Art
Women Artists Take Over Tate Britain
What’s clear in Now You See Us is that the artists were excluded from the canon because of sociopolitical factors, not artistic merit.
Olivia McEwan
Olivia McEwan is a trained art historian and freelance writer focusing on the London art world. She is also a practising artist, lending a keen eye and understanding of painterly technique which informs her criticisms of historical and emerging arts.
Art
The Six Wives of Henry VIII Get Their Due
Six Lives seeks to fill in the queens’ backstories and present them as individuals rather than supporting players to the King.
Art
How Should Art History Judge Angelica Kauffman's Work?
Though technically proficient, the painter and Royal Academy cofounder owed a great deal of contemporary recognition to her active social networking.
Art
London’s National Portrait Gallery Catches Up to Black Portraiture
The Time is Always Now emphasizes the continuing importance of Black identity, visibility, and recognition in predominantly White society.
Art
London’s Royal Academy Looks Critically at Its Past
The academic rigor of Entangled Pasts is counterbalanced by the poignant responses by contemporary artists and some astonishingly inspired curating.
Art
Two Decades of British Women Artists Striking Back
Women in Revolt! is essential viewing for those keen to understand the evolution of British feminism from the 1970s to 1990s.
Art
Two Views of a Family Breakfast
Twenty years after creating his pastel “Lavergne Family Breakfast,” Jean-Etienne Liotard recreated it in oil, and it is astonishing to see how close the two versions are.
Art
Can “Rubenesque” Be Feminist?
Rubens & Women argues that, far from objectifying his models, the artist depicted a nuanced female body.
Art
Can “Rubenesque” Be Feminist?
Rubens & Women argues that, far from objectifying his models, the artist depicted a nuanced female body.
Art
What We Lose When Curating Follows the Money
Capturing the Moment pairs works from the private YAGEO Foundation with those from Tate Modern for a show with no named curators or patent purpose.
Art
Frans Hals, a Dutch Golden Age Rebel
He contributed to his own obscurity by portraying his sitters and characters with humor and smiles, rather than aloof nobility.
Art
The Illicit Allure of Art Forgery
An anarchic desire to undermine the art world’s institutions lends art forgers a roguish, rebellious identity that is both compelling and unsavory.