Diary of an art historian
Diary of an art historian is a monthly blog by the British art historian, writer and broadcaster Bendor Grosvenor discussing the pressing issues facing the arts today
Loading...
Diary of an art historian is a monthly blog by the British art historian, writer and broadcaster Bendor Grosvenor discussing the pressing issues facing the arts today
Labour’s pre-election arts manifesto, Creating Growth, included policies to put the arts back into education and bring museums into line with universities on open data
With the Royal Academy the only UK institution now teaching connoisseurship, too many students of art history are missing out on learning an important skill
Following the death of universally acclaimed Rembrandt scholar Ernst van de Wetering, attribution of the artist is in flux
Like their 15th-century counterparts, contemporary artists continue to enjoy the patronage of the church
Only humans can make proper sense of the world, Bendor Grosvenor argues
The closure of the Sainsbury Wing ahead of a £35m refurbishment has meant that much of the museum is off limits in 2023. I hope it's worth it
Painting might be older than catalogued thanks to one particular detail
My heart-stopping research saga to find out if Dorotheum’s part-painted cartoon by a "follower" was in fact a sleeper
Had they thought about it more deeply, the activists who attacked the Van Gogh work could have gained something more than attention
Opening it up through more generous loans and by easing copyright restrictions would be good for both HM and the country
Here are three big challenges they will face—and what to do about them
While my past purchases are lined up for a professional clean, it is the current damage of international cultural relations that seem most in need of a fix
An unattributed painting in Lincolnshire's Burghley House bears a striking resemblance to the work of Hans Eworth
A virtual reality visit to the Sistine Chapel made me realise that museums are going to have to up their game in order to maintain visitors' interest
In giving cultural validity to meaningless reproductions of Turner and Hokusai pieces, The British Museum blurs the lines between real and fake at its peril
My trip to Munich's Alte Pinakothek was worth the multiple levels of Covid-related admin
Bendor Grosvenor selects his favourite exhibition, discovery, book and auction consignment of the year
The more than 1,700 workers who lost their jobs last year have every right to feel aggrieved as Trust weathers storm regardless of staff savings
Ernst van der Wetering's death this summer leaves a vacancy for an appointed representative of the Dutch master on earth
I've learned the new political lessons about art shipping the hard way—so you don't have to
Being told about National Trust houses' connections to slavery should not deter visitors: the complex history adds to their interest
The future integrity of the arts sector will depend on whether institutions are able to stand up to the next culture secretary
The latest digital craze is only perpetuating the structural sexism inherent in art history
As Brexit makes buying anything from Europe almost impossible, purchasing questionable digital art is almost tempting
Museums were quick to implement Covid-19 safety measures and now they need to apply that same rigour to improving accessibility
With vaccines now being deployed and a return to normality on the horizon, institutions may find they have been shortsighted in letting their employees go
I thought I’d kicked my online art and antiques buying habit but too much lockdown screen time has been my undoing
One of the iron rules of art history is that the more derided a work of art at first, the more celebrated it will become
Culture secretary Oliver Dowden has been ignoring the arm's length principle and offering museums unsolicited advice
A trip to the National Gallery was eerie and alien—although a newly restored Van Dyck painting briefly shook off my anxiety