Cathy's Art Diary

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

Fascinating exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum looking at the collaboration of the painter John Constable with the engraved of his prints, David Lucas. I had done a useful talk on this show which meant I knew a lot more about the works and relationship that was brought out in the display. The first room looked at how they worked together with a selection of Constable's small sketches and proofs of the engravings Lucas made of them. Many included notes from Constable of changes he wanted making. There was also an explanation of the mezzotint technique that was used. The second room focused on the print series they produced "English Landscapes" and showed a complete set of the prints along with a couple of the bound volumes. They also showed two of Lucas's larger prints of Constables more famous work. It was sad to read that despite this beautiful work that Lucas died in poverty in the workhouse. Closed 14 June 2026

Intriguing small exhibition at the British Museum looking at prints by Ian Hamilton Finley examining themes from the French Revolution. Hamilton was known as a poet, writer, artist and gardener but the subject of the French Revolution came to dominate his work in the 1980s with an interest in how high ideals can lead to violence and corruption. These pieces come from a group of prints donated to the museum by Professor Stephen Bann, an art historian. I wasn't always sure of the link to the Revolution, but some were more obvious than others such as a version of "The Death of Marat" by David. I was drawn to a mock cover for a magazine called "Peoples' Friend" which my grandmother used to read. During the Revolution Marat edited a newspaper called "L'Ami du peuple". No end date give.

Stolid exhibition at the British Museum looking at works on paper by Scandinavian artists since the death of Edvard Munch. I usually love exhibitions in the print room galleries as they are so well explained but in this case there was too much detail which became a bit of a turn off. It failed to make me care. I found it hard to follow the themes a nd to engage with the work. It was a large show starting with a Munch print and a discussion on his influence on subsequent woodblock artists. Most of the first section looked at prints. I was caught by the book published after the war "The Resistance" with a selection of prints produced illegally during the German occupation. I liked the inclusion of contemporary work and I loved this watercolour by Maria Nordin painted during Covid also an amazingly detailed drawing of the bodice of a historic dress by Anna Zimmerman. Closed 22 March 2026 Review Guardian

Fascinating online lecture from the Victoria and Albert Museum introducing an exhibition on the collaboration between the artist John Constable and his print maker, David Lucas. Catherine Martin and Juliet Cersole, the curators of the show told us the story of the collaboration to produce a print series called “English Landscapes” in 1830. They told us how a number of the Constable oil sketches that were used were donated to the museum by the artists daughter. They described how the collaboration worked and how in the show the show the oil sketch with the proof of the print including Constables notes and annotations. They also told us about the letters which still exist between them adding more detail. The also explained the mezzotint technique and explained how they had included in the show two works by a contemporary print maker who also uses it.

Charming exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery of prints and drawings by Wayne Thiebaud to compliment the main show of his paintings. The focus was a series of 17 prints produced as a book and portfolio called “Delights” mainly of food.   A few of them which had been left in the studio were coloured by Thiebaud. They were delicate works often of the same subjects as the paintings but produced as distinct art works. The show also included some of the plates for the prints. Closed 18 January 2026

Interesting talk at Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair at Woolwich Works examining a collaboration between these cultural neighbours. In a day of disappointment around talks at the show (see my previous post) it seemed inevitable that the IT failed for this event and it started late but Georgia Figgis, Community Engagement Manager at the immersive theatre company, Punchdrunk, and Cia Durrante, Head of Partnerships and VIPs for the print fair coped well and luckily it was a talk that didn't really need images. They discussed how their collaboration had come about and why collaboration is important to artistic creation and to help in these straightened times for the arts. Figgis talked about how every visitors’ visit to the show was unique as they went round in their own way and like the way their theatrical productions work. The talk was full of ambition and hopefully will lead to great things in the future, but they talked about how this had to be tempered by reality so the ou...

Irritating version of this annual show at Woolwich Works focusing on the art of the print maker. The show had some good themes running through it but these weren't always clear. One featured 10 artists to mark the 10 years of the show which were scattered around the show but here was no distinct trail to find these. There were also curated sections with 50% of the hang being curated and the other 50% being space for galleries. Again this wasn't clear and some explanation of curatorial choices would have been interesting. I will also make my annual moan about the small labels often placed too low or too high to read or so close to a deep frame so they were overshadowed. Please get this right. Add to this a new moan that I booked a session with two talks I wanted to go to. The day before I got email reminders to both but on the day I found that one had been moved forward an hour and a half to a time I couldn’t make and the other had been moved to another day. As was type thi...

Sublime exhibition at the British Museum looking at the work of the 19th century Japanese print designers, Utagawa Hiroshige. I love Japanese prints and these were some of the finest I'd seen. I'd done a lecture on it a few days before which proved helpful to have an outline of narrative for the show already. The labels were clear and simple and told you a lot more about the places you were looking at. I would have liked to know a bit more about the block cutters and printers as they are as much a part of the magic as the designer. The example of a block they did has a very shallow cut and you can't image it producing such beautiful images. I think this may have been explained on videos but they were quite small and caused bottle necks. I the inclusion of a section on designs for fans and it explained that these were very fashionable items which would have only been used for a season. I loved the variety of images for them and my favourite was this wonderful picture ...

