At Sotheby’s Erotic art sale on 16th February lot 10 is a major picture by Pavel Tchelitchew called Bathers. This was owned by Peter Watson and I helped with the catalogue entry.
John Rothenstein
Research is almost complete. The diaries from 1939 to 1964 have been read and the first draft of the book is about to be delivered to the publisher. The cover photo has been chosen and the book’s title. Now it needs editing and the illustrations gathering, so still [Read More…]
Francis Bacon. Catalogue Raisonné. 5 Volumes.
Beautifully and meticulously produced, these five volumes are a magnificent work. Martin Harrison and Rebecca Daniels have laboured for many years to produce them: the result is surely a model of what a dedicated team can do if given sufficient time and resources. High quality catalogues of this type underpin the ability of scholars to study the work of a given artist seriously and in detail. The volumes are overwhelmingly scholarly and informative. Rather than seeking to contribute directly to the long-running debate about the meaning of Bacon’s work, they contribute indirectly by displaying the material which can enable objective analysis.
The Art of John Piper. David Fraser Jenkins and Hugh Fowler-Wright
Writing about the entirety of John Piper’s career presents a formidable challenge. It lasted a long time and encompassed a great variety of types of work. Describing it requires a very fine balance between detail and overview. The authors here on the whole make a good job of getting that balance right.