• The work of portrait painter John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) is the subject of a new exhibition opening at Tate Britain today. Sargent and Fashion features some 60 paintings as well as a dozen period dresses and accessories with many of the former worn by his sitters and several reunited for the first time with the portraits in which they are shown. Highlights include Lady Helen Vincent, Viscountess d’ Abernon (1904), Mrs. Charles E. Inches (Louise Pomeroy) (1887), which will be juxtaposed with the red velvet evening dress illustrated, and, Charles Stewart, sixth Marquess of Londonderry at the Coronation of Edward VII (1904) which will be reunited with the regalia worn by the marquess. Also on show is Sargent’s iconic painting of socialite Virginie Amélie Gautreau, Madame X (1883-4), which caused a stir by depicting Mme Gautreau with one diamond strap falling from her shoulder, Mrs Montgomery Sears (1899) which is being shown alongside Mrs Sears’ own dresses and her photographs of Sargent at work, and his dramatic image, Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth 1889 which is being shown alongside Terry’s dress and cloak. Runs until 7th July. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/sargent-and-fashion.
• The public are being asked to vote on a shortlist of seven sculptural works to determine which of them will occupy Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth in 2026 and 2028. The works include Ruth Ewan’s Believe in Discontent depicting a black cat, Chila Kumari Singh Burman’s The Smile You Send Returns to You featuring a colourful bus with a tiger atop it and Veronica Ryan’s Sweet Potatoes and Yams are Not the Same which features a sweet potato “island” with growing vine leaf sprouting out of it. Models of the short-listed works can be seen at The National Gallery (Room 1, entry is free) until 1st March. To vote, head to https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/arts-and-culture/current-culture-projects/fourth-plinth-trafalgar-square/fourth-plinth-commissions
• A major exhibition exploring the Black figure opens at the National Portrait Gallery today. The Time is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure features 55 contemporary works, including sculpture, paintings and drawings, by some 22 African artists working in the US and UK. The works include Amy Sherald’s life-size greyscale portraits of African Americans, American figurative artist Nathaniel Mary Quinn’s fragmented portraits, Thomas J Price’s life-sized fictional female figure, As Sounds Turn to Noise (2023), Noah Davis’ depiction of Greenwood, Oklahoma, known as Black Wall Street (2008), Kimathi Donkor’s history painting Nanny of the Maroons’ Firth Act of Mercy (2012) and Lubaina Himid’s work Le Rodeur: The Exchange (2016) which responds to a case of blindness that affected a French slave ship in 1819. The display is curated by writer Ekow Eshun, former director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts. Runs until 19th May. Admission charge applies. For more. see www.npg.org.uk.
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