Trafalgar Square

This Week in London – ‘Pirates’ at the National Maritime Museum; the ‘design of swimming’; and, José María Velasco explored…

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PICTURE: Frames For Your Heart/Unsplash

• A major exhibition tracing the changing depictions of pirates through the ages and revealing their often brutal role in history opens at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich on Saturday. Pirates deconstructs some of the myths which have developed around buccaneers as it reveals the real-life stories of the likes of Edward ‘Blackbeard’ Teach, William Kidd, Anne Bonny and Mary Read. The exhibition features almost 200 objects ranging from the costume worn by Orlando Bloom in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, to copies of A General History of the Pyrates by Captain Charles Johnson (first published in 1724), a hanging believed to have been part of a shrine captured from a junk in the fleet of the mid-19th century Chinese pirate Shap Ng-tsai, and a silver centerpiece depicting the bombardment of Algiers, 1816, when a combined British Dutch force attacked Algiers in an attempt to resolve the longstanding issue of piracy on the North coast of Africa. Runs until 4th January. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.rmg.co.uk/pirates.

• The ‘design of swimming’ – covering everything from fashions to architecture – is the subject of a new exhibition opening at the Design Museum tomorrow. Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style is split across three sections focusing on three locations in which people swim – the pool, the lido and nature – and starts in the 1920s when beach holidays exploded in popularity. More than 200 objects are on display including Pamela Anderson’s Baywatch swimsuit, the first Olympic solo swimming gold medal won by a British woman, the banned ‘technical doping’ LZR Racer swimsuit, one of the earliest surviving examples of a bikini, and a detailed architectural model of the Zaha Hadid-designed London 2012 Aquatics Centre. Runs until 17th August. Admission charge applies. For more, see https://designmuseum.org.

José María Velasco, ‘Pirámides del sol y de la luna’, 1878, Oil on canvas, 18.5 x 26.3 cm, Colección Pérez Simón, Mexico © Oliver Santana

• Mexico’s most celebrated 19th century painter, José María Velasco (1840–1912), is the subject of a new exhibition opening at The National Gallery on Saturday. José María Velasco: A View of Mexico – which coincides with the 200th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the UK and Mexico, explores how he approached drawing and painting and how he explored the relationship between different cultures, Mexico’s mountainous terrain, flora and fauna, and the impact of industrialisation on the landscape. The display also considers the links between Velasco’s work and paintings in the gallery’s collection, in particular Édouard Manet’s The Execution of Maximilian (1867–8), which depicts the execution of the Austrian ruler imposed on Mexico. Runs until 17th August. Admission charge applies. For more, see nationalgallery.org.uk.

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This Week in London – ‘Dress Codes’ at Kensington Palace; Edvard Munch portraits; St Patrick’s Day celebrations; and, women’s lives at Hampton Court…

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Kensington Palace. PICTURE: Martin Zenker/Unsplash

• Never-before-seen royal clothing is going on show at a new exhibition opening at Kensington Palace today. Dress Codes, which includes rarely seen highlights from the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection, explores the codes and conventions of royal clothing, and the impact fashion can make “when boundaries are pushed and dress codes evolve”. Highlights include two matching Liberty print floral cotton dresses, worn in 1936 by Queen Elizabeth II (then Princess Elizabeth) and her younger sister Princess Margaret, a glittering red Bruce Oldfield gown worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, for a state visit to Saudi Arabia in 1987, and a Catherine Walker green silk velvet tuxedo-style dress which was shared with the world as one of 79 dresses famously auctioned to raise money for HIV/AIDS and cancer charities in 1997. There also two dresses worn by Princess Margaret which are going on show for the first time in the UK – a 1978 Thea Porter evening ensemble and a colourful green embroidered evening gown by the Filipino designer Jose Pitoy Moreno, worn in 1980. Other items include a never-before-displayed black mourning bodice worn by Queen Victoria. Runs until 30th November. Admission charges apply. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/kensington-palace/whats-on/dress-codes.

• The first ever exhibition of Edvard Munch portraits opens at the National Portrait Gallery. The display, Edvard Munch Portraits, include Munch’s portraits of lawyer Thor Lütken and physicist Felix Auerbach as well as early family portraits such as Evening (1888) which shows his sister Laura on a family holiday and Andreas Munch Studying Anatomy (1886). Other works include The Brooch (1902) and full-length portraits of Jappe Nilssen, the painter Ludvig Karsten and writer Christian Gierløff – all from the group of men he called his ‘Lifeguards’ or ‘Guardians’. Runs until 15th June. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.npg.org.uk.

St Patrick’s Day in London in 2024. PICTURE: Loredana Sangiuliano/Shutterstock

• The St Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival returns to London this Sunday. Irish Paralympic gold medal winning cyclist Katie-George Dunlevy and Olympic gold medal winning boxer Kellie Harrington are serving as this year’s Grand Marshals of the parade which, with more than 50,000 participants, will feature floats, marching bands, and dance troupes. The parade kicks off at noon and will make its way from Hyde Park Corner past Piccadilly and Trafalgar Square and on to Whitehall. Meanwhile, Trafalgar Square will host an afternoon of entertainment hosted by Irish-Indian-Malaysian DJ and broadcaster Tara Kumar and featuring a wide range of family-friendly performances by the likes of Kíla, Irish Women in Harmony and Ragz-CV. Celebrity chef Anna Haugh will provide Irish cooking demonstrations and there will be an exhibition celebrating Ireland’s unsung women heroes as well as the chance to learn Irish dancing and a dedicated zone for kids with free creative workshops. For more, see https://www.london.gov.uk/events/st-patricks-day-2024.

