National Gallery
(Picture: PA)The National Gallery has felt the pinch of the war in Ukraine. It had planned an exhibition on modern art with the Pushkin Museum in Moscow for next year, but the plans were scrapped soon after Russia’s invasion, leaving the museum rushing to find 15 paintings that could replace the ones stuck in Moscow.
The show, After Impressionism, was based on the art of six European cities where modernism developed. One of the most prominent was Moscow, but that will now be excised from the exhibition. The show will go ahead next year but without works from the Pushkin Museum, and without a planned transfer to Russia.
The National Gallery is now asking other non-Russian museums for modernist paintings that can replace works including those by Kandinsky. The response so far has been “heartwarming”, Mary Anne Stevens, who is helping curate the exhibition, told The Art Newspaper.
No seat for Eddie Izzard
Eddie Izzard has failed in an attempt to stand to be the Labour MP for Sheffield Central — the comedian was beaten by local councillor Abtisam Mohamed in a selection meeting yesterday. Izzard, who identifies as female, was attacked by Labour MP Rosie Duffield, who refused to call her a woman. Expect Izzard to try again: she has long wanted to go into politics, once hoping to be London mayor.
Oliver with a twist
Sam Mendes’s audio version of Oliver Twist has drawn unwarranted criticism. In it, black actor Emilio Villa-Muhammad plays Charles Dickens’ Oliver, leading to predictable moans that Victorian London was not actually multicultural. Historian David Olusoga offers a lesson. “Who knew Dickensian England was so diverse?” he tweeted. “People who spend their time reading books rather than spreading hatred.”
Last night in town
Legends of stage and screen filed into The Ivy West Street last night for a dinner in support of Acting for Others, charities that help out-of-work thesps. Acting royalty including Dames Maggie Smith and Penelope Wilton were there, while Lesley Manville and Tamsin Greig waited tables.
Dinner clashed with the England match but The Londoner was on hand to keep host Samantha Bond up to date with the score, which she relayed to diners. In a charity auction, lunch with Sir Derek Jacobi triggered a bidding war, going for £3,000, while champagne with
Sir Ian McKellen fetched £2,000. Up the road, Kate Winslet went to an event for the new Avatar film, while on Friday, Will Smith was at Leicester Square for his movie Emancipation, a first since his Oscars scandal earlier this year.
