Greetings!

A few odds & ends that might be interesting:

In case you missed it, there’s a great documentary about the life of the artist Gluck (1895-1978) on i-player

The story of Gluck – Britain’s cross-dressing high society painter of the 1930s – who staged ‘one-man shows’, had relationships with women and somehow got away with it.

Gluck: Who Did She Think He Was? – BBC iPlayer

In turn I would definitely recommend Diana Souhami’s biography

If you’re in ‘holiday spirit’ then Simon Morley’s La Belle France: British Artists Abroad, from Walter Sickert to David Hockney is published by Yale this week (and is very good!)

Simon Morley explores the influence of French culture on British artists during the modern period, and from his house in central France travels in the footsteps of artists including Francis Bacon, the Bloomsbury Group, Edward Burra, Leonora Carrington, David Hockney, Gwen John, Ben Nicholson, and Walter Sickert. For these British Francophiles, France’s culture and social milieu were the most powerful expressions of the spirit of modernity and profoundly inspirational, helping to free them from what they perceived as the straitlaced parochialism of their homeland.

And, if you’ve been with us either at The Beecroft or The Beaumont and are interested in our discussion of Patrick Heron’s paintings from the 1950s, there’s a small but fabulous exhibition at the

Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert Gallery (38 Bury Street, St James’s; website https://hh-h.com/exhibitions/44-patrick-heron-1950-54/ )

until 10th July that is definitely worth exploring if you’re passing by!

Patrick Heron (1920-1999) The Red Table [1950; Hazlitt Gallery]

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I hope you will be able to join us on

Saturday 30th May, 11.15am (for about an hour & a half)

at The Beecroft Art Gallery, Southend-on-Sea.

as we continue our research into the ‘long decade’ of 1950s Britain, from the end of World War II to Pop Art.

This month we’ll look at the ideas and paintings of post-war British Surrealists, in particular the art of Desmond Morris (the Scientist) and Ithell Colquhoun (the Occultist).

Left: Desmond Morris (1928-2026) The Last Serenade [1959; desmond-morris.com]

Right: Ithell Colquhoun (1906–1988) Autumnal Equinox [1949; Rediscovering Art by Women; artuk.org]

There’ll be plenty to see & discuss as always!

Tickets are £10 (cash) on the door and include coffee & a biscuit at The Jazz Centre afterwards.

Looking forward to seeing you!

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A new book that may be of interest in this context: Surrealism of Angst: Emmy Bridgwater by Silvano Levy (Paul Holberton Publishing)

Surrealism of Angst explores the extraordinary work of Emmy Bridgwater (1906–1999), the British Surrealist artist who has long been unjustly overlooked. Born in Birmingham, Bridgwater became associated with the Birmingham Surrealists in 1937 and joined the London Surrealist Group three years later. Her haunting imagery—sinister birds, savage cats, scenes of mutilation and violation—forms a visual language of disquiet and emotional intensity. This book reclaims Bridgwater’s place in the Surrealist canon, revealing a profound and often unsettling vision that is as innovative as it is affecting.

And Emmy Bridgwater’s art will be included in an exhibition “Surreal Solihull” at the Midlands Art Centre, Birmingham from 24 Oct 2026 to 10 Jan 2027.