• An audio-led exploration of Hampton Court Palace after dark kicks off next Wednesday to mark
International Women’s History Month. Still The Hours uses a layered soundscape to guide visitors through the palace’s darkened halls as established actors including Kathryn Hunter (Harry Potter, Black Doves, Poor Things) and Miranda Richardson (Harry Potter, Good Omens, The Hours) can be heard alongside up-and-coming female voices to “weave a vivid tapestry” of women’s lives at the palace. The stories explored in the hour long presentation range from a suffragette to a mistress and a queen to a maid. Runs until 30th March. Admission charge applies (for ages 14+, under 16s must be accompanied by an adult). For more, see www.hrp.org.uk.

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This Week in London – A celebration of 14th century Siena works; ‘The Hedge of Halomancy’ at Tate Britain; and, ‘Unfolding Time’ at Lambeth Palace…

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Duccio Maestà – Panels, 1308-11, Christ and the Woman of Samaria (Tempera and gold on panel 43.5 x 46 cm), Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid (133 (1971.7)), © Copyright Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

• Paintings by some of the greatest Italian artists of the 14th century have been reunited in a new exhibition opening at the National Gallery on Saturday. Siena: The Rise of Painting 1300‒1350, which is being held to mark the gallery’s 200th anniversary, features around 100 works including some of the most innovative in the Western tradition. Highlights include Maestà, painted by Sienese artist Duccio di Buoninsegna (active 1278, died 1319). The first double-sided altarpiece in Western painting, it was dismantled in the 18th century and the National Gallery’s own three panels are now reunited with others from the original ensemble including Christ and the Woman of Samaria from the Museo Thyssen- Bornemisza in Madrid, and The Calling of the Apostles Peter and Andrew from the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. Another work being reunited for the exhibition is the Orsini Polyptych by Sienese artist Simone Martini (1284‒1344). A folding work of art made for private devotion, probably for Cardinal Napoleone Orsini, it is today divided into six works held by the Louvre, Paris, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp and the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin. All six panels are being brought together for the National Gallery’s exhibition. Two triptychs by Duccio which seem to have been conceived as a single work are also being reunited and the display also features works by Pietro Lorenzetti (active possibly 1306; died probably 1348) and his brother Ambrogio Lorenzetti (active 1319; died 1348/9) as well as Sienese works in a variety of media (metalwork, enamel, gilded glass, wood, marble, and manuscript illumination). The display runs until 22nd June. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.nationalgallery.org.uk.

Hylozoic/Desires, ‘The Hedge of Halomancy’, 2025. PICTURE: Courtesy the artists

• An installation featuring new work by artist duo Hylozoic/Desires (Himali Singh Soin & David Soin Tappeser) has opened at Tate Britain. In The Hedge of Halomancy, which runs in parallel with a large-scale new commission by Hylozoic/Desires at Somerset House, the artists excavate the lost archive of the Inland Customs Line, a 4,000 kilometre-longe barrier which comprised 2,500 kilometres of planted hedge and was created by the British Empire in the 19th century to prevent salt smuggling between British-occupied territories and neighbouring independent states. A 23-minute film at the heart of the installation focuses on Mayalee, a character inspired by a courtesan who defied the British Empire’s attempts to cut off her stipends of salt. Alongside it sits an embroidered tapestry, entitled Mokshapat (Snakes and Ladders) which was woven as mashru fabric – cotton on one side and silk on the other. Runs until 25th August. Admission is free. For more, see www.tate.org.uk.

• On Now: Unfolding Time: The Medieval Pocket Calendar. A “remarkable” set of medieval concertina-fold almanacs grappling with the concept of time is on display at the Lambeth Palace library. Less than 30 such manuscripts are known to exist and the display brings a group of the works, in which time is expressed in colourful pictures, poems, tables and devices, together for the first time. Runs until 15th May. For more, see https://www.lambethpalacelibrary.info.

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This Week in London – Portraits from ‘The Face’; jazz and classical music at the London Transport Museum; and, Ralph Steadman at the Heath Robinson Museum…

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• Iconic portraits which featured in the trail-blazing magazine, The Face, have gone on show from today at the National Portrait Gallery off Trafalgar Square. The Face Magazine: Culture Shift features more than 200 prints by more than 80 photographers including Sheila Rock, Stéphane Sednaoui, David LaChappelle, Corinne Day, Elaine Constantine, Juergen Teller and Sølve Sundsbø. The display explores how the cult magazine, which ran from 1980 to 2004 before being relaunched in 2019, impacted culture in the Eighties, Nineties and Noughties and in particular how it shaped the tastes of Britain’s youth. Runs until 18th May. Admission charges apply. For more, see www.npg.org.uk.

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• Visitors to the London Transport Museum are being treated to live performances from some of London’s most promising classical and jazz musicians under a new initiative which kicked off earlier this month. The young musicians, from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music, or Trinity Laban, are performing in a programme designed to equip them with real-world performance experience. The music is being performed over various dates until 24th October. For more details, see www.ltmuseum.co.uk/whats-on/music-museum.

• A new exhibition celebrating the work of illustrator Ralph Steadman has opened at the Heath Robinson Museum in Pinner. Ralph Steadman: INKling spans the 70 years of Steadman’s career and covers his literary illustrations, including Steadman’s interpretations of Alice in Wonderland, Animal Farm, and Treasure Island, his illustrations for children’s books such as From Fly Away Peter (1963) and The Ralphabet (2023), and the “Gonzo art” he created in collaboration with Hunter S Thompson. Runs until 10th May. Admission charges apply. For more, see www.heathrobinsonmuseum.org/#whatson.

