Tag: portrait painting

Esther Grainger, artist and activist

May 30, 2025 10 Comments
Esther Grainger, artist and activist

1 Introduction Around the turn of the century, when I was working in the National Library of Wales, I came across a smallish painting, in oil on board, called ‘Pontypridd at night’.  It struck me at the time as a bold and unusual work, and whenever I saw it I’d stand and admire it. From […]

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Sophonisba’s game of chess

October 9, 2020 0 Comments
Sophonisba’s game of chess

Not before time, the seventeenth century painter Artemisia Gentileschi is now receiving just acclaim, in response to the National Gallery’s new exhibition in London (alas, out of bounds for those of us who are locked down).  Even if her ultra-violent ‘Texas chain-saw massacre’ dramas are too much for you, you can always admire her picture […]

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