Cork street is under threat from developers, in a long running fight to save this bastion of British art, it is now coming to terms with change. In many ways London has had a stable designate art area for longer than New York, which has seen many shifts from Soho to Chelsea and beyond. There is an inevitability about change in the art world, it is always at the mercy of the market and engaged in a constant battle to survive and adapt.
Mayfair is now brimming with new commercial galleries, many of which show good work. The boundaries of the commercial and fine art are becoming very blurred, encouraged by a Britart acceptance that art has always been partially about money.
A beautiful show of Ivon Hitchens in Bond Street had me thinking about the much valued timeless nature of his art and the enduring qualities of painting. It is moving to see such sureness of touch and love of subject still speaking directly to us. Plein Air paintings that took a few hours have become icons of Englishness, once seen as modern in the Cork Street of the fifties now a must-have lifestyle accessory for the well heeled. Plus ca change indeed!
Drawing Du Jour
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