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LondonLife – London, wrapped for Christmas …

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Christmas bells in Covent Garden. PICTURE: Paul Arps (licensed under CC BY 2.0)
Carolling in Trafalgar Square. PICTURE: steve_w (licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Lights in Regent Street Saint James’s. PICTURE: JuliaC2006 (licensed under CC BY 2.0)
Cutty Sark Christmas tree. PICTURE: sarflondondunc (licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Leadenhall Market. PICTURE: Artem Manchenkov/Unsplash

Cartier with a cosmic display in New Bond Street. PICTURE: JuliaC2006 (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

This Week in London – Queen Victoria’s Christmas childhood; Parmagianino’s Madonna and Child with Saints; and, Buckingham Palace winter tours…

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• Step back in time at Kensington Palace this Christmas with an experience inspired by Queen’s Victoria’s childhood at the palace. Victoria’s Childhood Christmas features intricately designed installations – everything from trees hung with sugar ornaments and handmade paper decorations to bespoke illustrations and period-style gifts – as well as an exploration of how some of the traditions still celebrated today – such as arranging numerous Christmas trees on table tops and displaying unwrapped presents around them – can be traced back to the 1830s at Kensington Palace. There’s also a pop-up theatre set which captures the magic of Victoria’s winter trips to London opera houses and a festive-themed afternoon tea inspired by Princess Victoria’s Christmas traditions served in The Orangery. The experience, which is included in general admission, can be seen until 5th January. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/kensington-palace/

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Parmigianino (1503–1540), ‘Studies of Saints John the Baptist and Jerome, a Crucifix and Various Heads’ (recto), about 1525–7; Red chalk on paper, 13.5 × 22.1 cm; The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles (87.GB.9); PICTURE: Courtesy of the Getty’s Open Content Program

• Parmigianino’s Madonna and Child with Saints (1526‒7) returns to display in The National Gallery for the first time in a decade in honour of the gallery’s 200th anniversary. The work, which is also known as The Vision of Saint Jerome, was presented to the gallery in 1826 and is being displayed with a selection of some of the most important preparatory drawings providing a rare opportunity to follow the artist’s creative process. The painting can be seen in Room 46 until 9th March. Entry is free. For more, see nationalgallery.org.uk.

• The Buckingham Palace State Rooms are open for one hour tours on select dates throughout winter. Led by an expert guide, the tours, which have a maximum of 30 people, include a complimentary guide. For more, see https://www.rct.uk/whatson

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This Week in London – ‘The World of Tim Burton’; Halloween at Hampton Court, the Tower, and Kew Gardens; and, Diwali celebrations…

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Tim Burton and curator Maria McLintock visit ‘The World of Tim Burton’ , on 23rd October. PICTURE: Matt Crossick/PA Media A (courtesy of the Design Museum)
Tim Burton, Untitled (Edward Scissorhands), 1990. EDWARD SCISSORHANDS ©1990. 20th Century Studios, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

• The fantastical world of celebrated film-maker Tim Burton is on display in a touring exhibition opening at the Design Museum on Friday. The World of Tim Burton, making its final stop after a decade-long world tour, showcases his 50 years of creative output and looks at not only his role as film-maker but as illustrator, painter, photographer and author. Drawn from Tim Burton’s personal archive as well as film studio collections and other private holdings, the more than 600 objects include film props, drawings, paintings, photographs, sketchbooks, moving-image works, sculptural installations, set and costume design. Highlights include the Catwoman suit from 1992’s Batman Returns, Wednesday Addams’ viral Rave’N dance dress from the recent Netflix series and the Edward Scissorhands costume worn by actor Johnny Depp in the 1990 film. There’s also early drawings of the Martians from Mars Attacks! (1996), the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland (2010), and Emily in Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (2005) and a specially created cinema experience which gives voice to some of Burton’s key collaborators and is being shown in a bespoke art-deco space reminiscent of the theatres Burton frequented as a child growing up in Hollywood. Runs until 21st April. Admission charge applies. For more, see https://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/the-world-of-tim-burton.

• Hampton Court Palace and the Tower of London are marking Halloween with a series of spine-tingling events which delve into the mysterious past of the royal residences. From Saturday, visitors to Hampton Court Palace can, among other things, discover the ‘Alchemist’s Apothecary’ and meet the ghost of a long-departed alchemist, venture into the ‘Spider’s Lair’ in the depths of the palace’s wine cellar, catch a glimpse the frantic ghost of Catherine Howard in the Haunted Gallery, and encounter the spirit of Sybil Penn, a former nurse to Henry VIII’s son Edward, who has haunted the palace hallways ever since her tomb was disturbed. At the the Tower of London, meanwhile, the grounds have been transformed, hosting everything from a haunted chess game on the South Lawn to a glimpse into the tower’s astronomical past, complete with celestial maps and scientific instruments. Events take place until 3rd November. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/ or www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/.

• The first Halloween-themed light trail has opened at Kew Gardens with eerie illuminated trees, ghoulish installations and fire performers. Visitors can wander through an illuminated spiders web or discover a neon Carnivorous Tree feeding on unsuspecting skeletons by choosing one of three sessions to attend (daylight, twilight and moonlight) with things getting scarier as the evening progresses. Runs until 3rd November. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.kew.org/kew-gardens/whats-on/halloween-at-kew.

