Galleries

This Week in London – Literary ‘foundlings’; Anthony Van Dyck re-examined; Astronights; and, Liberty in Fashion…

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• A new exhibition featuring drawings of fictional child protagonists who were orphaned, adopted, fostered or ‘found’ opens at the Foundling Museum in Bloomsbury tomorrow. Drawing on Childhood shows how illustrators, spanning the period from the 18th century until today, was inspired by Lemn Sissay’s 2014 commission, Superman was a Foundling. It features original drawings, first editions and special illustrated editions depicting everyone from James Trotter (James and the Giant Peach) to Cinderella and Rapunzel. Among the artists whose work will be on display are Phiz (Hablot K Browne), Arthur Rackham, Quentin Blake, Stref, George Cruikshank, Thomas Rowlandson, Nick Sherratt and David Hockney. Three contemporary artists – Chris Haughton, Pablo Bronstein and Posy Simmonds – have also been invited to produce a new illustration for Henry Fielding’s 1749 novel, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. Runs until 4th May. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk.

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• The works of Anthony van Dyck are the subject of a new display at the Dulwich Picture Gallery. I Am Van Dyck centres around a self-portrait of the artist recently acquired by the National Portrait Gallery and lent to Dulwich and juxtaposes the painting with two works by contemporary British artist Mark Wallinger – Self (Times New Roman) and I Am Innocent – in an effort to explore the meanings of individuality and our sense of self. The display – the first of four under the umbrella of Making Discoveries: Dutch and Flemish Masterpieces – also reveals new information on works by Van Dyck held by the gallery and shows how he developed and altered his compositions. Runs until 24th April. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk.

• The Science Museum is holding the first of its Astronights – “sleepovers for grown-ups” – this Saturday night. Guests will be treated to a midnight screening of Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens before which they’ll enjoy a three course meal with live music and an evening of entertainment. The next Astronight will be held on 4th March. Charges apply. For more, see www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/astronights.

• On Now: Liberty in Fashion. Commemorating the 140th anniversary of the company in 2015, this exhibition at the Fashion and Textiles Museum in Bermondsey Street explores the impact of Liberty & Co on British fashion and features more than 150 garments, textiles, and objects which demonstrate the company’s relationships with designers such as Yves Saint Laurent and Vivienne Westwood. The exhibition, which opened in October, runs until 28th February. Admission charge applies and there’s a series of events accompanying the exhibition (many of which have still to run). For more, see www.ftmlondon.org.

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This Week in London – London illuminated; commemorating Shakespeare’s death; and, of bees and pollination…

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Westminster-Abbey-west-front• The biggest ever light festival to hit London opens tonight. Lumber London, produced by Artichoke with the support of the Mayor of London and visitlondon.com, will see a host of international artists transform a series of iconic buildings and locations in four areas across the city – Piccadilly, Regent Street and St James’s, Trafalgar Square and Westminster, Mayfair and King’s Cross. The 30 installations include French collective TILT’s Garden of Light featuring giant illuminated plants in Leicester Square, Patrice Warrener’s The Light of the Spirit which envelopes the west front of Westminster Abbey in colour and light, Deepa Mann-Kler’s Neon Dogs – a collection of 12 neon dogs inspired by the balloon dogs seen at children’s parties, this sits near Trafalgar Square, and, Pipette, a colourful installation by Miriam Gleeman (of The Cross Kings) and Tom Sloan (of Tom Sloan Design) which sits in the pedestrian subway, the King’s Cross Tunnel. Other highlights include Julian Opie’s work Shaida Walking, 2015 which will be permanently located in Broadwick Street, Soho, and Janet Echelon’s enormous net sculpture 1.8 London which is strung between buildings at Oxford Circus. The festival runs from 6.30pm to 10.30pm over the next four nights. You can download a free map on the installations or use the free London Official City Guide app to locate them. For more information – including the full programme – see www.visitlondon.com/lumiere.

• A property deed signed by playwright William Shakespeare and one of the most complete first folios of his works have gone on show in the London Heritage Gallery at the Guildhall Art Gallery. Alongside the two documents which dates from 1613 and 1623, the Shakespeare and London exhibition marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death – to be commemorated on 23rd April this year – will also display other documents related to the story of London’s playhouses. The property deed – which relates to a property in Blackfriars – is only one of six surviving documents to bear the playwrights authenticated signature while the first folio is one of five of the most complete copies in existence and is apparently usually only brought out for consultation by Shakespearean scholars and actors. The exhibition runs until 31st March. Admission is free. For more on it and other events being run to commemorate the Bard’s death, see www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/shakespeare400. For more on other events this year, check out www.shakespeare400.org.

• See your art featured in an upcoming exhibition on the importance of bees and pollination by attending a drop-in workshop at Victoria Tower Gardens next to the Houses of Parliament next week. The workshop, which will be held from 10am to 2pm on 20th January, will see participants create their own 3D flowers based on famous paintings by Vincent Van Gogh and Jan Van Huysum currently in The National Gallery’s collection – all as part of a focus looking at what plants bees are attracted to. The art created in the workshop will be seen in an exhibition A Right Royal Buzz which is the result of a collaboration between The Royal Parks, The National Gallery and Mall Galleries and will be seen across all three venues (Victoria Tower Gardens representing the Royal Parks) from 17th t0 20th February. For more, head to this link.

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This Week in London – New guides to British Museum; Jean-Etienne Liotard at the RA; and Peter Lanyon’s gliding landscapes…

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• The British Museum has unveiled a new audio guide to provide the museum’s 6.7 million annual visitors with a new way to interact with its permanent collections. The guide comes in 10 different languages as well as in British Sign Language, an updated and improved audio descriptive guide and a “family game guide” for children to play with their parents. It boasts 70 new commentaries detailing the most recent research on key objects as well as new tours for China and A History of the World, a highlights feature and Top 1o tour, stunning new photography and a ‘My visit’ feature which sends visitors a visual record of their visit by email. The guide is available for hire at the Bloomsbury institution. See www.britishmuseum.org for more.

