Token gestures – the jewellery of long-distance love
From eye miniatures to lockets of hair, historical love tokens brought people together even when they were apart
The photographers who wanted their subjects to be heard as well as seen
Radical collectives in the 1970s were keen to make documentary photography more democratic
Highlights of Asian Art in London – Indian and Islamic Art
Reimagined for its 23rd edition, the event is now split into two sections – with the first leg focusing on Indian and Islamic art
From rural India to Greenwich Village – life through the lens of Sunil Gupta
The photographer’s first UK retrospective explores his abiding interest in the experience of outsiders in society
Why are Berlin’s new buildings so intent on looking backwards?
The reconstruction of the Berlin Palace is just one example of the city’s nostalgia for the past
À la mode – Man Ray’s forays into fashion photography
The artist was a reluctant photographer – yet from the 1920s to ’40s, the Surrealist vision he brought to fashion photography helped elevate it to an art form in its own right
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Sounds of silence – an interview with Oliver Beer
Oliver Beer’s sound installations reveal a music that was already quietly present
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October 2020
• The modern artists who loved cycle racing
• Relabelling objects at the British Museum
• Cultural heritage under threat in Tunisia
• The new buildings in Berlin that look back at the past
Plus: The pastels of Rosalba Carriera, the prints of Bridget Riley, Jacob Lawrence’s reckoning with the history of the United States, and previews of TEFAF New York online and Asian Art in London
Has the British Museum finally found its voice?
With new labels for some of its most contested objects the museum is engaging in an important conversation – but has it got the tone wrong?
Recollected works – ‘Howard Hodgkin: Memories’, reviewed
In these paintings from the 1980s and ’90s, Hodgkin found a way to depict that ‘almost impossibly nebulous subject’ – his own past experiences
‘We are enacting a planetary crisis with electronics’ – an interview with Julia Christensen
The Ohio-based artist discusses her long-term research into our throwaway culture – and how a LACMA fellowship led to her working with NASA
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What did Impressionism mean for sculpture?
A survey of artists inspired by the movement considers how successfully sculpture can convey a sense of transience
A museum of Islamic art in Jerusalem is selling works to make ends meet
The museum is selling part of its collection of Islamic art as well as some extraordinary timepieces
Acquisitions of the Month: September 2020
A portrait of an 18th-century comedienne and a long-lost manuscript by Gauguin are among this month’s highlights
Stone cold masterpieces – the art of the Olmecs
Olmec artists from the Gulf Coast region of Mexico produced some of the most striking sculptures in the ancient Americas
What’s left of Thomas Becket? – ‘The Book in the Cathedral’, reviewed
Christopher de Hamel argues that a book of psalms in a Cambridge library is the only surviving relic of the murdered archbishop
‘The Man Who Laughs’ is a cautionary tale about grinning and bearing it
The inspiration behind Batman’s Joker and many a monster movie, Paul Leni’s ‘The Man Who Laughs’ is a masterpiece of Expressionist cinema
An alternative history of American Civil War monuments
Monuments to the American Civil War have locked in place partial versions of the past – but other stories will emerge when we know more about how and why they were erected
In praise of organs
Historic organs are appreciated as heritage assets in continental Europe – but in the UK they deserve better protection
Second Careers: Two Tributaries in African Art
Historic African objects are exhibited alongside contemporary art from the continent
Rembrandt’s Orient
The Dutch master never left the Netherlands, but travelled far afield in his imagination
About Time: Fashion and Duration
A survey of fashion since 1870 explores how clothes have changed with the times, alongside recurring trends
Degree Zero: Drawing at Midcentury
A survey of post-war drawing practices from across continents
Is e-commerce the future for museum shops?
With far fewer in-person visitors exiting through the gift shop, institutions must find new ways to mitigate their losses