• Diwali is being celebrated on Trafalgar Square this Sunday in a free, family-friendly festival. Delivered in partnership with the volunteer-led Diwali in London committee, the event – which showcases the culture of London’s Hindu, Sikh and Jain communities – features a programme of dance, music, activities and food. Highlights include dance workshops, sari and turban tying and the new Bhajan singing space where groups will perform throughout the day. The day runs from 1pm to 7pm. For more, see www.london.gov.uk/events/diwali-square-2024.

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This Week in London – Constable and ‘The Hay Wain’; Hew Locke at the British Museum; and, first NYE tickets on sale…

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NG1207, John Constable, ‘The Hay Wain’, 1821, Oil on canvas 130.2 × 185.4 cm © The National Gallery, London

• John Constable’s iconic work The Hay Wain is the focus of a new free exhibition opening at The National Gallery. Discover Constable and The Hay Wain, which is being held as part of the gallery’s 200th anniversary celebrations, will look at the innovative nature of the painting when it was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1821 and show how Constable came to be established as a master in the history of British art. It will also examine the subsequent ownership of the painting, its acquisition by the National Gallery in 1886, and the rise in popularity of both Constable and The Hay Wain in the years since. The free exhibition in the Sunley Room opens today. Runs until 2nd February. For more, see www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/discover-constable-and-the-hay-wain.

• A new exhibition examining how the British Museum’s collection reflects the legacies of British imperial power opens today. A collaboration with renowned Guyanese-British artist Hew Locke, Hew Locke: what have we here? is Locke’s “personal and emotive exploration” of the collection and features well-known objects from across the museum’s collection alongside specially commissioned new works by Locke. Can be seen until 9th February in the The Joseph Hotung Great Court Gallery (Room 35). For more, see www.britishmuseum.org.

• The first tickets for London’s New Year’s Eve fireworks celebration go on sale at noon tomorrow (Friday 18th October). The tickets, which cost between £20 and £50 depending on the viewing area (London residents pay £15 less on each ticket), represent the first of two batches of tickets to go on sale. Tickets must be purchased to watch the fireworks in person and only tickets bought from the authorised outlet Ticketmaster will be accepted. For those who can’t get tickets, the fireworks show is being broadcast live on the BBC. www.london.gov.uk/nye.

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This Week in London – Dick Whittington explored at the Guildhall Library; Francis Bacon’s portraits; and, the 60th Photographer of the Year competition…

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PICTURE: Courtesy of the City of London Corporation

• A new exhibition exploring the life of one of the City of London’s most famous Lord Mayors has opened at the City of London’s Guildhall Library. Marking the library’s 600th anniversary, Whittington, the Man, the Myth and the Cat uses chapbooks (small printed booklets used for street literature in early modern Europe), children’s books, and works relating to pantomimes, to investigate Whittington’s story (including the question of whether or not he owned a cat). The exhibition details Whittington’s “rags to riches” tale and the many myths that later grew up around him, revealing information about his many loans to to kings (Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V), how he was three times Lord Mayor of London (1397, 1406 and 1419) and how he paid for the building of public lavatories at St Martin Vintry and a refuge for unmarried mothers at St Thomas’ Hospital as well as the rebuilding of Newgate Prison, and the establishment of the first library at Guildhall. Addressing the myth of the Whittington’s cat, it explains how it may have come about as a result of a play on words – ‘cat’ (or cattes) being a word used to describe a fleet of boats used for importing and exporting which was a mistranslation of the French word, ‘achat’, for trade. The exhibition, which runs until April next year, is free to visit. For more, see www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/libraries/guildhall-library.

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• The first exhibition in almost 20 years to focus on Francis Bacon’s portraits opened at the National Portrait Gallery, off Trafalgar Square, this week. Francis Bacon: Human Presence charts the artist’s career through 50 of his works arranged in five sections – ‘Portraits Emerge’, ‘Beyond Appearance’, ‘Painting from the Masters’, ‘Self Portraits’, and ‘Friends and Lovers’. Works on show include self-portraits as well as Head VI (1949), Study for a Pope I (1961), Three Studies for a Portrait of Isabel Rawsthorne (1965) and Portrait of a Man Walking Down Steps (1972). The exhibition also includes photographic portraits and film of Bacon by some of the century’s leading photographers, including Cecil Beaton, Arnold Newman, and Bill Brandt. Can be seen until 19th January. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.npg.org.uk.

‘The Swarm of Life’ by Shane Gross, Canada, winner of the 60th Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.

• A Canadian marine conservation photojournalist, Shane Gross, has won this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition for an image capturing the magical underwater world of western toad tadpoles. The Swarm of Life is among 100 prize-winning images which are going on show at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington from tomorrow as it celebrates the 60th year of its Photographer of the Year competition. This year’s contest attracted a record-breaking 59,228 entries from 117 countries and territories. Among the other images on display are German Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas’ Life Under Dead Wood  depicting the fruiting bodies of slime mould with a tiny springtail (Tinker-Tsavalas won Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year). Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. The exhibition runs until 29th June. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.nhm.ac.uk/wpy.

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LondonLife – The Fourth Plinth readorned…

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‘Mil Veces un Instante’ by Teresa Margolles. PICTURE: © James O Jenkins
Teresa Margolles with ‘Mil Veces un Instante’ PICTURE: © James O Jenkins

The 15th commission in Mayor of London’s Fourth Plinth programme has been unveiled in Trafalgar Square.

Artist Teresa Margolles’ Mil Veces un Instante (A thousand times an Instant) is made up of plaster casts of the faces of 726 trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people which were made in Mexico City and Juárez, Mexico; and London. 