Marie-Antoinette• On Now: Jean-Etienne Liotard. This exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts’ Sackler Wing of Galleries off Piccadilly, which closes at the end of the month, features more than 70 works by the 18th century Swiss artist including works in pastels (of which he was an undisputed master), oil paintings, drawings and miniatures. The exhibition is divided into six sections – they include a detailed look at the artist and his family, his four year sojourn in Constantinople and his royal portraits which include Archduchess Marie-Antoinette of Austria, painted in 1762 (pictured). Runs until 31st January. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.royalacademy.org.uk. PICTURE: Bettina Jacot-Descombes/RA

• On Now: Soaring Flight: Peter Lanyon’s Gliding Paintings. The first exhibition devoted to the post-war artist’s gliding paintings, this display at the Courtauld Gallery in Somerset House explores Lanyon’s (1918-1964) pioneering artistic breakthroughs in landscape painting as he created works inspired and influenced by his own gliding experiences in West Cornwall. The display features 15 major paintings from public and private collections around the world. Closes on 17th January. Admission charges apply. See www.courtauld.ac.uk.

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Treasures of London – Royal Charter for the Society of Artists in Great Britain……

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The Charter for the Society of Artists of Great Britain and its associated Roll of Obligation have been rediscovered at the Royal Academy of Arts, 250 years after was society was founded. The documents, long thought to have been missing, date from 1765 and signify the formation of artists as a professional group in Britain. They form a crucial piece in history of the development of the Royal Academy of Arts, which formed in 1768 when a group of artists broke away from the society. The Charter, which consists of three pages of vellum with a portrait of a young King George III, hadn’t been seen since 1918. It and the Roll of Obligation – which features the crossed-out names of artists ‘expelled’ from the society, including the RA’s first president, artist Joshua Reynolds and German-born Johann Zoffany – were rediscovered earlier this year during an audit of the RA collections. The finding coincides with the 250th anniversary of the formal foundation of the society when it was granted a Royal Charter by King George III. Both documents will go on show from 2018 – the 250th anniversary of the founding of the RA – in new exhibition areas being created as part of the transformation taking place at the RA. For more on the Royal Academy, see www.royalacademy.org.uk.

This Week in London – V&A reopens Europe 1600-1815 galleries; the Victorian era’s finest; and, ‘Handel’s Performers’…

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• The V&A has reopened its ‘Europe 1600-1815’ galleries to the public this week following a major £12.5 million refurbishment. The seven transformed galleries, located close to the South Kensington museum’s grand entrance, tell the story of how France succeeded Italy as the “undisputed leader” of fashionable art and design in Europe in the late 17th century and how Europeans systematically “explored, exploited and collected” resources from Africa, Asia and the Americas. Featuring more than 1,100 objects, the galleries – redesigned in conjunction with architectural practice ZMMA – include four V&A2large rooms introducing the story of Europe across the period and three smaller rooms focusing on specific activities – ‘collecting in the Cabinet’, ‘enlightened thought in the Salon’, and ‘entertainment and glamour in the Masquerade’. Objects on display include a highly ornate Rococo writing cabinet made from Augustus III (on show for the first time since it has undergone a conservation work), a newly conserved 18th century bed from the Parisian workshop of George Jacob – furniture maker to Napoleon, a 17th century Venetian table by Lucio de Lucci and Pierre-Denis Martin’s oil painting, The Visit of Louis XIV to the Chateau de V&A3Juvisy (both on show for the first time) as well as several large recently cleaned tapestries including the 1860s Gobelins tapestry, The infant Moses tramples on Pharoah’s crown. The display also includes three recreated period rooms – a 17th century French bedchamber, Madame de Sérilly’s cabinet and a mirrored room from 18th century Italy – while in the Salon can be found a contemporary installation, The Globe. A curved architectural sculpture, it is the creation of Havana-based artist collective Los Carpinteros and forms a “room within a room” within the ‘Salon’. It will be used for events and discussions. Entry to the galleries is free. For more, see www.vam.ac.uk/europegalleries. PICTURES: David Grandorge/©Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

• On Now: A Victorian Obsession: The Pérez Simón collection. This exhibition at the Leighton House Museum – former home of artist Frederic, Lord Leighton – features more than 50 works by leading Victorian artists, some of which are rarely exhibited. The paintings, which include six works by Leighton himself as well as works by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones, John Everett Millais and John William Waterhouse, all form part of the collection of Mexican Juan Antonio Pérez Simón who has the largest private collection of Victorian art outside the UK. The highlight of the exhibition, however, is Lawrence Alma-Tadema’s The Roses of Heliogabalus, being shown in London for the first time since 1913. Admission charge applies. The exhibition at the property on the edge of Holland Park runs until 6th April. For more, see www.leightonhouse.co.uk.

• On Now: Handel’s Performers. This display of portraits and documents in The Foundling Museum’s Handel Gallery is a showcase of celebrities and singers who brought the work of composer George Frideric Handel’s work to the public in the 18th century. Among those depicted are Anastasia Robinson and Senesino, among the highest paid singers of their time, Anna Maria Strada, a leading soprano, Gustavus Waltz, a bass singer who sang at the benefit performance of Handel’s Messiah at the Foundling Hospital in 1754, and John Hebden, who played in the orchestra during benefit performances of the Messiah in 1754 and 1758. Runs at the Bloomsbury museum until 1st May. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.foundlingmuseum.org.

