• Art

    Possibly the most cultured woman in Europe

    Trail blazers do not always come from the most likely beginnings. The daughter of middle-class, Swiss parents, Angelica Kauffman came from an unremarkable background but she was a child prodigy. In her early years, her talent for painting was matched by her singing voice and she had to make a choice between the two careers. She chose art and by the time she was nine was supporting her parents. They travelled widely, spending time in Italy and 15…

  • Art

    Entangled Pasts at the Royal Academy

    They say every picture tells a story so perhaps an art exhibition is an anthology of works with the objective of looking at a subject from many and varied perspectives. This is certainly true of the new ‘Entangled Pasts’ which opened last week at the RA. It tackles the difficult and complex subject of Britain’s colonial history through art. I made the most of my lunch break yesterday, and popped in with the aim of finally seeing Dido…