BRITISH ART

See also individual ARTISTS

Tate Britain – 500 years of British Art
The earliest painting in Tate Britain dates from 1545 and the most recent works include the annual Turner prize displays as well as other exciting manifestations of late-20th and early-21st century British art.

Holbein to Hirst – a history of British art
A review of the work of the major artists working in Britain from the 16th century to the present day.

The art and scandalous lives of the Bloomsbury Group
The art of the three main ‘Bloomsbury’ artists (Duncan Grant, Vanessa Bell and Roger Fry) cannot be separated from their extraordinary lives. They, along with their literary and other intellectual companions (Virginia Woolf, Lytton Strachey and John Maynard Keynes, amongst others) were part of a movement, the popular name for which became widely used only after the death of around half its members.

The second Elizabethan Age – British Art since 1952
A great richness and variety can be seen in the work of post-war British artists, including Bacon, Freud, Hockney and the younger generation, e.g. Gormley, Hirst and Emin, all of whom have been instrumental in placing British art at the forefront of the international avant-garde by the turn of the century.

The Turner Prize explained
Established in 1984 and causing controversy almost every year since then, the Turner Prize is regarded by many as a great showcase for British avant-garde art, and by others as conceptualist rubbish. Nevertheless, the exhibitions each Autumn continue to draw larger and larger crowds. This lecture looks at great winners (and losers) from the past and clarifies the ideas behind the annual competition.