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Treasures of London – ‘Locking Piece’…

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Locking-Piece

A Henry Moore original, Locking Piece was created in 1963-64 and first located on its current site on Riverwalk Gardens at Millbank, site of the former Millbank Penitentiary, four years later. The bronze sculpture consists of, as the name suggests, two interlocking pieces. There’s a couple of conflicting stories about where the idea for the work came from – in one, Moore said he was visiting a gravel pit near his home at Perry Green in Hertfordshire where he was playing with two pebbles which suddenly locked together (and hence came the idea of a sculpture of two interlocking pieces); and in another, Moore said the idea came from a bone fragment featuring a socket and joint found in his garden. Originally loaned to Westminster City Council, in 1978 the sculpture was given to the Tate Gallery which subsequently decided to leave the piece in situ. It’s one of numerous Moore works in London. For more on Henry Moore’s London works, see www.henry-moore.org/works-in-public/world/uk/london.

This Week in London – Christmas at Kensington and the Geffrye; and Ebola and ISIS at the IWM…

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• Christmas is looming and that means Christmas themed events happening all over London. Here’s a couple worth considering:

• Kensington Palace: Head back into the Victorian era where so many of the Christmas traditions we know and love find their origins. The palace and gardens have been decorated with period-inspired decorations while inside decorations include the beautifully decorated tables where Queen Victoria and Prince Albert showcased their Christmas gifts. There’s talks on the origins of Christmas foods such as plum pudding, music and carolling, and the cafe is serving up seasonal food and drink while on Saturday, a special brunch time lecture will look behind the curtains into the world of Victorian pantomime and performance. Admission charges apply – check the website for dates. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/kensington-palace/.

• The Geffrye Museum: This Shoreditch institution is once again celebrating Christmas traditions of the past in its annual display showcasing the past 400 years of Christmas traditions. Christmas Past has taken place at the museum for the past 25 years and is based on ongoing, original research. It provides insights into everything from traditional Christmas feasts to kissing under the mistletoe, playing parlour games, hanging up stockings, sending cards, decorating the tree and throwing cocktail parties. A series of related events, including a concert by candlelight, are being held over the Christmas season. The display, which has free entry, closes on 3rd January. For more, see www.geffrye-museum.org.uk.

 

• Ebola and the fight against ISIS are the subject of a new exhibition which opened at the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth last month. Fighting Extremes: From Ebola to ISIS looks at the experiences of British personnel serving on recent operations including the response to the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone and the fight against ISIS in the Middle East. The display features behind the scenes interviews such as an in-depth talk with Corporal Anna Cross, a British Army nurse who contracted Ebola, photographs, and recently acquired objects such as the Wellington boots worn by healthcare worker Will Pooley, the first Briton to contract Ebola who was evacuated from Sierra Leone by the RAF, a headset used by an RAF drone pilot, and a shooting target depicting a silhouette of an ISIS suicide bomber used by the British Army to train Peshmerga troops. For more, see www.iwm.org.uk.

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This Week in London – Alice in Wonderland’s 150th; Remembering Julia Margaret Cameron; and, Imperial Britain’s artistic influence…

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John-Tennial-illustration• A new exhibition has opened at the British Library in Kings Cross to mark the 150th anniversary of the publication of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The free exhibition explores the story of how the tale came to be written and features Lewis Carroll’s handwritten manuscript of Alice’s Adventures Under Ground (complete with 37 illustrations by Carroll) as well as an entry from Carroll’s diary in which he relates how he first came to tell the story to Alice Liddell and her sisters on the “golden afternoon” of 4th July, 1862. Other highlights include two first editions of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with illustrations by Sir John Tenniel (including the suppressed first edition; suppressed because Carroll and Tenniel were unhappy with the quality of the illustrations), the first movie adaption of the story – a 1903 silent film, early Alice memorabilia, and three new computer game concepts. The exhibition, which runs until 17th April, is accompanied by a series of events and a pop-up shop. For more, see www.bl.uk/events/alice-in-wonderland-exhibition. PICTURE: Sir John Tenniel’s illustration of Alice and the Cheshire Cat from the 1866 edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll © The British Library Board.

• An exhibition featuring more than 100 photographs by celebrated 19th century photographer Julia Margaret Cameron opens at the V&A on Saturday to mark the bicentenary of her birth. The display at the South Kensington museum offers a retrospective of her work and looks at her relationship with the V&A’s founding director Sir Henry Cole who presented the only exhibition of her work during her lifetime in 1865. Her relationship with the museum goes back to the very start of her work – within two years of being given a camera by her daughter she was selling and giving photographs to what was then the South Kensington Museum while, in 1868 she was granted the use of two rooms at the institution to use as a portrait studio, becoming the museum’s first artist-in-residence. The exhibition features original prints acquired from Cameron as well as a selection of her letters to Cole, his 1865 diary, the first photograph identified as being of her studio and a variety of her portraits in which family, friends and servants posed as characters from Biblical, historical and allegorical stories. The free exhibition runs until 21st February. For more, see www.vam.ac.uk/juliamargaretcameron.

• The influence of the British Empire on art over the past 400 years is the subject of a new exhibition which opened in Tate Britain’s Linbury Galleries yesterday. Artist and Empire will showcase art from across the empire – including the British Isles, North America, the Caribbean, the Pacific, Asia and Africa – and features some 200 paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures and artefacts. These include paintings by the likes of George Stubbs and Anthony Van Dyck through to Indian miniatures, Maori objects, and the works of contemporary artists such as Sonia Boyce and Judy Watson. Runs until 10th April at the Milbank gallery. The exhibition is free. For more, see www.tate.org.uk.

