Independent thought
Last year saw the centenary of the London Group, a broad-based exhibiting body set up in a time of stylistic…
Scratching the surface
It is often said of John Craxton (1922–2009) that he knew how to live well and considered this more important…
Brush with boredom
The death of painting has been so often foretold — almost as frequently as its renaissance — that any such…
History man
Rediscovering the unduly neglected is one of the chief excitements of those who curate exhibitions and write books. And there’s…
Great Scot
When John Bellany died in August last year, an odyssey that had alternately beguiled and infuriated the art world came…
A look ahead
Andrew Lambirth reveals the treats on show in 2014
Jumble of taste
Andrew Lambirth on the Sainsbury Centre’s latest exhibition
Food for the soul
Andrew Lambirth on the art of stained glass, as exemplified by Patrick Reyntiens
Street cred
There hasn’t been a decent Daumier exhibition in this country for more than half a century, so art lovers have…
Take your pick
The current exhibition in the Sainsbury Wing claims to be a portrait of Vienna in 1900, but in fact offers…
Guiding dream
Andrew Lambirth takes a tour of the revamped Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft
Visual poetry
The famous court case in which Ruskin accused Whistler of ‘flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face’ continues…
Visions of the sublime
The V&A’s remarkable survey of Chinese painting begins quietly with a beautiful scroll depicting ‘Court Ladies Preparing Newly Woven Silk’,…
Feats of Klee
There is a school of thought that sees Paul Klee (1879–1940) as more of a Swiss watchmaker than an artist,…
‘The last wild man of modern art’
Andrew Lambirth talks to Malcolm Morley
Early flowering
Emilio Greco (1913–95) is considered to be one of Italy’s most important modern sculptors, and certainly he was a successful…
The good and the ugly
The Watts Gallery, just outside Guildford off the Hog’s Back, is a delightful place to visit at any season, with…
Wizards of Oz
Astonishingly, the last major survey show of Australian art in this country was mounted more than half-a-century ago. Then it…
Light fantastic
Andrew Lambirth meets Chris Ingram, the collector behind a much-lauded museum in Woking
Gut feelings
Like all artists of independent spirit, David Tress (born 1955) resists categorisation. He has been called a Romantic and a…
Root and branch
A mixed exhibition of paintings, drawings and prints devoted to the subject of the tree might sound an unexciting event,…
Ways of the world
The popular conception of Dame Laura Knight is of an energetic woman piling on the paint in the back of…
The magic of Munnings
Sir Alfred Munnings (1878–1959) did himself a grave and lasting disservice when he publicly attacked modern art in a bibulous…
A long hard look
My wife says you can always tell a self-portrait by the quality of its self-regard. There’s something about the eyes…
Political power
Revolution shook Mexico between 1910 and 1920, but radical political change was not mirrored in the art of the period.…
