In light of the recent Gainsborough exhibition at The National Portrait Gallery, I looked back at one of my father’s essays on the subject. This one first published in 1980 goes into the historic feuds and repercussions of this work that was causing rifts within the art world and British society throughout the last century

The latest Edward Burne-Jones exhibition at the TATE reminded me of my father’s review of The Last Romantics exhibition in the 90s, at the start of the Pre-Raphaelite revival of which he was a leading voice.

Bely that jolly blue eyed mistress, she with reverence to the hero flickering on the screen with big brothers heavy arms sees that dark force in me and begins to push down on my chest to purge it out. Scour my guts out of the fish heads and dried out beef that lingered in there heavy wrenching mornings and evening see me sleeping in confusion.