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This Week in London – Samuel Pepys and his world revealed; the world of contemporary cycling; and, Indian jewellery traditions…

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Samuel-Pepys• The largest exhibition ever mounted about the life of 17th century diarist Samuel Pepys opens at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich tomorrow. Samuel Pepys: Plague, Fire, Revolution features more than 200 paintings and objects brought together from museums, galleries and private collections which explore the life of the famous diarist (depicted here in a bust outside the Guildhall Art Gallery) against the backdrop of the tumultuous events of Stuart London, from the execution London of King Charles I in 1649 through the Great Fire of London and the Glorious Revolution on 1688. Objects on show include the famous painting, Portrait of Charles II in Coronation Robes, objects connected to Pepys’ mistresses including one of his love letters to Louise de Kéroualle (aka ‘Fubbs’ or ‘chubby’) and other personal items such as a lute owned by Pepys. The exhibition is accompanied by a series of events including Pepys Show Late: Party like it’s 1669 (26th November) and a series of walks and talks. Admission charge applies. The exhibition runs until 28th March. For more, see www.rmg.co.uk/national-maritime-museum.

• Cycles are in the spotlight at the Design Museum in Shad Thames with a new exhibition, Cycle Revolution, opening yesterday. The display, which focuses on the world of contemporary cycling, features dozens of bicycles from key manufacturers as well as high end accessories, items belonging to celebrated cyclists Sir Chris Hoy and Sir Paul Smith and specially commissioned films and photography. It looks at cycling subcultures – everyone from the “high performers” to the “cargo bikers”, examines manufacturing techniques and innovations in the use of materials and design with exhibits including a large scale recreation of a bespoke bicycle making workshop, and tackles questions about the future of cycling particularly in relation to the urban environment. The exhibition is being accompanied by a ‘cycle cafe’, large scale installations and a series of public events. Runs until 30th June. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.designmuseum.com.

• The jewellery traditions of the Indian sub-continent are set to sparkle at a new exhibition opening at the V&A in South Kensington this Saturday. Part of the V&A India Festival, Bejewelled Treasures: The Al Thani Collection features 100 items, drawn from a single private collection, including a Golconda diamond given to Queen Charlotte by the Nawab of Arcot in South India in 1767, a jade-hilted dagger that belonged to the 17th century emperor Shah Jahan (builder of the Taj Mahal), and a jewelled gold tiger’s head from the throne of the Tipu Sultan of Mysore. As well as showcasing the types of jewels collected by the Mughal emperors, the exhibition reveals the influence of India on European jewellery houses in the early 20th century and the ongoing impact of Indian influences on more modern pieces. The exhibition runs until 28th March. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.vam.ac.uk/BejewelledTreasures.

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This Week in London – Lord Mayor’s Show marks 800 years; Dutch masters and Thomas Rowlandson at Queen’s Gallery; and, Alexander Calder on show at Tate…

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Lord-Mayor's-Show• The Lord Mayor’s Show will mark its 800th anniversary on Saturday as the newly elected Jeffrey Mountevans – the 688th Lord Mayor of the City of London – makes his way through the City to Westminster to swear loyalty to the Crown. The procession of 7,000 people, some 180 horses and 140 vehicles will set off on its way along a three-and-a-half mile route at 11am, starting at Mansion House and traveling down Cheapside to pause at St Paul’s Cathedral (which is open for free all day) before heading on via Ludgate Hill and Fleet Street to the Royal Courts of Justice before returning the City via Queen Victoria Street from 1.10pm. In a special nod to the 800th anniversary, the famous bells of St Mary-le-Bow will ring out a special 800-change at noon. The day will conclude with fireworks over the River Thames kicking off at 5.15pm (for the best view head down to the riverside between Waterloo and Blackfriars Bridges, either on Victoria Embankment or on the South Bank). The show’s origins go back to 1215 when, in exchange for a Royal Charter granting the City of London the right to elect its own mayor, King John insisted the newly elected mayor travelled to Westminster each year to swear loyalty to the Crown. For more (including a map to print out), see https://lordmayorsshow.london. PICTURE: From a previous show.

• Vermeer’s The Music Lesson is among 27 of the finest 17th and 18th century Dutch paintings in the Royal Collection which will go on display in a new exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace from tomorrow. Masters of the Everyday: Dutch Artists in the Age of Vermeer also features works by the likes of Gerrit Dou, Pieter de Hooch and Jan Steen, all produced during what is known as the Dutch ‘Golden Age’. The exhibition is being shown alongside another display – High Spirits: The Comic Art of Thomas Rowlandson – which will focus on the work of 18th and early 19th century caricaturist Thomas Rowlandson. Around 100 of Rowlandson’s works feature in the display with highlights including The Two Kings of Terror featuring Napoleon and Death sitting face-to-face after Napoleon’s defeat at Leipzig in 1813, The Devonshire, or Most Approved Method of Securing Votes depicting Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, kissing a butcher (it was claimed she had claimed kisses for votes in the Westminster election of 1784), and A York Address to the Whale. Caught lately off Gravesend in which the Duke of York thanks a whale for distracting attention from accusations that his mistress was paid by army officers to secure promotions from the Duke. Admission charge applies. Both exhibitions run until 14th February, 2015. For more, see www.royalcollection.org.uk.

• The first major UK exhibition of the works of kinetic sculpture pioneer Alexander Calder opened at the Tate Modern this week. Alexander Calder: Performing Sculpture features more than 100 of the ground-breaking 20th century artist’s works which trace how Calder turned sculpture from the idea of a static object to a continually changing work to be experienced in real time. Works on show include figurative wire portraits of artists – Joan Miró and Fernand Léger (both 1930), works exploring the idea of forms in space – Red Panel, White Panel and Snake and the Cross (1936), motorised mobiles such as Black Frame and A Universe (1934), and chiming mobiles such as Red Gongs (1950) and Streetcar (1951). It closes with the large scale Black Widow (c.1948), shown for the first time ever outside Brazil. Runs until 3rd April. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.tate.org.uk.