The casts – which Margolles spent more than 1,000 hours making – were created by applying plaster directly onto the faces of participants, meaning the plaster is infused with their hair and skin cells.

The next artworks to grace the Fourth Plinth will be Tschabalala Self’s Lady in Blue – a bronze work patinated with Lapis Lazuli blue which will be installed in 2026 – and Andra Ursuţa’s Untitled – a shrouded equestrian statue which will be installed from 2028.

Mil Veces un Instante replaced Samson Kambalu’s Antelope which had been on the Fourth Plinth since 2022.

For more on the Fourth Plinth programme, head to https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/arts-and-culture/current-culture-projects/fourth-plinth-trafalgar-square. You can also download the free arts and culture app Bloomberg Connects.

This Week in London – Black On The Square; poetry celebrated at Westminster Abbey; and, Ellen Terry’s costumes at Smallhythe Place…

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• A celebration of Black communities and culture returns to Trafalgar Square this weekend. Taking place on Saturday, the Mayor of London’s Black On The Square festival features live music and dance as well as art, fashion, food from Ghana, Guyana, Jamaica, Mauritius and Nigeria, and a range of family-friendly activities. Multi award-winning actor and rapper Bashy is headlining with other acts including Cultur FM, Kofi Stone, Krar Collective, Shingai, Phoebs and Karen Nyame. The free festival runs from noon to 6pm. For more, see www.london.gov.uk/events/black-square-2024.

Westminster Abbey. PICTURE: Ian Branch/Unsplash

• Westminster Abbey, home of the famed Poet’s Corner, has unveiled a new season of events celebrating poets and poetry this autumn. Voice and Verse, which launches on 3rd October, features poetry readings, talks, tours, musical performances and workshops. Highlights include a lunchtime concert to be held in St Margaret’s Church with music inspired by the poetry of writers memorialised in Poet’s Corner, a talk on the lives and legacy of World War I poets and an eventing of poetry held in Poet’s Corner itself. For more information, including event dates and booking information, head to www.westminster-abbey.org/events/autumn-season.

• Further afield: Two of Victorian actor Ellen Terry’s costumes – worn while performing Lady Macbeth in an 1888 production of Macbeth at London’s Lyceum Theatre – have gone on display at her former home of Smallhythe Place in Kent. The costumes, designed by Alice Comyns Carr, include the iridescent green ‘Beetlewing dress’, decorated in over 1,000 beetle wings, and immortalised in a John Singer Sargent painting of Terry. There’s also a gown worn by Terry in the play’s banqueting scene in which Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo. Made of muslin and shot through with gold thread, it is on display for the first time after extensive conservation work to address the damage caused by its repeated use on stage and the alterations and repairs which have occurred since. The Dressing Lady Macbeth: An Exhibition can be seen until 3rd November. Admission fees apply. For more, see www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/kent/smallhythe-place.

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This Week in London – Photographers honoured with Blue Plaques; David Hockney meets Piero dell Francesca; and ‘Taylor on Strings’ at Wembley Park…

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• Two pioneering photographers are being commemorated with English Heritage Blue Plaques today. Christina Broom (1862-1939) is believed to have been Britain’s first female press photographer while John Thomson (1837-1921) was a ground-breaking photo-journalist working at the advent of the medium. Broom’s plaque – the first to be located in Fulham – is being placed on 92 Munster Road, a terraced house of 1896, where she lived and worked for 26 years. Thomson’s plaque, meanwhile, will be located at what is now 15 Effra Road in Brixton where he and his family were living when one of his best-known and influential works, Street Life in London (1877-8), was published. For more, see www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/.

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‘My Parents’ (1977), David Hockney/© David Hockney. Photo: Tate, London

• Two of David Hockney’s key works – My Parents (1977) and Looking at Pictures on a Screen (1977) – which feature reproductions of 15th-century Italian painter Piero della Francesca’s The Baptism of Christ (probably about 1437–45) have gone on display alongside the Renaissance work at The National Gallery. Hockney and Piero: A Longer Look explores Hockney’s “lifelong association” with the National Gallery and its collections, particularly in the works of Piero della Francesca (1415/20–1492). Hockney once confessed that he would love to have The Baptism of Christ so he could look at it for an hour each day. My Parents features a reproduction of Piero’s work shown reflected in a mirror on a trolley behind the sitters while Looking at Pictures on a Screen depicts Hockney’s friend Henry Geldzahler, the Belgian-born American curator of 20th-century art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, peering at a folding screen in the artist’s studio on which are stuck four posters of National Gallery pictures including The Baptism of Christ. The display in Room 46 is free. Runs until 27th October. For more, see www.nationalgallery.org.uk.

The City String Ensemble. PICTURE: Catherine Frawley

• Experience a prelude of Taylor Swift at Wembley Park with with City String Ensemble playing more than a dozen interpretations of Taylor Swift songs. The free open air concert comes ahead of Swift’s return to Wembley Stadium later this month. ‘Taylor on Strings’ will be held at the Sound Shell from 6:30pm on 13th August. Tickets are free but must be booked with 30 released at 10am each day in the lead-up to the concert. For more, head to wembleypark.com/taylor-on-strings.

