Archive

Today, there is a generation of war victims, descendants of 20th century pioneers, now made modern masters, who rightfully seek to reclaim works that had been held during the war, until divested by the families of the artists. Into this…

The Getty Museum was deeply shocked to be alerted to the possibility of a number of forged Renaissance drawings in its midst, especially since the purchasing policy has been altruistic, scholarly, and, need one say it, generous. And yet the…

The art world has had its own share of drama and trauma during 2001. Of course, looming over all that took place is the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center (see article, September 11: European Thoughts, September 2001). New…

Mark Jones was the perfect choice to run the V & A; he had successfully masterminded the new building for the Museum of Scotland before he left, and he appears undaunted by the challenge of the brilliant Libeskind spiral, as…

Tate Britain has at last received the necessary lift-off through an architectural redesign which could not be achieved entirely through exhibition diversity alone. Called the Centenary Development and costing 32.3 million, there is less razzmatazz and more contemplation of the…

As if this were the perfect time to celebrate high-rise, the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone is, in alliance with the City Corporation of London, to give the best possible support to a new generation of megatowers, grafted, as it…

One of the excellent aspects of the Imperial War Museum is the long span of its temporary exhibitions. The Spanish Civil War runs until 28 April 2002. Often, memorable Spanish works from the period are detached from their time in…

The Said Business School at Oxford University, designed by Jeremy Dixon and Edward Jones, has been built on a central site conveniently close to Oxford’s railway station using a 20 million donation from the Syrian-born businessman Wafic Said. The Said…

First we had the Guggenheim Las Vegas (which opened last October) and now we will have Thameside Saatchi. The expansion of the global brand has been mastered by Krens of the Guggenheim. Historically, the Guggenheim New York has rivalled MoMA…

Following Neil MacGregor’s acceptance of the British Museum post, the National Gallery now finds itself, for the first time in 15 years, seeking a new director. Charles Saumarez Smith, innovative Director of the National Portrait Gallery, has already been tipped…

Tate Modern will launch its spring megashow, MatissePicasso, on 11 May 2002. For the first time the show assembles a massive, representative selection of the work of both artists altogether, which will also illustrate their competition with each other ever…

Information technology has been the greatest boon to the library sector. We no longer miss the curious olfactory ambience that was the preserve of the Victorian or Edwardian library, any more than we do the scuffed and annotated volumes or…

What can be done about the Dome? Well, it’s actually transportable anywhere outside the country. A rather tasteless idea was put forward after 11 September that it could be ‘given’ to New York. Fortunately for New York this has not…

Sadly this is not Kitaj’s personal re-entry into London as a working base, since he is now based in California. The collective guilt of the London art world has not yet made amends for the incredibly misplaced critical onslaught that…

This summer’s Edinburgh exhibition (National Galleries of Scotland) has reached the Royal Academy. Critics feel that this is a less successful hang, however. Then there is the conjunction with Auerbach’s exhibition, possibly too sharply disjunctive a combination of ages and…

There is still a queue on Saturdays outside the Museum of Modern Art, where Giacometti is showing superbly. But things are different from before in Chelsea. It’s all in the mind’s eye. Gagosian Gallery is showing ‘Torqued Spirals, Toruses and…

Well, in a manner of speaking. Viacom Outdoor vets all advertising for London Underground. It was announced that an uncovered breast and nipple would not be accepted for the National Portrait Gallery’s poster advertising the ‘Painted Ladies’ exhibition, (even if…

A very recent work by artist Damien Hirst has been all too rapidly binned by self-made critic and cleaner Emmanuel Asare. The Eyestorm Gallery, Maddox Street, London W1 (off Regent Street) had set ready their window with Hirst’s installation (untitled)…

Sir Anthony Caro does have independence of mind: he has stoically resisted the blandishments of the Royal Academy, an accolade that most of his distinguished contemporaries have felt unable to resist. Caro’s exhibition at Yorkshire Sculpture Park (opened 26 September)…