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This Week in London – Gallery of Japanese art reopens; Botticini’s Assumption back on show; Bonfire Night; and, celebrating wildlife photography…

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• A Hello Kitty! rice cooker, a selection of mobile phones designed by Naoto Fukasawa and a group of kimono from the 1920s and 1930s are among recent acquisitions on show in the V&A’s Toshiba Gallery of Japanese Art which reopened to the public following a refurbishment this week. The gallery, which first opened at the South Kensington premises in 1986 and was the first major gallery of Japanese art in the UK, now has about 550 items on show including 30 or so recent acquisitions. Spanning the period from the sixth century to the present day, the display features swords and armour, lacquer, ceramics, cloisonné enamels, textiles and dress, inro and netsuke, painting, prints and illustrated books. They include everything from modern objects such as the first ever portable stereo Walkman designed and manufactured by Sony in 1979 and a pair of gravity-defying shoes designed by Noritaka Tatehana through to historic items such as the Mazarin Chest, made in Kyoto around 1640, a late 17th century six fold screen depicting the Nakamura-za Kabuki theatre in Edo (Tokyo), and a group of high quality cloisonné enamels dating from 1880 to 1910. Admission to the gallery is free. For more, see www.vam.ac.uk.

• Francesco Botticini’s monumental Palmieri Altarpiece is at the centre of a new exhibition, Visions of Paradise: Botticini’s Palmieri Altarpiece, which opened in the National Gallery off Trafalgar Square yesterday. The altarpiece, depicting the Assumption of the Virgin, was completed in about 1477 for the funerary chapel of Matteo Palmieri (1406-1475) in the church of San Pier Maggiore in Florence, Italy. The exhibition, based on years of research, explores Palmieri’s life with special attention to his friendship with the Medici rulers of Florence and the King of Naples and his creative collaborations with Botticini including both the altarpiece and Palmieri’s epic poem of 1465, Citta di Vita (City of Life) –  which he had Bottinci provide illustrations for. Along with the altarpiece panel (which has been off display since 2011), the exhibition features around 30 works including paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints and manuscripts as well as a polyptych by Jacopo di Cione and his workshop made for the high altar of the same church in which Botticini’s altarpiece sat – Florence’s San Pier Maggiore. The polyptych includes a painted representation of the church and was later moved to the same chapel as Botticini’s Assumption. The exhibition is being held in the Sunley Room until 14th February. Admission is free. See www.nationalgallery.org.uk for more.

• Bonfire Night will be celebrated across the UK tonight as we “Remember, remember, the fifth of November” and burn effigies of “the guy” (Guy Fawkes) (for more on the background, see our earlier story here). Find your local bonfire event in London via Visit London or Time Out.

• On Now: Wildlife Photographer of the Year. This annual exhibition at the Natural History Museum features works selected out of the more than 42,000 entries to this year’s awards including the winning image, Tale of two foxes, taken by Canadian amateur photographer Don Gutoski at Cape Churchill in Canada. Other images on show include Fighting ruffs which won 14-year-old Ondrej Pelánek from the Czech Republic the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year award. The exhibition at the museum in South Kensington runs until 10th April next year. Admission charge applies. Entries for next year’s competition open in December. For more, see www nhm.ac.uk.

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Special – Museums at Night (second time round)…

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This weekend London is once again taking part in the Museums at Night event (yes, this is the first year it’s being held over two weekends – the first was back in May). In honour of that milestone, we thought we’d take the time to list five of the quirkier places that are taking part this time around, either tonight or on Halloween itself…

• The Marvellous Mysteries of Hackney Museum at Night. An interactive and “creative making” tour of the museum and local surroundings (be prepared for some walking!).

• The Monument, City. Ascend the spiral staircase of 360 degree views of the City and hear stories about the Great Fire and its aftermath and Hookes’ telescopic column.

Osterley After Dark• Osterley Park, Isleworth (pictured). Explore the Georgian house and discover some of the darker bits of Osterley’s 400-year-old history.

• The Fan Museum, Greenwich. Take a look at its latest exhibition ‘Made in China’ which features a display of 8o fans and “traces the evolution of Chinese export fan design from its emergence toward the end of the seventeenth century to its eventual decline in the latter part of the nineteenth century”.

• Severndroog Castle, Castle Wood. Take a candlelit tour on Halloween including the chance to take in the vistas from the viewing platform. The tearooms are also opening.

For details of all London events – some of which are free – check out www.museumsatnight.org.uk and search under ‘London’.

This Week in London – Life after the pharaohs in Egypt; Days of the Dead; horrible histories at two royal palaces; and Dickin and Gombrich honoured with Blue Plaques…

by exploringlondon
 •untitled 276.tif The first major exhibition to explore the history of Egypt after the pharaohs opens at the British Museum today. Egypt: Faith after the pharaohs spans 1,200 years of history – from 30 BC to 1171 AD – with 200 objects showing how Christian, Islamic and Jewish communities reinterpreted the pharaonic past of Egypt and interacted with each other. The exhibition opens with three significant examples of the Hebrew Bible, the Christian New Testament and the Islamic Qur’an – the texts include the New Testament part of the 4th century AD Codex Sinaiticus, the world’s oldest surviving Bible and the earliest complete copy of the New Testament, which is now part of the British Library’s collection. All three are juxtaposed with everyday stamps associated with each of the three religions in an illustration of the relationship between the institutional side of religion and its everyday practice, both key themes of the exhibition. Other exhibits include a pair of 6th-7th century door curtains featuring classical and Christian religious motifs, a 1st-2nd century statue of the Egyptian god Horus in Roman military costume, and a letter from the Roman Emperor Claudius (41-54 AD) concerning the cult of the divine emperor and the status of Jews in Alexandria. Admission charge applies. Runs until 7th February in Room 35. A programme of events accompanies the exhibition. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org/egypt. PICTURE: Codex Sinaiticus, open at John 5:6-6:23. Image courtesy of the British Library.