Lovely summer iteration at Woolwich Works of this contemporary print fair. This was a sparser show than the winter version however it was all the better for that. There was some gallery representation but in the whole the more open stalls were for individual artists or collectives and in many cases there were local artists. It was also nice that the artists were there and up for a chat as it was quiet. Shout outs go to Melanie Bellis’s urban landscapes, Lucille Clerc’s botanical works and Maxine Gregson’s vintage collages. My favourite was this print of a train by Rebecca Choi. I felt you would always see new things in it. C losed 29 June 2025

Useful lecture from ARTscapades introducing the Hiroshige exhibition at the British Museum. I am fond of Japanese prints but don’t know a lot about them so this was a much-needed talk before visiting the exhibition which I have yet to do. Hiroshige was working in the early 19th century so was one of the artists influencing artists like Van Gogh and Whistler. Alfred Haft explained how the show had come about following a gift of 35 prints from the collection of Alan Medaugh which has been enhanced by a further loan of 82 prints from his collection. He talked us through the five sections of the show with illustrations from each of them. He took us through the artists landscape, urban scenes, designs for fans and images of the natural world. I now feel ready for the show.

Stunning exhibition at Eames Fine Art of the complete set of prints by Salvador Dali for Dante’s   Inferno. I think I had seen these once before in Barcelona but it was real treat to find them again on a walk along Bermondsey Street. The works have a real sense of being by Dali but respond sympathetically to the text. Sadly the planned book was never printed but the prints stand as an art work on their own. Closed 18 May 2025

Interesting small exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery of works on paper by Austrian and German 20th century artists. The show explained these works and the links between artists well and went into some detail on the techniques. There was also a section on the cultural anxiety of around the changing role of women. I think my favourite work was a portrait of Reinhard Piper by Peter Trumm which mimicked the effect of wood grain. I was also interesting to see a printing block made by Kandinsky. Closed 22 June 2025  

Interesting selling exhibition at Somerset House of contemporary and historical prints. Galleries had taken space and there were some lovely displays. It was nice to see Abbott and Holder showing the two original First World War series which are being sold in aid of the Imperial War Museum again and I loved a display of Japanese prints from the Japan Print Gallery. There was a good mix of the old and the new but I was most drawn to the old particularly the early 20th pieces like a nice Sickert of the interior of a theatre, a nice C.R.W. Nevinson and a colourful Cyril Power. However my favourite piece was a complex print of Somerset House itself by Adam Dent. I always enjoy his work and I hadn’t seen this piece before.   Closed 23 March 2025  

Small exhibition at the British Museum celebrating works left to the museum by the dealer, Kirsten Schubert. Schubert left 10 works but has donated a further 45 during his lifetime some of which were also featured. They ranged from modern masters like Picasso and Degas and artists he had represented such as Bridget Riley. I loved this early Riley which is hinting at her abstracted work to come but keeps a recognisable landscape. I also liked this Degas copied after a drawing in the Uffizi. Closed 21 April 2025  

Fun exhibition at Eames Fine Art of new prints by Mychael Barratt. I love Barratt’s witty, bright prints which up to now have added dogs to famous art works creating a pastiche of the previous artist’s style. He has now branched into cats! I don’t think they are quite as successful as the cats are slightly cartoon like so they seem less of a nod to the original artist plus I’m more of a dog person anyway! Closed 2 March 2025  

Useful exhibition at the British Museum looking at how Picasso used prints throughout his career. The show was laid out clearly and chronically with good explanations of the different print techniques. I knew some of the prints well but hadn’t realised how many different types of print production Picasso had mastered. I loved that they also showed prints by artists who had influenced him amongst his work which included some beautiful Rembrandts and a Goya. The show also gave a good outline of his career in general including portraits of his wives, girlfriends and art dealers. Closed 30 March 2025 Reviews Times Guardian Telegraph Evening Standard

Disappointing version of this art fair at Woolwich Works showcasing contemporary prints. I say disappointing as I’ve been going for a few years and it’s getting a bit samey. There is interesting work there but it needed a bit more explanation and a change of presentation as it’s looking tired. I will also make my usual moan that bigger labels would help and not placing them so close to the frame that you can’t read them. That said I did have a great conversation with one artist who spotted me photographing this duck picture and explained the technique to me. Sadly so good a conversation that I forgot to note his name! There were some nice blocky prints of the South Bank by Paul Catterall who I always like and I loved Tobias Till’s dense map of London complete with now vanished buildings. It was a nice touch to include an interior designed space showing how the prints might work in your home. A nice trick in this new development. Closed 24 November 2024

Bright exhibition   at Eames Fine Art of prints of London by Gail Brodholt organised into an A-Z. I love Brodholt’s clear, colourful prints and liked her short descriptions of the scenes. The prints were from a range of dates with different titles to the A-Z. I particularly like her scenes of tube stations and railway junctions as they are such iconic London scenes. Some of the prints see to have been made with an iridescent ink and I’d have liked to know more about that. It gives a lovely effect. Closed 3 November 2024