Detail of the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial (1897), Augustus Saint-Gaudens, showing Black soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment.

Federal agency – how Augustus Saint-Gaudens sculpted the American Civil War

With his monuments to Union statesmen and soldiers, the artist acknowledged the unfinished business of the past

20 Dec 2020
People gather around the Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia, on June 4, 2020. Earlier, Virginia governor Ralph Northam announced plans to remove the statue of the Confederate general. Photo: Ryan M. Kelly/AFP via Getty Images

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

3 Jul 2020
GRIMA – Self with Cat (The Scream) (1986), Annegret Soltau.

From Dickens to Dada – a marvellous mishmash of collage across time

The first show ever to focus on the art of cutting and pasting offers an impressively expansive view of the practice

11 Jul 2019
Frida Kahlo with Olmec figurine (1939), Nickolas Muray.

A fresh look at Frida Kahlo

By placing the artist’s possessions next to her portraits, the V&A seeks to reveal the woman behind the icon

13 Jul 2018
Detail of photograph of Jacqueline Lamba and Frida Kahlo in Pátzcuaro, Mexico, in 1938 (photographer unknown)

The alliances formed by Surrealism’s neglected women

How the women artists of Surrealism explored the creative possibilities of friendship

5 Jun 2018
Concrétion humaine oder Coquille se dénouant (1936), Jean (Hans) Arp. Kunstmuseum Winterthur. © Schweizerisches Institut für Kunstwissenschaft, Zürich

Crossing borders at Turner Contemporary

The word-objects of Jean (Hans) Arp are a reminder of how powerful hybrid forms can be

18 Dec 2017
May 16th, 1941 (1941), Grace Pailthorpe. © Artist's estate. Courtesy of Redfern Gallery, London

The other side of Surrealism

As male Surrealists depicted women as muses, sphinxes, and goddesses, women Surrealists sought to turn this imagery on its head

21 Aug 2017
A New Orleans city worker wears body armour and a face covering as he measures the Jefferson Davis monument on 4 May, 2017, in New Orleans, Loiusiana. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Dismantling America’s monuments to white supremacy

Four Confederate monuments are to be removed from the streets of New Orleans, but their painful legacy endures

10 May 2017

Shaw Thing

A new book on Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ memorial to Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Infantry sheds light on its legacy and shortcomings

3 Oct 2013