• Still at the British Museum and a free four day festival of art, performance, storytelling and talks kicks off on Friday night to mark the Mexican tradition of the Days of the Dead. The annual celebration, which draws on both native and Catholic beliefs, is held on 1st and 2nd November and sees families gather to remember relatives and friends who have died. The festival, which is being conducted in association with the Mexican Government, includes a Friday evening event, a weekend of family activities featuring storytelling, films, music and dance, and a study day  on Monday featuring lectures, gallery talks and activities. The museum will feature elaborate decorations by Mexican artists – including Betsabeé Romero – throughout the festival with a particular focus on the Great Court and Forecourt. Events – which run from 30th October to 2nd November – are free. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org/dotd.

• Horrible histories indeed! Hampton Court Palace and Kensington Palace are both hosting ghost tours from this weekend. The tours focus on some of the more grisly aspects of the history of the palaces with tours at Hampton Court featuring a visit to a shallow grave which was only uncovered in 1870 and those at Kensington Palace encountering the gruesome details of King William III’s fatal horse-riding accident and Queen Caroline’s horrific final hours. Admission charges apply. For more details, head to www.hrp.org.uk.

• Animal welfare campaigner Maria Dickin (1870-1951) and art historian EH Gombrich (1909-2001) have been honoured with English Heritage Blue Plaques. The plaque commemorating Dickin – founder of the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) and of the PDSA Dickin medal, awarded to animals associated with the armed forces or civil defence who have shown conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty – has been placed on the Hackney house at 41 Cassland Road where she was born and spent the first few years of her life. Meanwhile the plaque to Gombrich was placed on the house at 19 Briardale Gardens in Hampstead where he lived for almost 50 years, from shortly after publication of his seminal work The Story of Art to his death in 2001. For more see www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/.

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LondonLife – Giacometti’s works go on show at the National Portrait Gallery…

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AnnetteBust of Annette is among more than 60 works by the 20th century Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti on display at the National Portrait Gallery in an exhibition which opened earlier this month. The first ever exhibition to consist solely of portraits by Giacometti (1901-66), Giacometti: Pure Presence features paintings, drawings and sculptures from across his entire career. While he is most famous for his tall, thin standing or walking figures – works which fueled his reputation as a leading surrealist sculptor, the exhibition focuses on his life-long preoccupation with portraiture. Apart from his wife Annette, subjects featured in his works include his brother Diego, friends such as the writers Louis Aragon and Jean Genet, retailer and philanthropist Lord Sainsbury, art writer James Lord, Isabel Nichol – who later become Francis Bacon’s muse, Isabel Rawsthorne, and a prostitute named Caroline with whom he worked for five years from 1960. Highlights of the exhibition include a portrait bust of his brother Diego created in 1914 when the artist was just 13, an Egyptian-inspired sculpture of Isabel’s head and his celebrated work, Women of Venice VIII, which stands at the centre of the exhibition. The exhibition, at the gallery just off Trafalgar Square, runs until 10th January. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.npg.org.uk. PICTURE: Bust of Annette by Alberto Giacometti, 1954 Private Collection/© The Estate of Alberto Giacometti (Fondation Giacometti, Paris and ADAGP, Paris) 2015.

This Week in London – MC Escher at Dulwich; West Africa’s literary history at the British Library; and, two new war-related exhibitions…

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Escher_Hand-with-a-Reflecting-Sphere-1935• The first major UK retrospective of the work of 20th century Dutch artist Maurits Cornelis (MC) Escher opened at Dulwich Picture Gallery in London’s south yesterday following its run at the Scottish National Gallery of Art. The Amazing World of MC Escher showcases more than 100 works – including original drawings, prints, lithographs, and woodcuts – as well as previously unseen archive material from the collection of Gemeentenmuseum Den Haag in The Netherlands. Arranged chronologically, highlights include 1934’s Still Life with Mirror – perhaps the first time the artist used surreal illusion, well-known 1948 lithograph Drawing Hands, the almost four metre long 1939-40 woodcut Metamorphosis II, the 1943 lithograph Reptiles and two of his most celebrated works, Ascending and Descending (1960) and Waterfall (1961). Runs until 17th January and is accompanied by a series of special events. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk. PICTURE: M.C. Escher, Hand with Reflecting Sphere (Self-Portait in Spherical Mirror), January 1935, Collection Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague, The Netherlands/All M.C. Escher works © 2015 The M.C. Escher Company-The Netherlands. All rights reserved. http://www.mcescher.com.

• West Africa’s literary history comes under examination in a new exhibition opening at the British Library at St Pancras on Friday. West Africa: Word, Symbol, Song features more than 200 manuscripts, books, sound and film recordings, artworks, masks and textiles taken from the library’s African collections and elsewhere. It explores how key figures – from Nobel Prize winning Nigerian author Professor Wole Soyinka through to human rights activist Fela Kuti, the creator of Afrobeat, and a generation of enslaved 18th century West Africans who agitated for the abolition of the slave trade – used words to both build society and fight injustice. Key items on show include a 1989 letter Kuti wrote to the president of Nigeria, General Ibrahim Babangida, in which he agitated for political change, a pair of atumpan ‘talking drums’ similar to those still used in Ghana, a carnival costume newly designed by Brixton-based artist Ray Mahabir, and letters, texts and life accounts written by the most famous 18th century British writer of African heritage, Olaudah Equiano, enslaved and freed scholar Ayuba Suleiman Diallo, and Phillis Wheatley, who, enslaved as a child, went on to write Romantic poetry. The exhibition, which will be accompanied by a major series of talks, events and performances, runs until 16th February. Admission charge applies. For more, see  www.bl.uk/west-africa-exhibition.

