National Portrait Gallery

“I have seldom seen my sons (5 & 7 yrs) seated so still, with such concentration on a Saturday morning! Jolanda’s stories about the paintings and ability to show the children what to look for really engaged them, and they took to the drawing exercises with great enthusiasm” (Anne, Putney)

Thank you to all families who came to the tour last Saturday. I had 9 children and 9 adults. Feedback was great. Getting ready for a very large group this coming Saturday. The size will be the main challenge this time!

A selection of tours for adults

 

Fitzrovia gallery tour

The art scene is more alive than ever but grasping contemporary art may not be as straightforward, some of it may seem so far removed from our everyday experience . Also it might be quite intimidating to enter a commercial gallery. This tour will definitely make you feel most welcome and shade a light onto cutting-edge art. Three very strong galleries in the heart of Fitzrovia will open their doors on that evening to present the works by international living artists, painters and sculptors. A must see tour where visitors will be able to participate in a dialogue with actors of the contemporary art scene and learn how contemporary art is a reflection of the world we live in today. As a famous critic says “You better get used to it!” A one hour tour followed by wine and tapas in a popular nearby bar.

Tudor Kings and Queens at the National Portrait Gallery

The Tudor period saw the beginning of comprehensive British portraiture. Highly skilled painters from all over Europe came to England to paint the royal sitters, such as Henry VIII and his daughter Elizabeth I, including in larger than life size – as though more than merely mortal. Workshops developed to produce as many portraits as possible – one of the first large-scale productions of images! Future queens abroad were seduced with portraits of English kings. Princes were painted in charismatic postures. In the context of fragile peace, royal portraiture was used as a prop for propaganda. This tour for adults explores this sometimes overlooked British renaissance, and revels in the marvellous raiment of monarchs and the splendours of their courts.

Food in Art, and the Art of Food

Being a Foody is far from new and the representation of food in art has often played a very important role, including for symbolic and allegoric reference. But how food is prepared and consumed varies in myriad and often surprising ways – from churning butter around your horse’s neck, to banqueting on roast peacock with pancetta in a renaissance palace. This tour will bring out the narratives accompanying some of the most important food paintings in the world. A tour for food lovers would not be complete without the main course – a menu served in a private club or at Barrafina restaurant, inspired by the paintings visited.

Art in Lights

This is a tour for those who want to examine painting in the light of a fundamental question: how do we see paintings and what is it that we see? We explore the light effects used by artists to create convincing images, and what it means to paint with pure light. Central themes of the tour include how we see colours and perspective, and how artists use this understanding to trick us in the most delightful ways.

Getting to Know the Tate Modern

This is a tour for those who finally want to crack this scale and breadth museum dauting. In a hour and fifteen minutes, we break the mountain down in to molehills, looking at the evolution from Cubism (centred on Picasso) then Abstraction (Ellsworth Kelly & Donald Judd among others) and Expressionism (Jackson Pollock & Lee Krasner), all the way through to the art of the present day.

Get in touch to plan your art tour: [email protected]

Advice on acquisitions

There are many reasons for buying art, and this part of my business is dedicated to helping you do so. Whether you are looking for coup de coeur acquisitions, at home or for your corporate spaces, investments for the future, or additions to your existing collection, I can identify and advise on acquisitions for all budgets.

A have a business training: roles in contemporary art galleries, and an MBA from Vlerick Management School, Leuven. But the numbers are only part of it. Art is in my blood, and my understanding of contemporary, modern and classical art is deep.

My role is to find artworks that instill genuine wonder and joy in the beholder. Contemporary art is rich, but as yet unfiltered by history, and the buyer may need help in sorting the wheat from the chaff, among commercial galleries and as yet ‘undiscovered’ artists.

Get in touch on [email protected] for a no fee initial consultation.