Masterworks

"Heaven knows what posterity will eventually make of this enormous canvas, which is over 5 metres long. At present it occupies an uncertain position in the Tate Gallery ill-lit above a staircase and impossible to stand back from. It is an oddity; no doubt about it. And yet, if Spencer's reputation survives, this picture may be hailed as his masterpiece. The subject is the Resurrection."

This picture tells the story of a simple scientific experiment. The rather wild-looking gentleman is the scientist. He is pumping air out of the glass bowl in the centre of the picture so that the white dove inside it collapses through lack of oxygen. This picture mirrors English 18th century society at a time of evolution: Wright has captured it in one dramatic moment in the light of a lamp...

"This picture by the English artist Victor Pasmore has two titles. One is romantic, the other could'nt be more prosaic. 'Coast of the Inland Sea' is how it is generally known. The artist added as an extra title, 'Spiral Motif in Green, Violet, Blue and Gold'. Pasmore painted the picture in 1950, and it marks a transition between his naturalistic painting and abstract work..."

"An enormous sun about to sink behind the Dorset hills. In the foreground strange spheres inhabit the fields as though they were the sun's satellites. But it is a mirror. A mirror ... and next to it a transparent screen. So, with the aid of two surfaces we are looking at a landscape from two perspectives - behind us and in front.