• Two new war related exhibitions opened in London this week. Opened on Monday at the City of London’s Guildhall Library, Talbot House – An Oasis in a World Gone Crazy, recounts the story of army chaplains Philip ‘Tubby’ Clayton and Neville Talbot and their creation of an Everyman’s Club – where countless soldiers spent time away from the fighting – in a house in the Belgian town of Poperinge, a few miles from the frontline at Ypres. The exhibition, created to celebrate the centenary of the house’s creation in 1915, features items from Talbot House, the memoirs of ‘Tubby’ and part of the hut where he wrote them after fleeing the Germans. Runs until 8th January and the exhibition also features two ticketed events. Entry to the exhibition is free. For more, follow this link. Meanwhile, Lee Miller: A Woman’s War opens at the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth today, displaying 150 photographs depicting women’ experiences during World War II. The four part exhibition looks at women before the war, in wartime Britain, in wartime Europe and after the war. Runs until 24th April. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.iwm.org.uk.

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LondonLife – Soiling the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall…

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A grid containing 240 wooden planters filled with 23 tonnes of soil collected from gardens across London – from Peckham Rye to Regent’s Park – has been unveiled in the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall. Entitled Empty Lot, the work by Mexican artist Abraham Cruzvillegas will be lit by lamp-posts made using materials found in skips and building sites around the Tate. The artist has planted nothing in the boxes but flowers, mushrooms or other greenery may grow depending on what seeds may have found their way into the soil. The new installation – the first in the Hyundai Commission series of annual site-specific works by international artists – can be seen in the Turbine Hall on Bankside from today until 3rd April. Admission is free. For more, see www.tate.org.uk. PICTURE: Andrew Dunkley © Tate 2015

This Week in London – A look inside The Crime Museum; Goya at The National Gallery; and, Africa on the Square…

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• Objects and evidence from some of the UK’s most notorious crimes including the ‘Acid Bath Murder’ of 1949, the ‘Great Train Robbery’ of 1963 and the ‘Millennium Dome Diamond Heist’ of 2000 will go on show at the Museum of London from Saturday. Created with the support of the Metropolitan Police Service and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, The Crime Museum Uncovered exhibition features never-before-seen objects from the Metropolitan Police’s Crime Museum as it takes visitors through a series of real cases and tackles some of key challenges of policing in London – everything from terrorism and espionage through to counterfeiting and narcotics. The Crime Museum, which is now housed inside New Scotland Yard, was established in the mid-1870s as a teaching tool for police. Its Visitor’s Book contains some high profile names including that of King George V, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – creator of Sherlock Holmes, illusionist Harry Houdini and comedians Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Runs until 10th April. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.museumoflondon.org.uk.

Goya• Almost half of Goya’s surviving portraits are on show in The National Gallery in an exhibition which opened yesterday. Goya: The Portraits features more than 60 of the celebrated Spanish artist’s surviving portraits, borrowed from public and private collections around the world. Highlights include the Duchess of Alba (a 1797 work depicting one of Goya’s patrons which has only left the US once before), the immense group portrait The Family of the Infante Don Luis De Borbon (pictured), the never-seen-in-public work Don Valentin Bellvis de Moncada y Pizzaro, the rarely exhibited Countess-Duchess Benavente, and the recently conserved 1798 portrait Francisco de Saavedra, exhibited for the first time in 50 years alongside a pendant painted the same year of Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos. There are also works of royals including Charles IV in Hunting Dress and more personal works such as self portraits and paintings of his family members. Runs until 10th January in the Sainsbury Wing near Trafalgar Square. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.nationalgallery.org.uk. PICTURE: © Fondazione Magnani Rocca, Parma, Italy.

• Black History Month is being celebrated in Trafalgar Square this Saturday in Africa on the Square, a programme of events inspired by the traditions and cultures of the continent.  The line-up includes a musicians and singers, acrobats, dancers, a fashion show and a market selling African-themed products as well as a host of activities for families, from hair braiding and face painting to mosaics and batik making. There will also be a talent show giving aspiring performances aged between 16 and 25 the chance to perform in front of a live audience. The free event runs between noon and 6pm. For more, see www.london.gov.uk/africa.

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LondonLife – The Australian coast comes to London…

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Blue-PacificThe National Gallery has unveiled a coastal masterpiece by Australian painter Sir Arthur Streeton, Blue Pacific, lent to the gallery by a private collector for the next two years.

Painted in 1890, the painting – never seen before in the UK – depicts people strolling along the clifftops at Coogee in Sydney, looking eastward over the gleaming blue of the Pacific Ocean.

Christopher Riopelle, the gallery’s curator of post-1800 European paintings, says Streeton’s use of the vertical format was “brilliantly calculated to exploit the contrast between the azure sheet of water and the subtly observed depictions of rock face and sky”.

“Still young, but at the height of his powers, Streeton demonstrates here how impression was a capacious and flexible tool for confronting the awesome landscape unique to Australia.”

Streeton (1867-1943) was considered one of the most advanced landscape painters in Australia in the 1880s and 1890s and was one of the first to adopt an impressionist style. His masterpiece, Golden Summer (1889), was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1891.

