The Invention of British Art
Art historian Bendor Grosvenor (best known for the BBC series Britain’s Lost Masterpieces and Fake or Fortune?) has discovered a number of important paintings by prominent artists including Van Dyck, Rubens, Titian and Gainsborough. The Invention of British Art is a provocative and captivating survey of British art from c.10,000 BCE to the 19th century.
Looking at key moments, objects, and individuals from each era, Bendor explores how they were shaped by the world in which the artists lived, and why – above all – it took so long for the art from these isles to actually become ‘British’. From folk art to the role of female artists, from the influences of invaders to the territories of the British Empire, the story of British art is just as much a story of Britain’s place in the world, and its impact upon it, as the art and artists themselves.
‘Inventive, profound, fabulously quirky, Bendor Grosvenor’s journey to the heart of British art takes him in directions that have never previously been trodden … A triumph.’ Waldemar Januszczak
