I have written as an art critic for nearly 40 years in many newspapers such as The Independent ( 1988-), Independent on Sunday (1989), The Times ( 1996/2010-), The Herald ( London art critic 1980-84 , the freelance), The Evening Standard, The European ( arts editor 1989-91) and I was London correspondent for Vie des Arts 1979-89, freelance art critic for BBC World TV news since 2016, as well as for many international art magazines.. As author I have written 13 editions of London Art and Artist’s Guide, 3 editions, with co-author Richard Layzell, of The Artists’ Directory ( A handbook of the Contemporary British Art World). My book of b/w photographs ” The London Art World 1979-99 was published in 2000, introduction by John Russell Taylor, and ” Henri Goetz: 50 years of Painting. I have contributed to; “The London Encyclopaedia; ( art galleries, museums and sports centres (MacMillans 1984, 1990s and 2005), wrote all the visual arts sections of Time Out London Guide, Time Out New York Guide, London Visitors’ Guide (1985-93), the contemporary art section of Blue Guide to Spain, sections of Glasgow Arts Guide as well as the b/w photos in the guide, sections of Australian Arts Guide ( 3 editions),L’Ecosse; pierre, vent et lumiere ( Editions Autrement 1988), Londres ( Editions Autrement 1998 and 2000) and other books.
I created/founded the Art Guide series to London, Paris, New York, Amsterdam, Berlin, Madrid, Glasgow, Australia, UK from 1980 and sold the series in 1987 to A&C Black,
now part of Bloomsbury publishing. In 1993 I retrieved the rights to my own book London Art and Artist’s Guide and then created the LAAG website in 2002-. It incorporates books, photographs, consultancy and an art magazine. The guide is now in its 13th edition ( 2012- 1st edition 1979).
I have been a member of AICA since 1980. I was Treasurer in the 1980s for 3 years and have been on and off the AICA UK committee since 1982-2007. I organised three of the four Bernard Denvir AICA UK art critic prizes, created the AICA UK archives at Tate Archives, organised visits to corporate collections, a report on pay to art critics, a visit to Glasgow in its year of Cultural Capital of Europe ( 1990) and helped art critics continue to publish articles, while trapped in Sarajevo by the war in Bosnia in the 1990s.
My b/w photo portraits of David Hockney(2), Graham Nickson, Prue O’Day and Graham Paton are in the National Portrait Gallery photography collection and further photo- portraits are joined the collection in 2015/2016 including Sarah Raphael, Kate Whiteford, Tim Sayer, Christopher Le Brun(2), Nicholas Serota, Charlotte Verity, Zelda Cheatle, Lars Nittve, Jeffrey Daniels, Matthew Flowers, Sarah Kentand others. I am a member of AICA, Society of Authors, Biographers’ Club, ALCS, DACS and PLS.