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LondonLife – Summer in the Square…

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PICTURE: Leif Christoph Gottwald/Unsplash

This Week in London – Trail-blazing women celebrated at the Tower; ‘The Judgement of Paris’ back on show; and, Barbie at the Design Museum…

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PICTURE: Joseph Gilbey/Unsplash

• The lives of five little-known trail-blazing women are being celebrated at the Tower of London. The five women – who will take part in a guided procession through the grounds and features in staged performances and face-to-face interactions at the Tower this summer – include Winifred Maxwell, a fearless Jacobite who smuggled her husband out of the Tower the night before his execution and Katherine le Fevre, who served as the Master Smith of the Tower during the Hundred Year War with France. Also represented are Phillis Wheatley, an intellectual prodigy and enslaved woman hailing from West Africa who became the first African-American author of a published book of poetry; Catalina of Motril, a Granadan bedchamber attendant of Katherine of Aragon who was privy to her former mistress’ secrets; and, Leonora Cohen, Yorkshire-born Suffragette who smashed the case holding the Crown Jewels at the Tower with an iron bar – and kept campaigning until she was 105. The chance to meet the women is included in general admission until 1st September. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/.

• Peter Paul Rubens’ The Judgement of Paris has returned to public display after a 14 month restoration project. The project found that the painting, believed to date from 1632‒5 during the last decade of Ruben’s life, has been restored several times including a significant re-working of the composition sometime between 1676 and 1721. The new analysis reveals what changes were made by Rubens himself to the work – which arrived in Britain in 1792 and was acquired by the National Gallery in 1844 – and which were done after his death. For more, see www.nationalgallery.org.uk.

• A major exhibition on the creation and evolution of Barbie opens at the Design Museum on Friday. Barbie: The Exhibition, which coincides with the 65th anniversary of the Barbie brand, showcases the diversity of the Barbie range, as well as her friends (and, of course Ken) and looks at how Barbie’s homes, vehicles and other products have reflected the tastes and trends of day. Highlights include a rare first edition of the first doll released by Mattel in 1959 (‘Number 1 Barbie’), the ground-breaking ‘Day to Night Barbie’ from 1985 and the best-selling Barbie of all time, 1992’s ‘Totally Hair Barbie’, which sold more than 10 million across the globe. There are also examples of the first Black, Hispanic and Asian dolls to bear the Barbie name as well as the first Barbie with Down syndrome, the first to use a wheelchair, and the first to be designed with a curvy body shape. Runs until 23rd February. Admission change applies. For more, see https://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/barbie-the-exhibition.

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This Week in London – The lives of Henry’s wives; West End Live; and, ‘NAOMI’ at the V&A…

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NPG L246. Katherine of Aragon (c 1520) by Unknown artist © National Portrait Gallery, London. By permission of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Church Commissioners; on loan to the National Portrait Gallery, London.

• The first major exhibition to focus on the six wives of King Henry VIII opens at the National Portrait Gallery today. The first historical exhibition at the gallery since its reopening, Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens features more than 140 works and includes everything from 16th century portraits by Hans Holbein the Younger through to costumes from SIX the Musical. The display will examine representation of the queens in chronological order starting with Katherine of Aragon before moving on to Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Parr and Katherine Howard, and, as well as historic paintings, includes miniatures, drawings and some of the queen’s personal possessions such as letters and books. Highlights include a three-quarter length painted panel of Katherine Parr attributed to ‘Master John’, a portrait of Anne of Cleves by Edgar Degas and contemporary portraits by Hiroshi Sugimoto. Personal possessions on show include Katherine of Aragon’s writing box, Anne Boleyn’s inscribed Book of Hours with her signature deliberately erased, an illustrated Bible commissioned by Thomas Cromwell following the death of Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleve’s expense account book, a miniature portrait believed to be of Katherine Howard by Hans Holbein the Younger and a prayer book written by Katherine Howard. Admission charge applies. Runs until 8th September. For more, see www.npg.org.uk.

• West End Live takes place in Trafalgar Square this weekend with a line-up of more than 50 acts – from productions ranging from Disney’s Frozen to Mrs Doubtfire set to hit the stage. The unticketed free event, now in its ninth year, will also be streamed on Official London Theatre’s YouTube after the event. Gates will open at approximately 10.15am on Saturday and 11.15am on Sunday. Entry to all areas is managed on a first come, first served basis and queues are expected. Entry cannot be guaranteed. For more, head to the West End LIVE website.

A scene from the NAOMI exhibition. PICTURE: Courtesy of the V&A

• An exhibition exploring the 40 year career of leading British fashion model Naomi Campbell opens at the V&A on Saturday. NAOMI features around 100 looks from global high fashion and draws upon Campbell’s own extensive wardrobe of haute couture and leading ready-to-wear ensembles along with loans from designer archives and objects from V&A collection. Designers represented include everyone from Alexander McQueen, Chanel, and Dolce & Gabbana to Gianni and Donatella Versace, Jean Paul Gaultier, John Galliano, Karl Lagerfeld, Vivienne Westwood and Yves Saint Laurent. The display also includes photography by Nick Knight, Steven Meisel and Tim Walker. Runs until 6th April, 2025. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.vam.ac.uk.

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This Week in London – Degas and Miss La La; World Oceans Day in Greenwich; and life at the Old Royal Naval College captured…

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Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas,
‘Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando’ (1879) © The National Gallery, London

• Edgar Degas’ Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando (1879) takes centre stage in a new free exhibition at The National Gallery. Part of the free ‘Discover’ series of displays, Discover Degas & Miss La La takes a close look at the painting and reveals new information about the sitter, circus artist Miss La La, or Anna Albertine Olga Brown (1858‒1945). The display features new material, from rare, hitherto untraced drawings of her by Degas and entirely unpublished photographic portraits. In the Sunley Room until 1st September. For more, see www.nationalgallery.org.uk.

