Articles

This Article is a very sad one for us and was written in 2017. Chris Gollon became a customer of ours shortly after we started Curtisward in 2008. He would ask our opinion on various… Read More »Chris Gollon

There is a tradition, going back to the Romans, of ensuring that we never get too big for our boots by being reminded of our mortality. In Ancient Rome, as a General celebrated his latest… Read More »Momento Mori and Vanitas Paintings

Albrecht Dürer21/05/1471 – 06/04/1528 ‘I painted this of myself. I was 26 Years Old’ – Painted and inscribed by Albrecht Dürer Oil on Panel Prado, Madrid Self portraits weren’t really the done thing when this… Read More »Albrecht Dürer – Life and Work

Artists turned CollectorsRather unsurprisingly, Artists throughout history have not just submerged themselves in their own art but have admired, sought out and actively collected the Artwork of others. This was highlighted at the National Gallery… Read More »Painters’ Favourite Painters

‘Woman with a Parasol – Madame Monet and son’ by Claude Monet In the 19th Century, there were five developments that led to a revolution in Art and allowed Impressionism to flourish and pave the… Read More »Inventions that led to a Painting Revolution

Christmas is full of song, the scent of cinnamon, pine and oranges and is a visual feast too! Here are 10 of our favourite Christmas-inspired artworks. Detail from Byzantine Magi taken from a Mosaic showing… Read More »10 Great Artworks Inspired by Christmas

Many Artists have been inspired to create art based on the words and characters of Shakespeare. Here are just a few of them… Ophelia by John Everett Millais Probably one of the most famous, this… Read More »Art Inspired by Shakespeare

Here are some things you may not know about this beautiful work of Art… The original title of Sandro Bottecelli’s ‘Primavera’ is unknown and the painting was not referred to by the name it now… Read More »The Hidden Message in Botticelli’s Primavera

Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Lizzie Siddal – the student Beata Betrix Jeanne Hebuterne Modigliani can be seen as the epitomy of the tragic artist with an unstoppable self-destructive personality that ultimately led to the destruction… Read More »Some Stories of Artists and their Muses

After breaking many a Scottish heart by discovering that a much-loved portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie was, in fact, Charlie’s brother Henry, the Art Historian Bendor Grosvenor decided to make amends by going on a… Read More »Bonnie Prince Charlie: A Search for the Lost Portrait