Further to my blog the other day here is a link to the marvellous Cobbe collection. In the collection there are some exceptional versions of well known works. The portrait by Van Dyck of the Countess of Southampton is a reduced variation of his full length at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. They are both […]
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During this lockdown period we have heard a lot said about once bustling regions and places being bereft of the throngs once taken for granted. This has had a positive, and as time goes on, an increasingly negative affect. The poor Venetians spring to my mind. Many weeks back we marvelled at the sight of […]
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During this strange period we are currently living through my mind as been drawn to some of the walls of my house. During our normally very busy lives we sometimes don’t have the luxury of time to dwell upon those interior dilemmas closer to home. Fuelled with a sense of purpose and urgency I launched […]
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As we have had Whit Sunday we are now, by tradition, in to the first holiday of the Summer when much merrymaking does occur. Some of these strange rural, nay pagan, amusements have remained – the traditional Morris dance being one. Incredibly Will Kemp, a Shakespearean actor, Morris danced all the way from London to […]
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I must pay tribute today, for it is his birthday, to the poet Alexander Pope, born in London on May 21st 1688. His poetical works are not as favoured as they once were which is a shame as they are colourful and full of wit and elegance. Here’s his epitaph to the painter Godfrey Kneller […]
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The archive of the late great art historian Brian Sewell has just become available to view online you can find it here. Whether you loved or hated him – and many in the art world did – he was a fascinating and colourful writer who stood out as extraordinary in an extraordinary profession. The Paul […]
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Happy Birthday Thomas Gainsborough, born this day in 1727. The history of British Portraiture wouldn’t be the same without him, nor indeed, British art history. At the beginning of the 20th century wealthy Americans couldn’t get enough of his works. The great art dealer Joseph Duveen brokered some amazing deals between impoverished aristocrats in Britain […]
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On the wall above where I write is a fine engraving of a tragic politician whom I’m reminded about today, for on this day 208 years ago the first and only British Prime Minister to date was murdered in the House of Commons. Poor Spencer Perceval had been minding his own business and making his […]
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Today and over the weekend many will be commemorating VE Day – May 8th 1945 being the day that hostilities in Europe ceased and people were insanely happy to be rid of war – well mostly, though there was the matter of the continuing hostilities with Japan which would be resolved three months later. However, […]
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Rupert studied at the Slade School of Fine Art and the Bartlett School of Architecture. He specialised in the methods and materials of artists, developing his own unique method of painting in the almost forgotten medium of egg tempera. Rupert went on to complete his MA in Landscape Architecture at ETH Zurich. Today Rupert runs […]
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Chelsea town house interior design It was a great privilege to work on a wonderful town house project in Chelsea where I was sourcing decorative items and antiques. The end result was an eclectic and thoughtful collection which looked as if it could have been assembled over many decades. Bringing nature and London into the […]
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A rare pair of early 18th century Cape Dutch stink wood side chairs, each having a shaped and carved top rail upon barley twist spindle supports, the caned seats terminating in barley twist legs and stretchers. Have a look at our furniture selection here.
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