Jul 21, 2022The Big House effectSome of my gentle readers will already be aware that this fall I am carrying my own arts career forward by advanced study at the Warburg Institute. Charitably offering me a place following a 20-year hiatus, a return is something I greatly look forward to. Coincidentally, the Warburg and its…National Gallery4 min readNational Gallery4 min read
Jun 28, 2022Beware the Xmas pantoA few of my devoted readers know of my link to Fresno County, and a few of you know that, with death absenting our last familial connections, we are absenting our own selves from a place I too often must characterize as benighted. Sited barely a three-hour drive from San…Panto3 min readPanto3 min read
May 19, 2022Queer BritainTomorrow marks the opening of Queer Britain, the museum space in newly redeveloped old warehouses behind King’s Cross Station. With a disparate group of trustees and supporters with backgrounds as varied as are the faces of the LGBTQ+ community, this must then presage the variety of exhibits and purposes the…Queer Britain3 min readQueer Britain3 min read
Apr 20, 2022The Ginger Fop meets WoIAnd I thought camp was dead. If you, gentle reader, mournfully thought so too then you’ll be cheered to read the debut letter penned by World of Interior’s new editor in chief, the self-described ginger fop himself, Hamish Bowles. Of course, that Rupert Thomas, founder editor Min Hogg’s long serving…Conde Nast3 min readConde Nast3 min read
Apr 10, 2022Lived moving forward…‘Life must be lived moving forward, but can only be understood looking backward.’ Where was it I read this bit of worldly wisdom? …Andy Warhol4 min readAndy Warhol4 min read
Oct 12, 2021‘Friend’The major news flap this week surrounding the Facebook whistle blower puts me in mind of our own experiences with social media which, it appears, forms a significant portion of what is now described in common parlance as big tech. As I am writing this post on my Dell desk…Facebook5 min readFacebook5 min read
Sep 30, 2021Mallett is dead… but Stella McCartney twists the knifeThe Antiques Trade Gazette is reporting that troubled coin and stamp dealer Stanley Gibbons Group, who retained the Mallett brand in the US having sold if off in the UK in 2018, is nevertheless moving this once vaunted name into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. …Luxury Goods3 min readLuxury Goods3 min read
Sep 8, 2021Deaccessioning reduxWe do from time to time welcome student groups from the local university, and one student in one such group asked upon visiting whether any of the items in our inventory were, in her words, ‘museum pieces.’ My reply was ‘All of them or none of them.’ Momentarily glib, I’ll…Antique5 min readAntique5 min read
Aug 31, 2021Online (dis)easeOne of the trade publications I peruse- online, of course- this morning touted the launch of a new website providing support for those of us who post their items for sale on a variety of selling platforms. What this new support service offers is the ability to post one place…Antique3 min readAntique3 min read
Jul 27, 2021‘Indoctrination’- and about time, tooMy early morning ritual begins with a long walk on the treadmill at the gym, the bank of which are well supplied with large screen TV’s. As a consequence, I was able to watch a segment on Fox News entitled ‘Indoctrination or Education?’, the point of which, in simple terms…Critical Race Theory4 min readCritical Race Theory4 min read
