Hello! I’m Lynne Hanley an art historian with a first class Bachelor of Arts degree in Humanities with Art History from the Open University (OU) and a Master’s degree with distinction in Art History from University College London (UCL).
I am on a mission to share as much about art and art history, in all its fabulous bonkersness, as I can with you. I want to make learning about art accessible, surprising and above all wildly compelling and enjoyable.
Have you ever wondered, for example, whether Cupid, who I’m giving the side-eye to here, ever grew up? There’s a video and blog post on that very subject in my free to access ‘Elevenses with Lynne’ series. You can view them here.
My personal art history
I vividly remember when this photo was taken. It was May 2017 in the library at UCL where I was forced to carry out my research on the floor because there were no available desks. I was probably reading about Cornelis van Haarlem and more specifically his painting illustrating the Cadmus myth in the National Gallery. It’s often commented that my my chosen topic was an ‘interesting’ choice for someone with a sunny disposition but it earned me a distinction so something worked. You can read my dissertation here if you fancy it. It should probably come with a long word warning!
If you’re interested in what prompted me to learn about art in the first place, there’s more…
The budding art historian finds the National Gallery
My flirtation with art and art appreciation began in Paris in the early 1990’s. During the course of a year, I discovered the fabulously louche post-impressionist art of Toulouse-Lautrec in the artist’s quarter of Montmartre, and roamed the corridors of the Musée d’Orsay, loving a lot and understanding only a little.
In my 20s and early 30s I was a tour guide and quite by chance ended up (sort of ) following the well-trodden path of the 18th century Grand Tourist. I discovered much of Europe and eventually travelled further afield, visually devouring everything from sculpture to art installations to altarpieces, from Berlin to Beijing and back again, before settling in London.
Once in London I found my spiritual home at the National Gallery and became a frequent visitor whilst working in events with both corporate clients and high net worth individuals. It was interesting but it wasn’t my calling.
Then one day, browsing the internet in my dressing gown, I discovered a humanities course at the Open University.
The rest, as they say, is art history.