By James Brewer The irrepressible James Abbott McNeill Whistler re-wrote the rules of what it meant to be an artist. He pioneered ethereal and sometimes gritty visions of modern life…
By James Brewer The sky… governs everything, said the great painter John Constable in response to those who criticised his constantly sketching the moods of the firmament, for to him…
By James Brewer Jaunty in a felt ‘sports hat’ and a tweed coat, fashion model Lee Miller in Paris one day in September 1930 reversed her usual role by turning…
Ithell Colquhoun: British surrealist who owed an artistic debt to Greek antiquity By James Brewer Artist and writer Ithell Colquhoun (1906-1988) spent only a brief part of her career in…
By James Brewer Anyone can take a photo these days, thanks to the smart phone. But what of the quality and the relevance? It needs rare, sharp-eyed skill and lightning…
By James Brewer Black was the new black for the prolific artist John Singer Sargent. He portrayed his sitters in bold dark fabrics and was unafraid to ‘order’ to a…
Women in Revolt! Tate Britain’s exhibition of gutsy feminist art in the UK from 1970 to 1990 By James Brewer There is a saying, “If you can remember the sixties,…
Migration tragedies in focus as Tate Britain features film-maker Sir Isaac Julien By James Brewer With deeply tragic migration endeavours at the top of the news agenda again, the UK’s…
By James Brewer A young woman in a beautiful floor-length cream-coloured dress poses elegantly, exuding serene self-confidence, alongside a majestic musical instrument, a cello. She is flawlessly painted by a…
The Rossettis, Radical Romantics – Tate Britain revels in their irrepressible story By James Brewer Three spectacular, courtly paintings enhanced the drawing room in the opulent London home of Frederick…
By James Brewer As a child, Cornelia Parker was fascinated by American animated cartoons in which Roadrunner, Tom and Jerry and other characters suffered regular ‘deaths.’ In adulthood her artworks…
By James Brewer Dieppe was an ideal base for the unflagging painter Walter Sickert. The French resort offered him ever-changing views of his favourite subject-matter: café-concert venues, everyday street scenes,…
Aubrey Beardsley draws the crowds to Tate Britain By James Brewer Aubrey Beardsley by turns charmed, shocked and aroused late-Victorian Britain with his elegant and erotic drawings, but one of…
Tate Britain’s majestic new exhibition ‘British Baroque: Power and Illusion’ By James Brewer A flagship painting sums up with a grandiose flourish Tate Britain’s ambitious new exhibition, British Baroque: Power and Illusion.…
William Blake: visionary exhibition at Tate Britain By James Brewer William Blake aspired to be the Michelangelo of England. He was never to achieve that ambition: some of his patrons…
Van Gogh and Britain: a star-studded spectacular at Tate Britain By James Brewer Behind Vincent van Gogh’s expression in luxuriant brushstrokes of the unflinching energy he identified in nature is…
Edward Burne-Jones: a wealth of myth and romance on show at Tate Britain By James Brewer Sir Edward Burne-Jones loved to immerse himself in depicting dreamscapes, Greek myths and Biblical…