Art

Meeting Ken Howard

I always enjoy the company of artist Ken Howard with whom I had dinner the other night at the Chelsea Arts Club. 85 years young he is still has a prodigious output mainly of places he has just visited. Known chiefly as a painter of light and use of contre jour technique (against the daylight) he is [...]

February 22, 2017 // 0 Comments

A la Colthard/ Hotel Costes, Paris

Yesterday I travelled across to Paris with Alice Mansfield to see the Tschoukine art collection at the Louis Vuitton Foundation. The Foundation is in a modern building resembling a large space ship in the Bois de Boulogne. The collection assembled by Sergei Tschoukine at the start of the last [...]

February 11, 2017 // 0 Comments

You never quite know what you’ve got

Serendipity is a wonderful thing and today I wish to bring Rust readers the joys of a true story. I have lived in my current abode in the quiet suburbs of south-west London for over twenty years. During this period I have been in the habit of going across the road to my local newsagents shop to [...]

January 23, 2017 // 0 Comments

Picasso’s ceramics

Like many of genius Picasso had a restless spirit. That spirit might explain why he went through so many periods – blue, pink, cubist and experimented in so many different media. In 1947 when his artistic and political fame (he was a director of the Prado during the Spanish Civil War and [...]

January 19, 2017 // 0 Comments

Spotting fakes

When Bob Tickler emailed me to say he was in negotiation to buy a lithograph by Marc Chagall, I advised him to be careful as the market is awash with fakes. With modern techniques you can produce a replica which even the most discerning of art expert would have difficulty in recognising as a [...]

December 31, 2016 // 0 Comments

Hell and Good Company/ Richard Rhodes; Land and Freedom

One of the things I enjoy most about the Rust is the access to the knowledge of my colleagues and friends there. I have enjoyed researching into the Spanish Civil War. I asked our historian on warfare Henry Elkins for a more anecdotal historical account than the heavyweight Hugh Thomas, Paul [...]

November 4, 2016 // 0 Comments

Fake or Fortune

Fake or Fortune is back for a series on a peak time of 8pm on a Sunday. For an arts programme this is unusual programming and speaks volumes for its popularity and quality. A viewer is requested to submit a painting whose provenance and genuineness are in question and the presenters Fiona Bruce, [...]

July 19, 2016 // 0 Comments

Day Two

Yesterday I joined the group as a lecturer alongside Martin Gayford. I had one eye on time in view of Tottenham v Fioretina. Signor Roberto as I call Bob Tickler told me to watch out for a silver haired bouffant type who fancied himself as an Michelangelo expert. “Stef, he warned [...]

February 26, 2016 // 0 Comments

The Modern Garden exhibition/Royal Academy

Whatever the subject matter or the content there is something unsatisfactory about a blockbuster exhibition. Firstly the crowds inhibit any true appreciation of a picture when as many as ten gather around it. Secondly there is the blatant commercialism that ensures you finish up in the museum shop. [...]

February 9, 2016 // 0 Comments

‘Ave yer got a light, boy?’

In the 21st Century the movie and theatre industries – indeed the arts generally – have to deal with all sorts of issues that never troubled the likes of Will Shakespeare. Think of the legislation, rules and received ‘good practice’ on animal cruelty and welfare (‘No [...]

February 6, 2016 // 0 Comments

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ITV COVERAGE OF CHELTENHAM

March 14, 2026 // 0 Comments

I am in the camp of watching on tv rather than attending for the 3 Cs: cost , convenience and comfort. With the cost of travelling and attending Cheltenham and last [...]
Max Schmelling/ The Good German

March 4, 2026 // 0 Comments

In the unlikely event that I would be asked to nominate a Great Life on Matthew Parris ‘ show my choice would be the Black Uhlan Max Schmelling. In the 1930s thee [...]
The Tanner Report : Fulham 2 spurs 1

March 3, 2026 // 0 Comments

Prior to Fulham ‘s comfortable win over Spurs (2-1) I watched the big match Revisited featuring Chelsea 1 Arsenal 2 i guess in the early 70s It would be foolish to [...]
The Six Nations

February 24, 2026 // 0 Comments

The Six Nations continues to throw up surprises. England could not bounce back against Ireland , a resurgent Wales gave Scotland à close game with the Millennium Stadium [...]
Brentford 0 Brighton 2

February 23, 2026 // 0 Comments

The heat is off Fabian Hürzeler with Brighton ‘s 1st win in 13 games. Club owner Tony Bloom was not at the G Tech stadium due to a long planned family engagement but had [...]