Had Robin Holloway published Music’s Odyssey—described by its author as “an invitation to the glorious long voyage of Western classical music”—30 years ago, he might well have got away with it. By day

‘Suzanne with Mona Lisa, Mexico City (1981)’ from The Ballad of Sexual Dependency 1973-86, by Nan Goldin

MODERN ART OCFORD/SUZANNE TREISTER; SUZANNE TREISTER, COURTESY OF ...

John Piper was a modernist who rejected Modernism, a versatile artist who defied categories, but one who remained true to the spirit and detail of the places he painted

John P. Murphy New Deal Art 336pp. Thames and Hudson. Paperback, £19.99. Seymour Fogel’s “Wealth of the Nation”, installed in 1942 in a federal building in Washington DC, depicts a group of workers en

To me, the most important thing about a painting is why. Why do I want to paint this subject? Is it because the lighting on the subject is wonderful? Is it because I just love the subject? Is it becau