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Thomas Rowlandson’s Lower Orders
Great News! Although Thomas Rowlandson was born as the son of a wool and silk merchant in Old Jewry in the City of London who went bankrupt when Thomas was just two years old, he had the unexpected...
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At The Eagle Tavern
I wish you would take me out to the theatre. As the autumn nights draw in, I dream of leaving the gloomy old house one evening and joining the excited crowds, out in their best clothes to witness the...
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The Launch Of EAST END VERNACULAR
Join me for the launch of my new book EAST END VERNACULAR, Artists who painted London’s East End streets in the 20th century at the Nunnery Gallery in Bow, E3 2SJ, on Tuesday 10th October from 6pm....
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The Last Gasometer In Poplar
This is the last gasometer in Poplar and, as you can see, it is not all there. Already parts have gone and quite soon it will vanish entirely. The pleasing circularity that once enclosed the sky...
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Dan Jones’ East End Portraits
In recent years, Dan Jones has painted a magnificent series of portraits from different eras for East End Tales by the Speed History Writers Group. Many of these are well known but others less...
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Doreen Fletcher’s New Exhibition
Readers will be familiar with the work of Doreen Fletcher whom I met in 2015, when she had hidden twenty years worth of paintings away in an attic, after giving up her work as an artist ten years...
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A Conversation With Doreen Fletcher
On the eve of Doreen Fletcher’s second exhibition IN BETWEEN, ALMOST GONE which opens this Friday 13th October at Townhouse, Spitalfields, I visited Doreen in her studio to learn the story behind her...
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James Mackinnon’s Solo Exhibition
Once, artists came to the East End because it was cheap to live here but James Mackinnon is one of those who can longer afford to stay because it is too expensive, and he has moved from Hackney to...
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Hope In The Housing Crisis
Recognising that housing is the burning question of our generation in the capital, I am very pleased to announce the East End Preservation Society‘s C.R. ASHBEE MEMORIAL LECTURE for 2017: HOPE IN THE...
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Ivor Weiss, Artist
You only have until this Saturday 21st October to catch this rare retrospective at the Weiss Gallery The Onlooker, 1968 I went down to Jermyn St in St James’ yesterday to meet Mark Weiss of the Weiss...
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At The Drapers’ Hall
The Drawing Room As long ago as 1180, the Drapers in the City of London formed a Guild to protect their interests as small traders and help members who fell into distress. The full title of the...
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Arnold Circus Celebrates Naseem Khan
Bubbles and fireworks are perhaps two of the most potent images of mortality. And it was entirely fitting that Sunday’s celebration at Arnold Circus for the life and work of Naseem Khan OBE...
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The East End Vernacular Lectures
Spitalfields Market by John Allin 1974 In coming weeks, I shall be undertaking a lecture tour of the capital giving illustrated lectures on the subject of my new book EAST END VERNACULAR, Artists who...
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The Working Artist: The East London Group
Michael Rosen & Emma-Louise Williams write about THE WORKING ARTIST, the exhibition of East London Group paintings they have curated which runs at The Nunnery Gallery in Bow until 17th December....
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East End Beer Bottle Labels
Paul Shearsmith kindly sent me these splendid mid-twentieth century labels from Charrington’s at the Anchor Brewery in Mile End and Mann Crossman & Paulin at the Albion Brewery in Whitechapel. It...
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John Minton’s East End
Martin Salisbury author of The Snail that climbed the Eiffel Tower, a monograph of John Minton’s graphic work, explores Minton’s fascination with the East End. Never quite accepted by the establishment...
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Philip Mernick’s Mortlake Jugs
Once, every household in London possessed an ale jug, in the days before it was safe to drink water or tea became widely affordable. These cheaply-produced salt-glazed stoneware items, that could be...
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Ben Hur’s Stepney
The Palaseum Cinema (also known as the Ben Hur) painted by Doreen Fletcher, 1985 Ian Ben Hur, grandson of Ben Hur who was both projectionist and proprietor at the Palaseum Cinema in White Horse Rd,...
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More East End Beer Bottle Labels
Paul Shearsmith kindly sent me more thirst-inspiring mid-twentieth century beer labels. These are from Taylor Walker & Co at the Barley Mow Brewery in Limehouse (1730-1960) and Whitbread at the...
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Two East End Vernacular Lectures
I have illustrated lectures on the subject of EAST END VERNACULAR, Artists who painted London’s East End streets in the 20th century coming up in Whitechapel on Thursday 17th November and in...
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