In the Olden Time: Victorians and the British Past
‘When the painter Henry Wallis first exhibited his Chatterton at the Royal Academy in 1856 the painting was acclaimed by the public and critics alike. When he showed it again in the ‘Modern Masters’ section of the Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition in the following year it caused a sensation. Two policeman were required to keep … Read more
The Anglo-Saxon World: From Roman Retreat to Norman Takeover
The Anglo-Saxon period witnessed the birth of the English people, the establishment of Christianity, and the development of the English language. With an extraordinary cast of characters (Alfred the Great, the Venerable Bede, King Cnut), a long list of artistic and cultural achievements (‘Beowulf’, ‘the Sutton Hoo ship-burial’ finds, the ‘Bayeux Tapestry’), and multiple dramatic … Read more
China’s Innovation Hurdle: Author Article by Lyric Hughes Hale
Drawing on extensive research and experience living and working in Asia over the last thirty-five years, Stumbling Giant by Timothy Beardson spells out China’s situation: an inexorable demographic future of a shrinking labour force, relentless ageing, extreme gender disparity, and even a falling population. Also, the nation faces social instability, a devastated environment, a predominantly … Read more
Experiments in Modern Realism: World Making in Postwar European and American Art
Experiments in Modern Realism: World Making in Postwar European and American Art is major study which offers a new understanding of the aesthetics and politics of postwar European and American art. Questioning the widespread assumption that the most innovative practices were non-representational, it shows how a powerful realist impulse operated alongside a strong commitment to abstraction. … Read more
Roman Fever: Influence, Infection and the Image of Rome 1700-1870
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, artists and travellers were lured to Rome, the home of civilized values and artistic beauty. But the history of visiting Rome had a pathological side – not only crisis and disorientation but repulsion at its filth and stink. Crucially Rome’s air was considered to contain a chronic source of disease. … Read more
