Visual & Decorative Arts Blog

The history of graphic art is criminally under written and often not given the respect it deserves. Taken less seriously by the western artistic canon, graphic art is often relegated to commercial or juvenile art and rarely properly addressed for the powerful storytelling and cultural history it contains. In this new series of blogs we will be looking at the history and development of graphic arts and their influence on wider culture.

There are several points in Van Gogh’s life we can turn to better understand him. One of the key periods of artistic development he went through was his time in The Yellow House. His desire for an artist retreat and studio in the Arles highlighted his need to be surrounded by his work and the creativity of others, but in a way that was not suffocating like in Paris or other major cities. Using his letters, we are taking a look at how Van Gogh’s time in The Yellow House affected his art and influenced his life.

Today the Tate Britain is opening its long awaited exhibition; Van Gogh in Britain. To celebrate Van Gogh's time in London we wanted to take a look at some of his letters from his time in London. His knowledge of art grew exponentially during his time in Britain and you can see the influence of this period all the way through his art. 

Flowers are one of the most common subjects for art but because of this it takes something truly special to be noticed and remembered. Following on from our previous lists, Galleries & Museums and Gothic & Fantasy, in today's blog we're looking at the top 10 floral calendars for 2019. 

William Blake (1757 – 1827) was an English printmaker, painter and poet. Since early childhood, Blake had wanted to be an artist. From the age of around ten years old, his parents enrolled him at Henry Pars’ Drawing School. While now considered a central figure in the history of English poetry and the Romantic movement, he was not hugely recognised during his life.

With the end of the year fast approaching, we are returning with the Top 10 calendars series for 2019! This week we are taking a look at the range of gothic and fantasy art calendars. Be it sci-fi monsters or colourful unicorns, we have something up our sleeve for everyone.

Galleries and Museums hold great art and artefacts and this often means they make great subjects for calendars. From renaissance paintings to out of this world photography (literally!), museums and galleries are full of beautiful subjects for calendars. Take a look at ten of our most popular ones for 2019!

One of only 35 girls to join some 2,000 boys at the national prep school in Mexico City, Frida Kahlo had dreams of becoming a doctor. In 1922, while at this school, Frida would come across a rather rotund painter doing some work in the school’s auditorium. Diego Rivera recounts, in his autobiography, remembering this young girl teasing him while he worked until she stopped and just watched.

Paul Gauguin (1848–1903) was born to Clovis Gauguin (1814–51) and Alina Maria Chazal (1825–67) inParis. A man driven by his own desire above anything else, Gauguin is a celebrated artist with a story that now warrants people questioning his work. He would come to be defined by his travels and work in what he termed ‘primitive’ cultures, but from an early age this travelling was a central part of his life. 

Heath Robinson is a name synonymous with humorously complicated machines and inventions. Similar to the American Rube Goldberg, Robinson’s name became shorthand for these bizarre contraptions but differing in that they were generally not single use inventions like Goldberg’s. While these were central to his fame and success they were not the only illustrations he did and we thought we should take a look at some of his other beautiful work.