Monthly Archives: November 2011
I am photographed as Marie Antoinette
It’s a big deal being photographed by Julia Fullerton-Batten, as I was recently for the New Yorker. (‘For the New Yorker’. Note how coolly I toss that out? Believe me, my nonchalance is feigned.) The first indication that something extraordinary was coming up was my being asked if I had a preferred make-up artist and
Continue ReadingI eat George III’s dinner
Marc and Robert from Historia, the food historians who work at Hampton Court, were cooking dishes from a 1789 menu for George III for Lauren Collins of the New Yorker. Who could resist coming along for a taste? Certain not me and my fellow curator Susanne. Selecting just the highlights from the great list of
Continue ReadingCan anyone help me with Dorothy Hartley? New TV project.
This is a plea for information about the food writer Dorothy Hartley (1893-1985) – please do pass it on to any foodies of your acquaintance… Her seminal book Food in England was published in 1954. All true foodies know it and love it as a wonderful, if slightly random, collection of information about the history
Continue ReadingPeter Paul Rubens at Tate Britain
As the new exhibition ‘Rubens and Britain’ is about to open at Tate Britain, I thought you might like to see the article I wrote about Rubens’ work in London for the Tate members’ magazine. The God-maker Who Did His Job Too Well In 2008 Tate Members helped to buy Peter Paul Rubens’ important oil
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