Soho Square
Not far from the banks of the Thames opposite my studio at Bow Creek is what is arguably the finest, best-preserved and most ambitious Jacobean mansion in London: Charlton House, and yet it attracts very little in the way of interest. The … Continue Reading ››
The Serendipitous Compendium is back for a second season and I am delighted to be involved in a segment called The Doctor's Dozen. Over forthcoming weeks, I'll be introducing listeners to various artists - thirteen in all - and linking them together into an imaginary art historical circle. Inspired by the context in which the … Continue Reading ››
The Illustrated Police News report of the murder of Emily Coombes
I am in the process of collecting and collating ideas for a book that will set out to explore the impact of the River … Continue Reading ››
Water Fountains at Crystal Palace (c.1852) by Philip Henry Delamotte
Wherever I go I seem to stumble across stuff that draws me back to the subject of the Thames. This is especially true right now … Continue Reading ››
Hammersmith Bridge on Boat-race Day (c. 1862) by Walter Greaves
I was surprised to come across this canvas by Walter Greaves in the current Tate Britain exhibition: British Folk Art. Greaves was the … Continue Reading ››
Under the Influence: John Deakin and the Lure of Soho, The Photographers' Gallery until 13 JulyJohn Deakin, contact sheet of self-portraits, for Vogue (1952)
I first came across the photographer John Deakin through the various memoirs of Daniel Farson. Back in the 1960s, Farson was … Continue Reading ››
William Kent (1685-1748) was the leading architect and designer of early Georgian Britain. A polymath, he turned his hand to everything from painting to designing sculpture, architecture, interior decoration, furniture, metalwork, book illustration and landscape gardens. Kent's life coincided with … Continue Reading ››
Engraved by John Rogers after George Bryant Campion, pub. 1830
A good friend of mine from Brühl in Germany has just given me this picture, having come across it in an antique printshop in Cologne. … Continue Reading ››
Last year David Buckman published his extensive research on the East London Group of Artists in his fascinating book From Bow to Biennale: Artists of the East London Group. Now here's the exhibition to accompany the book - and it's a corker.
The East … Continue Reading ››
William Kent (1685-1748) was the leading architect and designer of early Georgian Britain. A polymath, he turned his hand to everything from painting to designing sculpture, architecture, interior decoration, furniture, metalwork, book illustration and landscape gardens. Kent's life coincided with … Continue Reading ›› 
Last year David Buckman published his extensive research on the East London Group of Artists in his fascinating book From Bow to Biennale: Artists of the East London Group. Now here's the exhibition to accompany the book - and it's a corker.
The East … Continue Reading ›› 
This is from the exhibition Mondrian and Cubism: Paris 1912-1914 at the Gemeente Museum den Haag. You can hear me talking about Mondrian and discussing the exhibition on Episode 11 of the Serendipitous Compendium.