Paul Mellon Centre Lecture: Art Historical Ecosystems, Railways and the Newlyn School

March 9, 2024

Some may be interested in a recent talk I delivered for the Paul Mellon Centre in Exeter, where I tried to make the point that the art historical cycle is incomplete without an art market that periodically furnishes it with new materials.

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July 13, 2026

Soyer, William Etty & York Art Gallery

July 13, 2026

There was a time when dealers wrote to museum curators for help on difficult paintings. I am told that some of them even replied. But this hasn't been the case for many decades and some of us now write to museum curators to assist them with their own collections.

July 13, 2026

July 4, 2026

Connoisseurship & Emma Soyer - Lecture at the Royal Academy (25/06/26)

July 4, 2026

Some may be interested in a talk we delivered on Emma Soyer at the Royal Academy last week. We recently recorded a reduced version of the same lecture, which can now be found on YouTube. I also include a transcript of the earlier talk below.

July 4, 2026

June 10, 2026

Emma Soyer, Michaelina Wautier & Connoisseurship

June 10, 2026

It used to be an advantage to re-attribute the works of female painters to their more lucrative male counterparts. But those days are behind us and I suspect we have reached the point where it is advantageous to do the opposite. But two wrongs do not make a right and it is a mistake to sacrifice academic rigour for short-term advantage, even when rebuilding the life and career of a lost female painter.

June 10, 2026

April 16, 2026

Emma Soyer, new Kitchens & the National Gallery of Victoria.

April 16, 2026

Congratulations to the Lady of Melford Hall on her new kitchen, and to the National Gallery of Victoria on acquiring another excellent painting by Emma Soyer. Two seemingly unrelated events, which can now be conclusively linked together.

April 16, 2026

March 8, 2026

Rediscovered Emma Soyer at the Towneley Museum

March 8, 2026

Congratulation to Adam Busiakiewicz for noticing the following painting at the Towneley Museum. I suspect he forgets more of his discoveries than most of us make, and this is just one of many, made in recent months, as we trawl through archives and catalogues, reassembling the fragmented oeuvre of Emma Soyer (1809-1842).

March 8, 2026