Despite the British Museum’s active participation in work towards restitution, the current display and captioning fail to be forthright or responsible.
Author Archives: Olivia McEwan
London based Olivia McEwan is a trained art historian with BA and MA degrees from the Courtauld Institute, now a freelance writer focusing on the London art world; this academic background contributing to a writing style that — positive or negative — is argued with crucial fairness and balance. Combined with curatorial awareness, she is also a practising painter of predominantly figurative work, lending a keen eye and understanding of painterly technique which powerfully informs her criticisms of historical and emerging arts.
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Marina Abramović Enhances Her Brand
Abramović’s interests lie more with perpetuating herself as a product than with what she actually expresses through her art.
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National Gallery Shakes off Tired, Lazy View of Artemisia Gentileschi as “Victim”
Seeing how impressive and successful Gentileschi was in her lifetime, it is staggering that it has taken a show such as this to dispel her unfair dismissal by art history.
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Tate’s Bold Decision to Tackle the British Baroque
The political, dynastic, and religious machinations of this era should have provided ample material for a meaty exploration of the relationship between art and power.
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A Dürer Retrospective Celebrates His Remarkable Drawings
A show at Vienna’s Albertina reverses the more commonly held belief in art history that drawings are merely preparatory to paintings.
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What Happened When a Long-Lost Michelina Wautier Painting Failed to Sell at Christie’s
A recently discovered work by a long-overlooked Baroque painter didn’t attract the interest that Christie’s prestigious Old Masters auction seemed to expect.
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The Baroque Violence of Jusepe de Ribera
The UK’s first show of the famously gruesome seventeenth century Spanish painter places his monumental works in historical context.
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This Year’s Frieze Masters Signals the Changing Identity of the Art Fair
Frieze Masters, where art from before the 20th century is for sale, raises questions about the sociopolitical role of art fairs and what small galleries gain by participating.
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Exploring the Noteworthy Treasures of the Inconspicuous Wallace Collection
The collection is not widely recognized as a trove of ancient art and artifacts, but hosts a rich collection with an occasionally troubled history.
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Deciphering the Genius of Artemisia Gentileschi During the #MeToo Moment
The Dorotheum auction house will sell the Baroque painter’s “Lucretia,” heavily advertising the artists traumatic past as a 17th-century woman.
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The Criminally Overlooked Talent of Baroque Painter Michaelina Wautier
Michaelina Wautier’s artistic talent was on par with that of her famous male contemporaries, like Rubens and Van Dyck. The first-ever retrospective of her work offers long overdue recognition.
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Encountering Christo’s Massive Sculpture on the Serpentine Lake
Christo’s giant floating sculpture, “The London Mastaba,” sits on the Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park as tourists on paddle boats circle around.