I spent half of this month unwell - viruses and finally a chest infection. Resulting in a month reading detective stories. Broadly in order of reading. Towards Zero, Agatha Christie. Reliable. Good fun. No sign of either Poirot or Miss Marple. Keeps you guessing. Sparkling Cyanide, Agatha Christie. Another without Poirot or Miss … [Read more...] about Books – August 2026
More from Discovering the Impressionists, Geelong Art Gallery
Just when you think you’ve seen all there is to see of Impressionism you discover a whole lot of new (to you) painters. This is my second blog on this exhibition, the first one is here. From the mid-1880’s Paul Durand-Ruel, then in his sixties, championed a new generation of painters heavily influenced by the Impressionists who had preceded them. … [Read more...] about More from Discovering the Impressionists, Geelong Art Gallery
Discovering The Impressionists: Paul Durand-Ruel art dealer among the artists, Geelong Art Gallery
On the 4th of August 2026 we visited this exhibition at the Geelong Art Gallery. It’s on until the 11th of October and is really worth a visit. It is showing art works that were once in the possession of Paul Durand-Ruel, an art dealer in Paris who supported Impressionist painters before they were even identified as such. Which was in 1872 when in … [Read more...] about Discovering The Impressionists: Paul Durand-Ruel art dealer among the artists, Geelong Art Gallery
Shakespeare
In these dark times I’ve retreated into the wonder that is William Shakespeare. I was prompted to do so by discovering (via Twitter) a substack by Shakespeare expert Sir Jonathon Bate. He’s posting small videos from a course on Shakespeare he delivered at Warwick University some years ago; along with pieces he has had published over the years. … [Read more...] about Shakespeare
Mother: Stories from the NGV Collection
Pauline and I visited this exhibition on the 2nd of July, 2026, just before it closed on the 12th of July 2026. We weren't sure it met the full advertised brief of an exploration of both universal and culturally specific experiences of motherhood - from private transformation and societal expectation to intergenerational trauma and loss, mythology … [Read more...] about Mother: Stories from the NGV Collection
Cartier 3
Following on from my first two blogs about my visit to the Cartier exhibition at the NGV on the 11th of June 2026, (here and here) my final one is centred on the last gallery. All of the galleries were designed to look like jewel boxes which I didn't attempt to capture on camera. Both the idea and its execution were well done. In this final one the … [Read more...] about Cartier 3