• Celebrate World Oceans Day this Saturday in Greenwich Park thanks to a collaborative event in which Royal Museums Greenwich are teaming up with Royal Parks. Visitors are invited to follow a self-guided trail across the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich Park and the Royal Observatory Greenwich to discover a range of activities centred on UNESCO’s seven principles of ocean literacy, including the idea that the ocean makes Earth habitable. There will also be musical performances in the Greenwich Park Bandstand, a free bike mechanic and a talk on the Cutty Sark. For more on the day, head to www.rmg.co.uk/worldoceansday.

• Daily life at the Old Royal Naval College has been captured in a series of photographic images now on show at the Greenwich institution. A Year in the Life: People and places of the Old Royal Naval College features 12 images snapped by award-winning photographer Hugh Fox over the past 12 months and includes some portraits of staff show alongside short interviews. Visitors are encouraged to bring their own headphones to better experience the audio-visual display in the Ripley Tunnel. Free to attend, the display can be seen until 1st September. For more, see https://ornc.org/whats-on/.

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This Week in London – Caravaggio’s last painting; Hampton Court’s Tulip Festival; and, ‘Beyond the Bassline’….

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• Caravaggio’s last painting – the 1610 work known as The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula – has gone on display in the UK for the first time in almost 20 years. The National Gallery is displaying the work – lent by the Intesa Sanpaolo Collection (Gallerie d’Italia – Naples) – alongside another late work by the Italian artist from the gallery own collection – Salome receives the Head of John the Baptist (about 1609–10). The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula, which features a self-portrait of the artist, was only reattributed to Caravaggio in 1980 following the discovery of an archival letter describing its commission. The letter – which is being displayed along with the painting – was sent from Naples, where Caravaggio created the work, to Genoa, where his patron, Marcantonio Doria, lived. Caravaggio died in Porto Ercole on 18th July, 1610, less than two months after finishing the work. He was attempting to return to Rome where he believed he would be pardoned for a 1606 murder at the time. Admission to the display is free. Runs until 21st July. For more, see www.nationalgallery.org.uk.

Tulips in the Netherlands. PICTURE: Giu Vicente/Unsplash

• Hampton Court Palace’s Tulip Festival is on again. Displays include thousands of tulips spilling from a Victorian horse cart in the heart of the palace courtyards, giving the appearance of a Dutch flower seller’s cart, ‘floating’ bowls in the Great Fountain, free-style plantings in the kitchen gardens and more than 10,000 tulips in a display in Fountain Court. There are also daily ‘Tulip Talks’ sharing the history of the flower and Queen Mary II, who was responsible for introducing them to Hampton Court. Runs until 6th May (including in palace admission). For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/whats-on/tulip-festival/.

• Five hundred years of Black British music is being celebrated in a new exhibition at the British Library. Beyond the Bassline: 500 Years of Black British Music features soundscapes, artworks and films along with costumes, interactive displays, and of course, music. Highlights among the more than 200 exhibits include letters from 18th-century composer Ignatius Sancho, records by likes of Fela Kuti and Shirley Bassey, a nostalgic video archive of grime’s golden era captured on Risky Roadz DVD, and the equipment that Jamal Edwards used to start SB.TV, theYouTube channel dedicated to Black British music. The display concludes with a multi-screen film installation by South London-based musical movement and curatorial platform Touching Bass. Admission charge applies (with Pay What You Can days on the first Wednesday of each month). Runs until 26th August. For more, see https://beyondthebassline.seetickets.com/timeslots/filter/beyond-the-bassline.

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This Week in London – National Gallery prepares for its 200th; Trafalgar Square hosts Eid, St George’s Day celebrations; and, ‘Silent Testimony’ at the National Portrait Gallery…

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The National Gallery. PICTURE: Lucia Hatalova/Unsplash

• The National Gallery is celebrating its 200th anniversary with festivities kicking off with a special night of celebrations on Friday, 10th May, and continuing over the weekend. In a special Friday night late, Jools Holland is performing in the Rausing Room with friends including Ruby Turner, Louise Marshall, and Sumudu while across the rest of the gallery there will be DJ sets, music from London Contemporary Voices, soundscapes by Anna Phoebe and poetry from Ben Okri. There will also be a celebration of music collaboration past and present in the Future Room and creative workshops offering sculptural postcard making and ‘Renaissance Selfies’ with London Drawing while outside on Trafalgar Square the building’s facade will be illuminated in a light show featuring projections of paintings from the gallery as well as the story of its history. Meanwhile, across the weekend visitors to the gallery will have the chance to join in the making of a creative “birthday day” by contributing their own paper creations. All events are free but booking is advised and tickets to the public open today. For more, see nationalgallery.org.uk/whats-on/big-birthday-weekend-late.

• Trafalgar Square hosts two days of celebrations this weekend with Eid in the Square on Saturday and St George’s Day festivities on Sunday. Eid in the Square runs from noon to 6pm and features creative arts workshops, storytelling and VR experiences with musical performances on the main stage and food stalls from across the world. Among those performing will be Love’s Pilgrim, Raghad Haddad and Raghad Haddad and members of the Orchestra of Syrian Musicians, Muslim Belal and Chahat Mahmood Ali Qawwal and Group. For more, see www.london.gov.uk/Eid-in-the-Square-2024. Meanwhile, St George’s Day, which also runs from noon to 6pm, features a wide range of entertainment, food stalls and music with artists including The Kurfew, Natalie Shay of Busk in London, West End Kids and Snottledogs. Folkdance Remixed will present a mass barn dance while She’s Got Brass, an all-female brass group, Nick Howe and the Stringbeats Trio and Tom Carradine will lead a cockney sing-a-long. Other activities will include an English Pentathlon – events include welly wanging, pancake tossing, human Crufts, bubble Olympics, the art of Morris Dancing and a chance to meet Pearly Kings and Queens. St George and the dragon will be available for selfies. For more, see www.london.gov.uk/st-georges-day-celebrations-trafalgar-square-sunday-21-april. Both events are free to attend.

