Dr Bendor Grosvenor FRHistS
Art historian. New book The Invention of British Art, out now.
- Today on the podcast, I take a deep dive into Turner's extraordinary painting, 'The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, October 16 1834'. And I ask, is it the beginning of modern art? Link in next post. 1/2
- Anybody else finding Google Books has stopped working? I can't get a thing!
- Would any of this Mandelson stuff matter a jot for the PM, if he'd had his own ideas about what to do in power? He tried to be Blair 2.0, and here we are.
- Just a few seats left for this at Keswick on 12th March. I'll be talking about British landscape painting, the Lakes and Wordsworth. www.theatrebythelake.com/event/bendor...
- This week's podcast is on the Wilton Diptych; what it's all about and who may have painted it. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/w...
- We tried The Mastermind but didn’t last long. It’s going straight into my top five worst films about art. Anyone make it to the end? (Though I’ll always be a massive Josh O’Connor fan).
- Have a good Burns Night everyone. The first in which we can see him through the eyes of one of Scotland's greatest painters, Henry Raeburn.
- Visiting the Old Master sales and Tate's Turner & Constable show... my Diary piece for The Art Newspaper. www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/01/22/c...
- Here’s the beginning of our film about Raeburn’s rediscovered portrait of Robert Burns. Watch the whole film at blackiehouse.org
- This week on the podcast* I discuss the magic of art restoration with Simon Gillespie, including some of his triumphs from the BBC series Britain's Lost Masterpieces. *(Waldy and Bendy's Adventures in Art, available on all the usual platforms).
- There's a wonderful short film made by Ishbel Grosvenor all about the portrait and its discovery here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=StBu...
- Some breaking art historical news for you - a lost portrait of Robert Burns by Sir Henry Raeburn was unveiled today at the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh. It’s been missing for more than 200 years. 1/3
