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Book Cover

Bendor Grosvenor

The Invention of British Art

Starts at: Friday 25 October 8:00 PM
Finishes at: Friday 25 October 9:00 PM
Author Photo
Book Cover
Author Photo

Outside Britain, there is only one gallery in the whole wide world dedicated to British art. It’s in Yale – but few people bother to visit.

Even in our very own gallery of British art, Tate Britain, less than a quarter of the display space is assigned to pre-1900.

You have to try hard to view British art, and really hard to like it!

Is it because we are ill at ease with art? Or is it, quite simply, bad? Leading art historian Bendor Grosvenor reassesses the whole topic, looking with new eyes at art from 10,000 BCE through to the 19th century. A provocative and captivating survey of key moments, objects and individuals from each era, this beautifully illustrated book explores how the art was shaped by the world in which the artists lived and how – intriguingly - it took so long for art from these isles actually to be labelled ‘British.’

Sponsored by John Jackson