• A new display revealing stories of loss from The Troubles in Northern Ireland opens at the National Portrait Gallery opens on Monday. Silent Testimony features 18 large-scale portraits by Belfast-born artist Colin Davidson which were painted between 2014 and 2015 and speak to the impact of the conflict on the sitters, their families and friends and the wider community. The paintings were first displayed at the Ulster Museum in Belfast and most recently at Stormont’s Parliament Buildings and the Irish Arts Center in New York. The display in Room 14, level three, is free to see and runs until 23rd February next year. For more, see www.npg.org.uk.

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This Week in London – Hampton Court’s bunny hunt returns; vintage prints at the National Portrait Gallery; and, ‘Sounds of Blossom’ at Kew…

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Gardens at Hampton Court Palace. PICTURE: edwin.11 (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

• The Lindt Gold Bunny hunt returns to Hampton Court Palace this Saturday with families once again invited to search the gardens for those elusive Gold Bunny statues. Each statue offers a chance to match the names of influential characters from Hampton Court Palace’s history to the distinctive red ribbons and a small Lindt bunny chocolate awaits those who succeed in finding the bunnies. Visitors will also have the chance to encounter a selection of the characters roaming the palace over the Easter period. The Gold Bunny hunt is included in general admission. Until 14th March. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/whats-on/easter-lindt-gold-bunny-hunt/.

• Rare vintage prints by two of art history’s most influential photographers – Francesca Woodman (1958-1981) and Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879) – go on show at the National Portrait Gallery today. Francesca Woodman and Julia Margaret Cameron: Portraits to Dream In showcases more than 160 rare vintage prints including 97 by Woodman and 71 by Cameron as well as artist’s books by Woodman which have never been exhibited before in the UK. Key works include Cameron’s self-declared “first success” – a portrait of Annie Wilhemina Philpot taken in 1864, Woodman’s Self-portrait at thirteen, taken during a summer holiday in Italy in 1972, images from Woodman’s Angel series and Cameron’s ethereal portraits of actor Ellen Terry taken in 1864. Also featured are Woodman’s Caryatid pieces and Cameron’s portraits of her niece and favorite model Julia Jackson, Alice Liddell as the goddess Pomona, a portrait of John Frederick William Herschel called The Astronomer (1867), and those of her frequent muses, May Prinsep and Mary Ann Hillier. Runs until 16th June. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.npg.org.uk.

• A new collaboration with the Royal College of Music blends music with spring blooms at Kew Gardens. Sounds of Blossom: Awaken your senses, the first ever spring festival to be held at the gardens, features six bespoke commissions that celebrate Kew’s unique landscape in the spring emerging from locations such as Cherry Walk, Asano Avenue and the Japanese Landscape. And on weekends during the festival, visitors can enjoy live musical performances from the Royal College of Music as they showcase a varied repertoire from classical favourites to jazz melodies. Included in general admission. Runs until 14th April. For more, see www.kew.org/kew-gardens/whats-on/sounds-of-blossom.

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This Week in London – “Forgotten” stories from royal palaces; and, St Patrick’s Day celebrations…

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A scene from the Untold Lives exhibition at Kensington Palace. PICTURE: Courtesy of Historic Royal Palaces.

• The “forgotten” stories of those who worked behind the scenes at London’s royal palaces are the subject of a new exhibition at Kensington Palace. Untold Lives: A Palace at Work shines a spotlight on those working in various roles at the palace between 1660 and 1830 – everyone from pages and cooks to wetnurses and seamstresses. Among the items on display is an apron worn by Queen Charlotte’s Wardrobe Maid, Ann Elizabeth Thielcke, a newly conserved portrait depicting a young Black attendant standing by King William III and holding his armour, and a specially commissioned photographic piece by Peter Braithwaite which reimagines figures from the Kensington Palace’s Kings Staircase. Among those whose stories are featured is the “Rat-Killer”, who wore a special rat-embroidered uniform, the Groom of the Stool, who was responsible for looking after the monarch on the toilet, and the Keeper of Ice and Snow, whose job was to cut ice so those at the palace could enjoy cold drinks and iced desserts all year round. The exhibition also explores the unexpected origins of some of those who served at the palaces, such as Abdullah, a wild cat keeper from India, and Mehmet von Könsigstreu, Keeper of the Privy Purse for King George I.. The exhibition, entry to which is included in general admission to the palace, can be seen until 27th October. For more, see https://www.hrp.org.uk/kensington-palace/.

• St Patrick’s Day is being celebrated this Sunday with the annual parade and a free, family-friendly afternoon of entertainment in Trafalgar Square. The procession, which sets off from Hyde Park Corner at noon and winds its way through the city to Whitehall, will include Irish marching bands, dance troupes and pageantry. From 1pm to 6pm, Trafalgar Square will host family concerts, children’s films and youth performances, as well community choirs, schools and dancing with Anna Haugh, International Chef of the Year 2019, running food demos alongside the main stage and children’s workshops. Entry is free. For more, see www.london.gov.uk/events/st-patricks-day-2024.

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