Facing the Modern

Yesterday The National Gallery in London opened its autumn biggy in the Sainsbury Wing: Facing the Modern: The Portrait in Vienna 1900 (CLICK). This major exhibition examines the central role of portraiture in Viennese painting and the upheaval in traditional art that marked the years around 1900. Gustav Klimt's Portrait of a Lady in Black (1894) is the peak of quality before it all plunges into the depths of modern art with people like Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka. I'm not at all sure it's worth lashing out £11 for adults or £10 for silver surfers to view Vienna's descent into the abyss of modern art. One good point is that admission is only £5.50 for silver surfers on Tuesday afternoons 2.30–6pm.