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The A to Z of William Nicholson

What begins with an Alphabet chart, shows off some choice Silverware, portrays Queen Victoria, highlights the horrors of World War I and crosses the Ocean? Oh yes, and also includes a Rabbit, the star of a classic children's book. It's the  William Nicholson  exhibition at the Pallant House Gallery in Chichester.  This is the first major show of Nicholson's work for more than 20 years and it covers the full and very varied range of his art -- including landscapes, portraits, posters and book illustrations -- in a career that lasted from the Victorian age until the middle of the 20th century. Among his paintings, though, it's the still lifes, often featuring glittering silver, that stand out. This  Silver Casket and Red Leather Box  conveys just how skilled he was at rendering materials and reflections. You can marvel at the accuracy of his reproduction of the silver tea caddy as the original is displayed in a glass case alongside. Of course the reflection i...
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Opening and Closing in August

One of the most stunning objects in the recently ended World of Stonehenge exhibition at the British Museum was this exquisite Bronze Age golden sun pendant, uncovered in Shropshire only in 2018. The breathtaking piece is now embarking on a national tour, starting at the Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro from August 6 to November 5 and moving on to Lincoln, Sunderland and Stornoway over the course of the next 14 months. 
August is generally a quiet period for exhibition openings, but there are two shows starting in Germany before the end of the month that are well worth highlighting. One is a treat for enthusiasts of German Expressionism: The Museum Folkwang is marking its 100th anniversary in Essen with a show examining the history of its extensive collection of Expressionist art -- very German but banned by the Nazis as degenerate. Expressionists at Folkwang features around 250 works, including loans from elsewhere, and runs from August 20 to January 8.

It's only 40 minutes by train from Essen to Wuppertal, where the Von der Heydt Museum starts a show on August 21 devoted to how artists have perceived themselves in self-portraits since the 19th century. Strangers to Ourselves (page in German) has work from Toulouse-Lautrec, Christian Schad, Félix Vallotton, Paula Modersohn-Becker and Francis Bacon as well as contemporary artists. Until January 29. 

Last chance to see....

August 21 is your final deadline to get along to Breaking the News at the British Library in London, a thoroughly entertaining and absorbing exhibition about how news has been made and manipulated down the centuries, and full of historic front pages.
The women's Euros have brought football to an even larger audience, and for those newcomers, as well as for established fans full of expectations for the new season in this World Cup year, we can recommend Football: Designing the Beautiful Game at the Design Museum in London. The final whistle will be blown on August 29; no penalty shoot-out! 

Images

Bronze Age sun pendant, 1000-800 BC, British Museum. © The Trustees of the British Museum
Daily Express front page, June 6, 1963, British Library

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