We admit it, we are anglophiles. From Lincoln Cathedral to Sir Christopher Wren to the Young British Artists.
videos + essays
Anthony van Dyck, Equestrian Portrait of Charles I
A portrait of the cultivated, but deeply flawed, politically inept, and unlucky King Charles I, who ended his days beheaded on a scaffold.
J.M.W. Turner, Snow Storm
Like a disaster movie, Turner’s painting transforms a natural catastrophe — with death a near-certainty — into entertainment.
Anthony van Dyck, Charles I with M. de St. Antoine
Though he was eventually beheaded, this portrait encapsulates the king's notion of independent authority, and his belief in the divine right of kings.
Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Swing
What’s that dog yapping about? This mischievous woman throws caution—and her slipper—to the wind.
Christine de Pizan and a City of Ladies
Christine de Pizan was an author and intellectual and wasn't afraid to show the strength of women in the early 15th century.
Rembrandt, Self-Portrait with Two Circles
Rembrandt's enigmatic self-portrait at Kenwood House is an apt example of the artist's long career in self-exploration.
Portraits of Christine de Pizan in The Queen’s Manuscript
Christine de Pizan was the first professional author and an important female role model from the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance.
Inventing “America” for Europe: Theodore de Bry
De Bry's images of the Americas affirm and assert a sense of European superiority.
Carlo Crivelli, The Annunciation with Saint Emidius
What are Persian carpets, a peacock, and a cucumber doing in a painting of The Annunciation?
Describing what you see: Sculpture, Henry Moore’s Reclining Figure
Describing is a key skill for art historians and for any museum visitor. Learn how.