It's William-Adolphe Bouguereau's 200th birthday. No one (as far as I know) is throwing him a celebratory exhibition and in many ways he exemplifies the worst excesses of 19thc academicism (saccharine children, gratuitous nudes) but this magnificent absurdity is just brilliant!

Lotte Laserstein born #OTD 1898. Brilliant New Objectivity figurative artist. Currently part of very interesting sounding survey exh at Warsaw's Modern Art Museum - sadly I'm nowhere near Poland artmuseum.pl/en/exhibitio...

Stanisław Wyspiański died #OTD 1907. I discovered him at Young Poland exh at William Morris gallery and then again last year at NPG. Great multi-talented artist. Currently showing in group exhibition in Gdansk if you happen to be in Poland. www.mng.gda.pl/wystawy/olga...

William Blake born #OTD 1757. Artist, poet and, despite being unheralded during his lifetime, hugely influential - if you want a sense of how much, read @philiphoare.bsky.social recent Sea Monsters of Love. You can check out one of my favourite Blakes here: www.dailyartmagazine.com/ancient-days...

Now this sounds interesting. If the Pattle sisters don't mean much, the names Julia Margaret Cameron and Sara Prinsep probably do. Quite a family. www.wattsgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/...

Just started at Tate Britain, Turner and Constable. Could be the exhibition of the year. Could be disappointing. Not sure how useful it is to pit these two against each other. I feel they each deserved their own anniversary shows www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tat...

New exhibition at Wallace Collection celebrating Caravaggio's Cupid. Bit of a coup for them, bit of luck for us! www.wallacecollection.org/whats-on/exh...

Last few days of small but lovely Sandys exhibition at Norwich Castle www.norwichcastle.norfolk.gov.uk/article/6965...

Such a small amount for such an iconic Newly painting! Please support if you can

For many years, Walter Langley’s Cornish Fisherfolk has been on long-term loan to us. Now, this treasured painting is due to be sold, but we’ve been given an opportunity to acquire it by private treaty before it goes to auction. Find out more: friendsofpenleehouse.org.uk/appeal-langl...

We're into the last week of Emery Walker House's little women art workers exhibition and the house itself closes for the winter next weekend. It's not open that often and you have to go on a guided tour but it's a beautiful Arts and Crafts interior - well worth a visit. www.emerywalker.org.uk

New exhibitions starting at Pallant House! William Nicholson's first major exhibition for 20 years. Probably best known as head of artistic dynasty, he's a wonderful still life, portraitist and print-maker. Should be good. pallant.org.uk/whats-on/wil...

Bridget Riley opening today at Turner Contemporary - not a big show but sure to be big impact and an exhibition that surveys her career as a whole (she's also on in Paris at @museeorsay.bsky.social which looks at the early importance of Seurat on her practice) turnercontemporary.org/whats-on/exh...

Starting today Howardena Pindell at Bermondsey @whitecube.com Abstraction, beauty and politics. I love her work. www.whitecube.com/gallery-exhi...

Peder Krøyer died #OTD 1909, wonderful Skagen artist, not as well known as he should be outside Denmark. Currently in exhibitions at Stockholm's Hirschsprung Collection, and brilliant sounding Midsummer Atmospheric Landscapes of the North, opening next week at MKdW, Alkersum mkdw.de/en/exhibitio...

Rene Magritte born #OTD 1898, Surrealism's poster boy (often literally) - if you want to get the movement, get Magritte. Currently subject of show at KMSKA Antwerp but also, included in the Barberini's fabulous sounding Unicorn exhibition kmska.be/en/magritte-...

Rebecca Solomon died #OTD 1886, British artist, known for her social comment genre subjects, like the Young Teacher. More about her here: cmillerartlife.blogspot.com/2022/11/rebe...

Just started at National Gallery, niche little free exhibition based round Edwin Austin Abbey. Hardly a household name, even if you know his literary subjects. I'm intrigued. www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/...

Hilda Carline born #OTD 1889, British artist, and the person who introduced Stanley Spencer to Suffolk (she was his first wife and arguably the love of his life) - as currently explored at Gainsborough's House exhibition gainsborough.org/event/stanle...

Paulus Potter was baptised #OTD 400 years ago. Dutch animal and landscape artist, often reduced to a being a painter of cows but more varied and pioneering in his focus on animals, like these horses @rijksmuseum.bsky.social

Charles I was born #OTD 1600. Great patron of the arts and much painted. Here's my @artukdotorg.bsky.social curation of works inspired by perhaps Britain's most tragic monarch. artuk.org/discover/cur...

Stanley Spencer is always associated with Cookham, but it's his Suffolk links which get explored in new exh at Gainsborough's House starting today. If this view of Southwold is typical, it should be excellent. gainsborough.org/event/stanle...

Wayne Thiebaud was born #OTD 1920. Celebrate with his cakes (and more) at his first UK show currently on at the Courtauld. Less graphic Pop, more painterly still life than you might expect. courtauld.ac.uk/whats-on/exh...

Starting today at Charleston, Roger Fry exhibition. Not sure about this to be honest - should he have stuck to writing? - and despite recent Vanessa Bell success, Bloomsbury art is a bit of an acquired taste. Interesting though, open mind at the ready! www.charleston.org.uk/exhibition/r...

May Morris is having a good run of exhibitions at the moment and this nature focused Morris family show curated by Suzanne Fagence Cooper is starting at the Arc in Winchester today. 'Joy of Life' indeed. www.arcwinchester.org.uk/event/beauty...