Blue Pacific is now on show in Room 43 at the gallery off Trafalgar Square alongside Monet’s Water-Lilies and Manet’s The Execution of Maximilian.  Entry is free. For more on the gallery, see www.nationalgallery.org.uk.

PICTURE: Blue Pacific, 1890, Sir Arthur Streeton (1867 – 1943), oil on canvas, © on loan from a private collection/via National Gallery.

This Week in London – Indian textiles at the V&A; a “typical London street” on show; and, Nobel laureate given Blue Plaque…

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Tipus_Tent_c_National_Trust_Images• A spectacular tent used by the Tipu Sultan, ruler of the 18th century Kingdom of Mysore (pictured), is among highlights in an exhibition exploring the “incomparably rich world” of handmade textiles from India which opens at the V&A in South Kensington on Saturday. Part of the V&A’s India Festival marking the 25th anniversary of the opening of the museum’s Nehru Gallery, The Fabric of India has exhibits ranging from the earliest known Indian textile fragments (dating from the 3rd century) through to contemporary fashions. Among the around 200 handmade objects – which include everything from ancient ceremonial banners and sacred temple hangings to modern saris and bandanna handkerchiefs – are a Hindu narrative cloth depicting avatars of Vishnu dating from about 1570, an 18th century crucifixion scene made for an Armenian Christian church in south-east India, block-printed ceremonial textiles from Gujarat – made in the 14th century for the Indonesian market, bed-hangings originally belonging to the Austrian Prince Eugene (1663-1736), and a selection of clothing made using Khadi, a cloth which Mahatma Gandhi promoted using in the 1930s when he asked people to make the fabric as a symbol of resistance to colonial rule. Admission charges apply. Runs until 10th January. For more see, www.vam.ac.uk/fabricofindia. PICTURE: © National Trust Images.

• Westbury Road in Bounds Green, Haringey, is the subject of a new photographic and art exhibit which opened at the Geffrye Museum in Shoreditch this week. A Street Seen: The Residents of Westbury Road is a collaborative exhibition featuring the works of photographer Andrew Buurman and artist Gabriela Schutz as they document the homes, gardens and residents of what is described as a “typical London street”. The display includes a six metre long panoramic drawing of Victorian houses by Schutz and a series of photographs depicting residents in their back gardens taken over a two year period by Buurman. Runs until 3rd April. For more, see www.geffrye-museum.org.uk.

• One of the founding fathers of sports medicine, Nobel Prize winner AV Hill, has been honoured with an English Heritage blue plaque unveiled at his former home in Highgate in London’s north last month. Hill, as well as being noted for his work in the field of physiology, was also an independent MP during World War II and a humanitarian who is credited with helping more than 900 academics – including 18 Nobel laureates – escape persecution by the Nazis. He lived at the property at 16 Bishopswood Road for 44 years, between 1923 and 1967, 10 years before his death. For more on blue plaques, see www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/.

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This Week in London – Celts at the British Museum; the Fallen Woman at the Foundling; and Ai Weiwei…

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Gundestrup_Whole-Image• The story of the Celts and their culture is being explored in a new exhibition which opens at the British Museum in Bloomsbury today. Celts: Art and Identity, being run in partnership with National Museums Scotland, is the first British exhibition on the Celts in 40 years. Highlights of the display include a hoard of four gold torcs found at Blair Drummond in Stirling in 2009, Christian artefacts including iron handbells used to call people to prayer, elaborately illustrated Gospels, carved stone crosses and, a gilded bronze processional cross which, dating from 700-800 AD and coming from Tully Lough in Ireland, will be on show for the first time in Britain. Also present will be the Gundestrup cauldron, which dates from 100 BC-1 AD and comes from Denmark (pictured), London artefacts such as the Waterloo helmet and Battersea shield, and works created more recently which reflect on an often mythical Celtic past such as George Henry and Edward Atkinson Homel’s 1890 painting The Druids: Bringing in the Mistletoe. Runs until 31st January in the Sainsbury Exhibition Gallery (Room 30). Admission charge applies. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org. PICTURE: © The National Museum of Denmark.

• A new exhibition exploring the myth and reality of the ‘fallen woman’ in Victorian Britain opens at the Foundling Museum in Bloomsbury tomorrow. The Fallen Woman features works by artists including Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Richard Redgrave, George Frederic Watts and George Cruikshank, displayed alongside stereoscopes and depictions of the fallen woman in the era’s popular media. It also looks at the petitions of women applying to the Foundling Hospital, bringing to life the real ‘fallen women’ of the period through a specially-commissioned sound installation by artist and musician Steve Lewinson. The exhibition runs until 3rd January. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk.

• The London Transport Museum’s Depot in Acton hosts its autumn open days this weekend. The day includes the chance to see the original printing blocks used for the Johnston font – London Transport’s iconic typeface, expert talks on transport vehicles, a chance to see how the moquette – the seat covering on the tube – is made and film screenings from the LTM archive. From 11am to 5pm Saturday and Sunday. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.ltmuseum.co.uk.

• The Worshipful Company of Woolmen will be holding their annual  sheep drive across London bridge this Sunday. The event, free to watch, kicks off at 10am and runs until 5pm. For more, see www.woolmen.com.

• On Now: Ai Weiwei. This landmark exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in Piccadilly celebrates the work of Honorary Royal Academician and leading Chinese artist Ai Weiwei with significant works from 1993 onwards and new, site specific installations. Among the key exhibits is Straight (2008-12), a body of work related to the Sichuan earthquake of 2008, fabricated from 90 tonnes of bent and twisted rebar which was collected by the artist and straightened by hand. Runs until 13th December.  Admission charge applies. For more, see www.royalacademy.org.uk.

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