CONTENTS July & August 2008
EDITORIAL
The Courtauld at 75
The Courtauld Institute of Art in London celebrates its 75th birthday this academic year. Its reputation for excellence is as high as ever, but has it resolved all questions about purpose?
CONTEMPORARY ART
Art in old places
What can new art add to a historic setting? Three houses, the Louvre and a seaside town provide very different answers.
ARCHITECTURE
Hawksmoor Redivivus
Hawksmoor's genius, barely recognised until the 20th century, is triumphantly confirmed by the newly completed restoration of St George, Bloomsbury.
Collectors' Focus
Traditionally found hanging in English country houses, sporting art and wildlife scenes are highly valued and sought after in the United States – and increasingly further afield, writes Annie Blinkhorn.
Art Business
Sotheby’s and Christie’s have increased the buyer’s premium twice in the past decade – but what do buyers get for the money?
Around the galleries
In August, all eyes turn to Edinburgh, but there are also major fairs in Bamberg and Belgium.
Asian Art Market
Exhibitions in London reveal contemporary Asian artists responding powerfully to political developments at home, writes Susan Moore.
Market Preview
A rediscovered Watteau, a poetic Turner and pioneering Op Art go under the hammer this month, and London dealers present Master Drawings, including Lucian Freud’s portrait of a young criminal.
Market Review
There is no sign of any loss of confidence in the contemporary art market, but away from the headline-grabbing sales, classic Chinese art performed strongly.
Collectors & Museums
Collectors and museums are intimately linked: collectors seek out curatorial advice and museums rely on collectors’ generosity for acquisitions. James Fenton opens Apollo’s special issue on private collectors and the public realm by exploring some of the consequences of this complex relationship.
Think of England
Mark Wallinger’s proposal for a 50-metre-high sculpture of a white horse at Ebbsfleet, Kent, has captured the headlines. He talks to Martin Gayford about public art, national identity and bloodstock.
Aesthete or imperialist? Hadrian’s afterlife in art
To mark the opening of the British Museum’s exhibition on the Emperor Hadrian, Caroline Vout traces the way that our image of him has been shaped by artists since the 18th century.
Van Meegeren’s Early Vermeers
Jonathan Lopez reveals that three 1920s fake Vermeers are by the notorious art forger Han van Meegeren, who, far from being an independent operator, was part of a slick operation of organised art fraud.
Castle at the cutting edge
Simon Grant talks to Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst about bringing contemporary art to the grounds of Sudeley Castle, her family home. Portrait by Derry Moore.
Sharing it out
Louise Nicholson meets Herbert and Dorothy Vogel at home in Manhattan to talk about their extraordinary gift of 2,500 modern drawings to 50 museums across the US. Portrait by Lanola Stone.
Mozart & Meissen
In August Salzburg hosts its second World Fine Art Fair, timed to coincide with the city’s internationally famous music festival. As Isabel Andrews discovers, the art is alive with the sound of music.
Dazzling impresssions
Joanna Selborne selects highlights from the Courtauld Gallery’s superb collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist prints, currently the subject of two displays celebrating the Courtauld’s 75th anniversary.
Museum for the middle-brows
Michael Hall talks to Sir Peter Moores about the ideals that lie behind his Creation of Compton Verney, which he describes as one of the most ‘artistically accessible collections in the country’.
Reckless in his obsession
Renowned as a socialite as well as an entrepreneur, Sir David Tang is also a pioneering collector of contemporary Chinese art. Susan Moore visits him at his home in Hong Kong for a tour of his collection. Portrait by Victoria Tang.
The top 20
The collectors who really matter to the history of art are not necessarily the very richest or even the most acquisitive. They are those who by their example set standards for others, encourage interest in the art they collect and share their treasures with the public. In short, the collectors of greatest importance are those who wield the greatest influence. Martin Bailey presents Apollo’s list of the 20 most influential collectors today.
Sunlight on skin
Simon Fenwick visits Cornwall for two exhibitions marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of Henry Scott Tuke.
Interwar photomania
Yonna Yapou reviews a dazzling overview of European avant-garde photography between the wars.
Glory to God in Silver
Philippa Glanville welcomes the Goldsmiths’ Company’s ambitious, vibrant survey of the plate used by British churches.
This is painting!
Valminck’s early work appears as vibrant as ever in this comprehensive survey in Paris, writes David Platzer.
Sparkling legacy
The Victoria and Albert Museum’s new William and Judith Bollinger Jewellery Gallery both pleases the eye and engages the mind, writes Diana Scarisbrick.
The Raphael of Ferrara
The inauguration of the Castello Estense in Ferrara as the Italian outstation of the Hermitage is being marked by the first exhibition devoted to Garofalo, reviewed by Peter Humfrey.
Hope in honest error
Richard Senett has written an inspiring account of the true importance of craft skills in society, writes Gillian Darley.
An estate on paper
A catalogue of the drawings associated with Wimpole Hall emphasises why such works need to be in printed form, writes Anthony Geraghty.
Cataloguing the Soane: a change in approach
Faced with the challenge of publishing catalogues of the Soane Museum’s varied collections, Tim Knox, the museum’s director, decided to give online publication priority over books. He explains his reasons for this radical new direction.