Marrakesh Meetings

BBC News has finally caught up with Meetings in Marrakesh: The Paintings of Hassan El Glaoui and Winston Churchill (CLICK for video). The story behind this exhibition at the Leighton House Museum in London is more interesting than the art. Churchill discovered young Hassan in 1943 and persuaded his reluctant parents to send him to art school, their last choice for an elite Berber warrior! The exhibition is small: 9 paintings by Sir Winston and 15 by Hassan El Glaoui. However, its size is offset by its setting: the former home and studio of Frederic, Lord Leighton, who spent 30 years embellishing George Aitchison's design to create his own palace of art. The show runs till 31 March (title link).