Overview

• The exhibition spans 125 years of British artist-on-artist portraiture, featuring works by Lucian Freud, David Hockney, Paula Rego, and others.
• It opens with Lubaina Himid’s 1994 installation 'Vernet’s Studio,' reimagining a 19th-century artist’s studio with painted cut-outs of female artists.
• Key themes include artistic admiration, rivalry, and collaboration, tracing networks like the Slade School, Bloomsbury, and the YBAs.
• An intimate pairing of Celia Paul’s portrait of Lucian Freud and Freud’s portrait of Paul has been praised as a standout moment.
• Critics have noted the exhibition’s ambitious scope but raised concerns about visual overwhelm due to its dense curation.