Adrian Searle

Raised in Canada and now living in Trinidad, during the two decades he spent in London Peter Doig (b. 1959) emerged as one of Britain’s most influential painters. Bringing together disparate visual references in an otherworldly visual space, Doig’s artworks never the less belong to a landscape painting tradition that dates back to the nineteenth century. His visionary canvases, with their hallucinogenic colours and heavily textured surfaces, have helped spark contemporary art's resurgent interest in idiosyncratic figurative painting.

Peter Doig is represented by Victoria Miro, London; Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin; Michael Werner, New York; and Gavin Brown, New York.… (mer)

The actual content about the alleged raid could more easily have fitted into a pamphlet had it been more concisely written with the majority of the book actually talking about a range of associated but not necessarily directly relevant topics. There's probably enough in here for fervent advocates to see as proof of the alleged raid but equally fervent deniers would be able to say "told you so" at the same time. All that can definitively be concluded from this work is that there's probably no point in trying any further to find evidence as the author's turned over every imaginable stone looking for it.… (mer)

Born into poverty on the Isle of Wight, Sophie Dawes rose to get great riches and ended her life as a Baroness. On the way she also became vilified in her adopted country of France and was accused of beating her lover and possibly murdering him. Sophie was obviously a great character and this book portrays her actions with little sympathy however it is clear that her poor beginnings shaped her desire to progress in the world and become part of the aristocracy. She was also an adept schemer who ended up fabulously rich just as Victoria came to the throne.… (mer)