George Seurat, Radical Harmony and The National Gallery.

Georges Seurat was a giant in the modern history of European Art. A superb draughtsman, he was instrumental in bringing the curtain down on Impressionism and introducing new ways of thinking about painting using scientific calculation. He studied colour and instead of combining paint to produce different hues and tones he used pure colour and…

Maurice de Vlaminck, The Fauve at Chartres

Chartres is a city, some sixty miles west of Paris, that we have visited a number of times and we were there again this summer. It is a busy vibrant place and known the world over for its magnificent gothic cathedral, Notre Dame de Chartres. Like many buildings of the time its predecessor was consumed…

Gustav Klimt and the Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer

The Art World is excited by the prospects of a once in a generation sale this autumn. Sothebys in New York are offering 24 works from the collection of Leonard Lauder, who died earlier this year in Manhattan. Lauder, billionaire, philanthropist and art collector was CEO of the Estée Lauder group of companies until 1999,…

Confluence by Nick Andrews in Salisbury

Salisbury as you will know from previous posts is a favourite city of mine. I am normally drawn to the great medieval buildings such as the Cathedral or the Church of St Thomas a Becket. However on a recent visit I found Fisherton Mill, a local arts centre and a delicious exhibition of Nick Andrews…

The Palace and Gardens at Versailles

The Palace at Versailles, just west of Paris, must be one of the most sumptuous buildings in the Western World. Although it is now only a shell having been stripped of its furniture and furnishings in the French Revolution in 1789, it is still a most wonderful tourist attraction. It is little wonder that some…