BEN GROSVENOR

Blog · Posted October 18, 2024

Art historian Bendor Grosvenor visited Mainstreet to talk all things British art.

We had the pleasure of welcoming leading art historian Bendor Grosvenor to Mainstreet to hear him talk about his new book The Invention of British Art and what a treat it was!

Bendor took us through the development of British art, from the arrival of the Vikings in Lindisfarne (790’s) to John Constable’s (1776-1837) ‘The Hay Wain’.  His audience was totally enthralled from start to finish as he analysed why so many works have been overlooked throughout history and revealed secrets of some of the most famous paintings in our nation’s galleries.

Unpicking the historical, cultural and economic reasons that led to the emergence of British artists taking so long, we got to see what made each of these masterpieces so distinct. A huge thank you to Bendor for visiting and sharing your incredible knowledge with us all.

You can pick up a copy of the book in the shop or online via our Bookshop.org page HERE

About the Book

You have to try really hard, it seems, to like British art. Even its admirers appear to believe it has contributed little to world art history. Tate, the closest thing we have to a gallery of British art, assigns less than a quarter of its display space to works made before 1900.

Why is British art so overlooked? Is it because Britain itself has never been enthusiastic about art, and indeed is still ill at ease with it today?

Is it, quite simply, bad? Or has British art suffered an injustice? None of these questions can be answered without a frank reassessment of the history of British art, those who made it, and who it was made for. Leading art historian Dr Bendor Grosvenor (best known as co-presenter of the BBC series, Britain’s Lost Masterpieces) is taking on that challenge.

A provocative, captivating and highly accessible story of British art from 10,000 BCE to the 19th century.