Double Bill at Tate Britain

Today, we are visiting Tate Britain taking advantage of once month late opening.  You can choose from two featured exhibitions Don McCullin and Van Gogh and Britain or just browse the permanent collections free of charge. 


(1) Don McCullin: To book, please click here.  If this is the first exhibition you are attending, book 6:30pm slot.  Meet either at the entrance to the exhibition at 6:25pm or inside the exhibition. 

BBC did a documentary about Don McCullin on Feb 4th this year, entitiled Don McCullin: Looking for England. You can still watch it on BBC iPlayer until 3rd March. 

This exhibition showcases some of the most impactful photographs captured over the last 60 years. It includes many of his iconic war photographs – including images from Vietnam, Northern Ireland and more recently Syria. But it also focuses on the work he did at home in England, recording scenes of poverty and working class life in London’s East End and the industrial north, as well as meditative landscapes of his beloved Somerset, where he lives.​

Sir Don McCullin was born in 1935 and grew up in a deprived area of north London. He got his first break when a newspaper published his photograph of friends who were in a local gang. From the 1960s he forged a career as probably the UK’s foremost war photographer, primarily working for the Sunday Times Magazine. His unforgettable and sometimes harrowing images are accompanied in the show with his brutally honest commentaries.

With over 250 photographs, all printed by McCullin himself in his own darkroom, this exhibition will be a unique opportunity to appreciate the scope and achievements of his entire career.

(2) Van Gogh and Britain. To book please click here   If this is the first exhibition you are attending, book 6:30pm slot.  Meet either at the entrance to the exhibition at 6:25pm or inside the exhibition. 

Van Gogh and Britain presents the largest collection of Van Gogh’s paintings in the UK for nearly a decade. Some of his most famous works are brought together from around the world. 

Van Gogh lived in England as a young man for several crucial years. He walked the streets alone, dreaming of the future. He fell in love with British culture, especially the novels of Charles Dickens and George Eliot. And he was inspired by the art he saw here, including paintings by Constable and Millais which are featured in the exhibition. They affected his paintings throughout his career.

The exhibition also looks at the British artists who were inspired by Van Gogh, including Francis Bacon, David Bomberg, and the young Camden Town painters. It shows how his vision set British artists on the road to modern art.

We will meet again at 8:30pm at White Swan - 14 Vauxhall Bridge Road, SW1V 2SA to share our thoughts.  A table for 8 is book for those who would like to have dinner here.