Starting today @leedsartgallery.bsky.social Atkinson Grimshaw's Nocturnes. You might unkindly say he could only do one thing, but he did it very well. I'm a big fan. museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/don-t-let-s-...

Claude Monet born #OTD 1840. The biggest Impressionist of them all - you can always find Monet exhibitions - currently at Liverpool's Walker's Turner show & UEA where NG's Petit Bras is touring. Too ubiquitous? Maybe, but somehow he always feels fresh. sainsburycentre.ac.uk/whats-on/the...

Camille Pissarro died #OTD 1903. He's the Impressionist people forget about, but arguably the most interesting. Big retrospective exhibition which was at Potsdam Barberini is currently in Denver, and he's also on show at Vienna's Lower Belvedere www.belvedere.at/en/cezanne-m...

To celebrate the anniversary of Rodin's birth #OTD in 1840 @dailyartmagazine.bsky.social have a whole series of great articles about him including my dive into the Burghers of Calais www.dailyartmagazine.com/burghers-of-...

Paul Signac born #OTD 1863, French Neo-Impressionist, currently part of National Gallery's brilliant Radical Harmony exhibition www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/... cmillerartlife.blogspot.com/2025/10/radi...

The Life of the Fields exhibition at St Barbe in Lymington. 'On the surface this looks like a show dedicated to safe, old-fashioned images of agricultural landscape but the curators are determined to make you look behind the cliches.' Full review: cmillerartlife.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...

Last week of Hew Locke at Newlyn art gallery and Chantal Joffe showing new masculine focused work down the road at the Exchange newlynartgallery.co.uk/whats-on/nex...

Lesser Ury, born #OTD 1861, currently part of Impressionism in Germany: Max Liebermann and his Times in Baden Baden (previously Potsdam). Ury's known for his nocturnal city scenes (although I like his landscapes) www.museum-frieder-burda.de/ausstellung Good review @blogexhibitions.bsky.social

Starting today at National Gallery - Joseph Wright of Derby exhibition. Sublime in many senses of the word. You could argue he's just a warm-up act for the Turner Constable face off coming to Tate. But what a warm-up. www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/...

Starting today @dulwichgallery.bsky.social Skagen artist Anna Ancher gets her first UK show - brilliant! www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/whats-on/ann...

Starting today @dulwichgallery.bsky.social Skagen artist Anna Ancher gets her first UK show - brilliant! www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/whats-on/ann...

Guido Reni born #OTD 1575. Biggish anniversary, though I don't know of any exhibitions but if you go to room 32 of the National Gallery there's a good selection of his work, including this St Jerome.

A lot nearer than Paris where she also has a shown on at the moment - at Musee d'Orsay

Henri Matisse died #OTD 1954 He's one of the artists featured in this fun-sounding show at Fondation Beyeler near Basel, which seems to take the story of dots in art forward from the National Galley's brilliant Neo-Impressionist exh. www.fondationbeyeler.ch/en/exhibitio...

Richard Serra was born #OTD 1938, famous of course for his monumental sculpture but at the moment it is his 2D work which is being exhibited at various venues including in this drawing exh at Harvard harvardartmuseums.org/exhibitions/...

For anyone going to Vienna - Gothic Modern exh at the Albertina: 'The curators have created a series of beautiful groupings and sightlines. There are moments of gothic absurdity, but it is a, sometimes terrible, beauty which really triumphs here.' Review: cmillerartlife.blogspot.com/2025/10/goth...

LS Lowry born #OTD 1887. Not for me but he's currently got an immersive show on at the Lowry (as well as usual collection). He's also part of group exhibition at Colchester's Firstsite looking at relationship between landscape and abstraction - sounds interesting. firstsite.uk/event/exhibi...

Jules Bastien Lepage born #OTD 1848 - known for his, at the time very influential, cool-coloured paintings of rural life, I didn't expect to see this in The Edwardians at King's Picture Gallery - a decidedly Tudor-istic Edward VII cmillerartlife.blogspot.com/2025/08/the-...

Last week of this gorgeous exh at Watts Gallery - never mind the smells just luxuriate in the art. www.wattsgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/...

To celebrate Angelican Kauffman's birthday @dailyartmagazine.bsky.social have got a whole host of stories including my look at this epic self-portrait www.dailyartmagazine.com/angelica-kau...

Just started at Russell-Cotes in Bournemouth - this sounds excellent - War art including Evelyn Dunbar, Laura Knight, Edith Birkin, Paul Nash and present day Ukraine through eyes of George Butler, co-curated by Gill Clarke russellcotes.com/event/artist...

Last few days of this Cookham exh: 'Spencer's last great vision, half merely a tantalising spider's web of pencil lines....was conceived as an image of his love - of a place, of god, of life. But life kept getting in the way'. Review: cmillerartlife.blogspot.com/2025/07/that...

Ending this week, Andy Goldsworthy's magnificant retrospective in Edinburgh - surely one of the best exhibitions of the year www.nationalgalleries.org/exhibition/a...

Exhibitions closing soon.... George Horton, self taught local artist at South Shields www.northeastmuseums.org.uk/southshields...

Last week of this exhibitions of artists' portraits of other artists at Pallant House - 150 works full of insight and complexity. Such a simple idea for a show - so effectively done pallant.org.uk/whats-on/see...