The Easel

1st April 2026

Painter Hurvin Anderson’s blend of memory and history is mesmerising at Tate Britain

Hannah Silver | Wallpaper | 25th April 2026

Anderson was born and raised in the English Midlands. Yet his “absolutely beautiful” paintings speak loudly of the experience of his family who emigrated from the Caribbean. He has painted barbershops repeatedly, places where Black men and women can “speak freely”. And then, ever-present in small details, are memories of the Caribbean. How do all these elements fit together? Says Anderson, its “being in one place but thinking about another,”

Start Here: 5 things to know about Michaelina Wautier

Staff | Royal Academy | 5th April 2026

The clamour around Wautier is building and building. She came from a well-off family, likely had a good  training in art, never married but shared a house with her artist brother near Brussels and died around 1689. She mastered an unusually wide range of genres, displaying both ambition and immense skill. Having been re-discovered only in the last decade, one writer anticipates more revelations. Seeing her work hung beside Rubens in a London show, another writer concludes, “Wautier is a giant”. A backgrounder is here.

24th March 2026

Tudor Courtiers Exchanged Portrait Miniatures as Love Tokens. Centuries Later, New Research Is Unlocking the Secrets of These Intimate Artworks

Elizabeth Goldring | Smithsonian Magazine | 9th March 2026

Tudor England retains an allure, in part because of the iconic images we have of its colourful characters. Among the most valued such images in their day were miniature portraits, displayed in jewellery or contained in lockets and worn next to the skin. Nicholas Hilliard was among the most acclaimed miniaturists, typically using watercolour on vellum. This art form lasted for centuries until the advent of photography. The linked piece discusses recent discoveries and a survey of the art form is here.

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