Description

An expert guide to the highlights and unexpected treasures of British collections.

If you find yourself in Hull, Cork or Dundee, what paintings should you go and look at? Many masterpieces are waiting for you around the British Isles, sometimes neglected, in our galleries and museums. Here, the distinguished broadcaster and critic Christopher Lloyd identifies over 265 masterpieces in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, from the National Gallery to The Burrell Collection in Glasgow. Some are acknowledged greats, others are surprising and quirky: all are richly rewarding. All the paintings are the personal selection of Lloyd who has come across and enjoyed or admired them in public collections during the course of his career. His purpose throughout is to encourage others to visit the same places and experience the same pleasures. For tourists, this book offers a treasure trail; for the art lover, a knowledgeable companion; for all, an expert guide to the highlights of British collections.

Publisher Review

'A tremendously good idea, very well done ... a masterpiece of concision' - Times Literary Supplement 'Enthusiasm, charm, wit, elegant style and an unerring eye ... a very quiet, very British masterpiece' - Daily Telegraph 'Exactly the companion you would wish to take with you on a museum crawl: knowledgeable, urbane and discreetly impatient with dense art-historical lingo' - Guardian 'An inspiring selection ... Beautifully crafted, unobtrusively erudite, generously detailed without ever losing sight of the picture itself, these essays are models of art-historical writing and a sustained pleasure to read' - The Art Newspaper 'His comments are dry and pithy, his one-liners are sharp ... this is an achievement few could match ... Dr Lloyd's selections will delight, and will send the reader back, refreshed, to our great national and regional collections' - Country Life