reflection of the history of a twenty year period but I felt that could have been brought out more. I did go on the members' preview day so I will give it another try and might take a friend to see the reaction of someone of a similar age to me. Maybe I'm just not ready for my 20s t...

Magical lecture at the National Portrait Gallery with Rose Boyt, daughter of Lucien Freud, talking about her memoir inspire by sitting for him. Boyt was sympathetically interviewed by curator and writer Hettie Judah and the event started and finished with a beautiful reading from the start of the book. Boyt explained that the book came about after she found a diary from the period of one of the sittings but realised her memory of the time, due to subsequent events, was very different. She talked about what it was like to sit for long periods and the commitment that took and highlighted conversations she’d had with her father while he painted. Most magical though was the number of people in the audience she knew and referred to which made it a charmingly interactive event.

Annoying exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery of some of their recent drawing acquisitions. Prepare for more moaning! Why hold an exhibition, even if it’s quite small, in what is basically a corridor? It was hard to step back and look at the works without people walking past or to use the av presentation with more information without being bumped into. That said there were some nice works including one of the Tracey Emin drawings for the new gallery doors, a touching drawing of designer Richard Nicoll by Howard Tangye and Eileen Cooper’s pair of her portraits of herself and Cathie Pilkington. Closes 6 January 2026  

Interesting lecture at the National Portrait Gallery introducing the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Award exhibition. Claire Freestone, curator and one of the judges, lead us through the history of the award and its exhibitions and talked about works which some of the winners had gone on to do. She then took us through the main themes which emerged in this year’s shortlist. These come about unconsciously but she did say that the show reflects events of the previous year so some of the themes are almost inevitable. Finally she talked about the prize winners this year and why they were chosen. I had seen the show before Christmas and enjoyed it but it was good to get an overview of it and to learn more about how it’s put together.  

Thin exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery visiting a photographic series by Zoe Law. I’m afraid I am about to get moany! These were lovely images of people who have influenced Law’s life and career but they came with very little explanation. They were also spread over two spaces but this wasn’t made clear so I could easily have missed the upstairs one which was actually the better presentation. The idea was that you could download a guide so the pictures themselves had no physical labels. However I always find this gallery’s wifi difficult to use and yet again I couldn’t link to it. As both shows were in the basement it was impossible to use that guide in the space. I would also have liked some explanation of why these people were important to the artist and why we should care. I’m sure it’s my ignorance as I’d not come across Law before but I suspect I’m not the only one. Closed 2 March 2025

Interesting exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery marking this year’s photographic portrait award. I’m going to start with my usual moan about reflective glass on photographs particularly dark ones. In some cases it was very difficult to view the image without seeing yourself and the pictures behind you. Often you get undefined themes in these shows and this time I felt it was age and trans people. As ever it was worth reading the labels as often the story wasn’t how it first appeared. I loved the first picture I saw in the show by Clare Brand of an old lady’s eye with the blue eye makeup smudging. Also Drew Gardener’s recreations of American Civil War photographs with the black descendants of the original sitters and Adam Ferguson's pictures of a pastor in the Outback of Australia. My favourite was this Julia Margaret Cameron like one by Phil Sharp showing the tears on the sitter’s eyes due to the music they were listening to. This year’s In Focus display was by D...

Excellent lecture at the National Portrait Gallery putting Bacon into the context of queer life in post-war Britain. Gregory Salter from the University of Birmingham led us clearly through a complex subject starting with how Bacon was exploring masculinity particularly with his depiction of men in suits. He discussed how suits were used to display conventionality but could also be a mask. He went on to discuss why Bacon placed his sitters in abstracted domestic settings partially on the context that the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967 particularly allowed it in private putting it into domestic rather than public space. Finally he looked at queer networks and their role particularly around Soho. He looked at how Bacon used the photographs of John Deacon as part of his process although crumpling them up and his use of triptychs to   explore aspects of a person rather than an accurate physical depiction. I came away with lots of new thoughts on the show and a need ...