Art Matters

Author and curator Margaret Timmers offers a brief history of art in the modern Olympics, from art events to poster designs.

Art historian and presenter Kate Bryan shares some of the artist's love stories from her book 'The Art of Love'.

Map Librarian Nick Millea discuss the history of map-making and the artists who have explored maps as a subject.

Head Curator at the London Transport Museum Matt Brosnan takes us on a journey through the history of London Transport poster designs.

Artist and food historian Tasha Marks discusses the history and symbolism of food in art.

Historian Rebecca Rideal talks through artworks and illustrations to show explain how fires, plague and war made 1666 one of the most dramatic years in British history.

Psychoanalyst Vanessa Sinclair explains how Freud and psychoanalysis inspired the art of the Surrealists.

Michele Bogart discusses the relationship between artists and ad design since the late nineteenth century.

We speak to Director of Chisenhale Gallery Zoé Whitley about her work co-curating the 'Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power' exhibition and art in the context of Black Lives Matter.

We speak to David Bownes to learn about the history of British railway poster artists and how poster designs developed over the twentieth century.

Writer and classicist James Cahill gives an introduction to mythological themes in art.

Raissa Bretaña tells us how costume designers look to art history to inspire the fashions for films set across history.

We speak to Giovanni Aloi to discover why animals have inspired artists for thousands of years.

Director of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. Kim Sajet discusses the origins of the gallery and presidential portraits. (Part 2)

Director of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. Kim Sajet discusses the origins of the gallery and presidential portraits. (Part 1)

Tarot expert Rachel Pollack discusses the origins of tarot cards and how artists have engaged with tarot iconography since the 15th century.

We took a trip to the Bank of England to find out about the new J. M. W. Turner £20 note and how money is designed. Guests include Chief Cashier Sarah John, Bank of England Museum Curator Jenni Adam, and banknote designer Debbie Marriott.

We speak to Anna Jamieson about early representations of mental illness in art and how this has developed over the centuries.

Animation critic and historian Charles Solomon tells the story of early Disney cartoons and how fine art inspired the films we've come to love.

We dive into the story of vaginas and vulvas in art with the help of Sarah Creed, curator of the newly-opened Vagina Museum in London.