Category: Art

K2+K6 Doesn’t Equal K9

I hadn’t visited the Sir John Soane’s Museum in Lincoln’s Inn Fields for about a decade. It has had some major work done in that period and now looks even more like it did on the day of Soane’s death in 1837.

Second Thoughts

How many times have you been told not to be fobbed off with second best? This is usually followed by being told that it’s worth paying a bit more for something that is higher quality. This is misguided advice.

A Pinch of Snuff

My late father-in-law favoured High Dry Toast. Norman Murphy, an authority on P G Wodehouse and much else besides, likes Kendal Brown. I have just ordered some Seville. From 1720 until 1981 they could all be purchased at Fribourg and Treyer’s shop in the Haymarket.

Three Artists

Alan Ellison and Ronnie Wood have an unusual connection. Both are in their sixties and both are artists. Alan lives in Wales and has featured in a previous post (The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore). Ronnie is making his first appearance in these pages. While you are mulling over their connection I will show you… Continue reading Three Artists

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Categorised as Art

Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828)

The Goya exhibition at London’s National Gallery is well worth at least one visit. It shows his portraits in more or less chronological order. Various aspects appealed to me.

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Categorised as Art, History

Stones of Venice

A new exhibition opens at the Ashmolean today; drawings of Venice culled from the Uffizi, Christ Church and their own collection. Among others they are by Titian, Tintoretto and Canaletto.

Royal Salute

Quite rightly the media have been generous in ladling out big helpings of praise for the Queen this week. An Italian friend and reader here expressed surprise that I had not added a dollop. The only reason was that – until now – I could not think of anything to add.

A Spy in the Family

In the 1980s I was introduced to Patrick O’Brian’s novels about Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin (it’s curious that the series does not have a title). Like so many others, I became hooked on the detailed descriptions of life on board a Royal Navy ship in the early years of the 19th century. The depth… Continue reading A Spy in the Family

Hunting

My grandfather’s Uncle G used to say when he went to Mass in June, “good, we’re in the Trinities, hunting starts in the Trinities”. The 13th Sunday after Trinity approaches and we can now legitimately look forward to the start of the season.

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Categorised as Art, Family