Kenneth Clark (ctd.)
June 3 2014
Picture: BBC
There was an excellent BBC2 Culture Show Special on Kenneth Clark (AHN's hero) this weekend. If you missed it, it's still on iPlayer here. Well worth watching.
I read in The Times last week that the BBC is apparently thinking of having a 'team' approach to the new series of Civilisation, with different specialist presenters for each programme. Good idea, I think.
Also, Martin Gayford has a good review of the new Clark show at Tate Britain. His conclusion is rather stark;
You leave, however, reflecting that Tate Britain has a problem: not looking for civilization so much as searching for suitable subjects for shows. The truth is that there are a limited number of British artists worthy of a major exhibition. In the 14 years since the Tate spilt into Modern and British parts, almost all of these have been covered. It will be a few years before they can do Gainsborough or Hogarth once more, so in the meantime Tate Britain has a bit of a problem. Lordly as he was, Kenneth Clark wasn’t quite large enough a figure to plug that gap.
Update - on his excellent blog, Charles Saumarez Smith recalls the times he met Clark.
