Exhibition of the week
Christian Newby
Installation of a hanging tapestry that questions the boundary between art and craft in Edinburgh’s most dramatically situated gallery, converted from a hilltop observatory.
• Collective, Edinburgh until 29 August
Also showing
Alberta Whittle
A new film by one of the four co-winners of the 2019 Turner prize that looks at today’s global crises.
• Jupiter Artland, near Edinburgh until 31 October
Grinling Gibbons
Rollicking baroque sculpture by the most rock’n’roll woodcarver of the 17th century.
• Bonhams, London until 27 August, then touring to Compton Verney
Scent from Nature
Perfume bottles from ancient Egypt and masterpieces of botanical art show how humanity has long coveted floral aromas.
• Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge until 29 August
Charles H Mackie
Fresh and evocative impressionistic paintings by this Scottish contemporary of Monet.
• City Art Centre, Edinburgh until 10 October
Image of the week
Sotheby’s is to sell 11 Picasso works owned by MGM Resorts, which have a combined value of about $100m (£72m), in Las Vegas. The plan is to recreate Sotheby’s famous New York auction room in the Bellagio, famous for its musical fountain show and a starring role in the movie Ocean’s Eleven. Many of the Picassos being sold hang in the hotel’s “Picasso” restaurant. Read the full story here.
What we learned
Shayne Oliver is on a mission to bring New York’s queer underground to the world
Janet Kennedy, whose sew-it-yourself patterns defined 1970s childrenswear, has died
No 10 houses art worth £100,000 – Boris Johnson could learn from it
Barry Joule could take back his £20m Francis Bacon collection from the Tate
We are still in thrall to the idea that artists are born not made
Banksy may have visited coastal towns in the UK
We explore whether artistic talent can ever be taught
Photographer Vanley Burke shows how he immortalised black Britain
Gold artefacts from Kazakhstan’s Saka warriors are heading to Cambridge
Creatives are abandoning Instagram after its shift towards TikTok-type videos
A new Escher documentary is interesting, if uncritical
The LensCulture winners have been announced
Hitler weaponised works by mentally ill artists to win his culture war
Todd Antony’s best photograph is of indigenous female wrestlers mid-flight
The illustrations from Jackanory are going on sale
A new book collects the most bizarre Led Zeppelin artwork
The “potato photographer of the year” was announced
We looked at the revolutionary gaze of Margaret Watkins
Masterpiece of the week
Thomas Lawrence: George IV, 1822
One of Britain’s most shameful monarchs is portrayed as a figure of listless melancholy against a dark stormy sky. George IV, who was regent for his incapacitated father before inheriting the throne, was despised for his sex life and selfishness. When he died his obituary in The Times effectively said “good riddance”. Here he seems sad and alone, contemplating his wasted life. Lawrence was a prodigy who became hugely successful but is rarely remembered nowadays. This powerful, oddly moving portrait proves he was one of Britain’s great artistic talents.
• Wallace Collection, London
Don’t forget
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