Wouldn’t it be lovely, when looking back at the year in art, to begin with some paintings? To shine a light on one or two of our museums’ significant recent acquisitions, such as Joshua Reynolds’s Portrait of Mai (c 1776), which, together with the Getty in Los Angeles, the National Portrait Gallery secured for £50 million? The National Gallery now owns Henri Rousseau’s Portrait of Joseph Brummer (1909), depicting the Hungarian art dealer sitting in a wicker chair, smoking. The Royal Collection r
Let’s indulge in some identity politics for a second: I am from Hong Kong, born as a subject of the last major colony of the British Empire, minority-ethnic, descended from Chinese refugees, now living here in exile. This summer, both the National Portrait Gallery and Tate Britain are presenting new displays that are meant to