Andrew Graham-Dixon

Andrew Graham-Dixon
Born	26 December 1960 (1960-12-26)
Alma mater	Courtauld Institute of Art
Occupation	Art historian Television presenter
Known for	The Culture Show The Art of Eternity The Art of Spain The Art of Russia
Website
http://www.andrewgrahamdixon.com/

Andrew Michael Graham-Dixon (born 26 December 1960) is a British art historian and broadcaster.

Life and work

Education

Graham-Dixon was educated at the independent Westminster School and at Christ Church at the University of Oxford, where he read English. He graduated in 1981, before pursuing doctoral studies at the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London.

Career

Graham-Dixon began work as a reviewer for the weekly Sunday Correspondent, before becoming the chief art critic of The Independent newspaper where he remained until 1998, and as of 2005 is the chief art critic of The Sunday Telegraph. Since 2004, he has also been a contributor to the BBC Two's The Culture Show on a variety of subjects.

In 1992, Graham-Dixon won the first prize in the Reportage section in the Montreal World Film Festival for a documentary film about Théodore Géricault's painting The Raft of the Medusa. He has since gone on to present several BBC documentary series on art, including A History of British Art (1996), Renaissance (1999), Caravaggio (2002) The Secret of Drawing (2005), The Battle for British Art (2007), The Art of Eternity (2007), The Art of Spain (2008), The Art of Russia (2009) and "The Art of Germany (2010).

He has also presented programmes on subjects other than art, such as I, Samurai (2006) and The Real Casino Royale for the BBC and 100% English (2006) for Channel 4. In 2010, he interviewed John Lydon for a Culture Show special about Public Image Limited.

Graham-Dixon also wrote and presented the BBC documentary Who Killed Caravaggio? , broadcast on BBC 4 in 2010. The same year, his biography of Caravaggio was published as Caravaggio: A Life Sacred And Profane.

Supporter of YBAs

He was an early supporter of the later-to-be YBA artists, in 1990 he wrote:

Goldsmiths' graduates are unembarrassed about promoting themselves and their work: some of the most striking exhibitions in London over the past few months—"The East Country Yard Show", or "Gambler", both staged in docklands—have been independently organized and funded by Goldsmiths' graduates as showcases for their work. This has given them a reputation for pushiness, yet it should also be said that in terms of ambition, attention to display and sheer bravado there has been little to match such shows in the country's established contemporary art institutions. They were far superior, for instance, to any of the contemporary art shows that have been staged by the Liverpool Tate in its own multi-million-pound dockland site.

Personal life and family

Graham-Dixon is son of the barrister Anthony Graham-Dixon and Suzanne "Sue" (née Villar 1931–2010), a publicist for music and opera companies. Graham-Dixon is married, with three children; he lives in London.

List of credits

I 2012 I "Sicily Unpacked" I Three part series presented with Italian chef Giorgio Locatelli.

Bibliography

• Howard Hodgkin. London: Thames & Hudson, 1994 (ISBN 0-50027769-9); revised, 2001 (ISBN 0-50009298-2).
• John Virtue: new paintings. Bristol: Arnolfini, 1995. ISBN 978-0907738411.
• Paper Museum: writings about painting, mostly. London: HarperCollins, 1996. ISBN 0-00255557-3.
• A History of British Art. London: BBC, 1996. ISBN 0-56337044-0.
• Renaissance. London: BBC, 1999. ISBN 0-56338396-8.
• In the Picture: The Year Through Art. London: Allen Lane, 2002. ISBN 978-0713996753.
• Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2008. ISBN 978-0297853657.
• Caravaggio: A Life Sacred And Profane. London: Allen Lane, 2009. ISBN 978-0713996746.

References

Film and television

Year	Title	Notes
1992	Billboard Project, TheThe Billboard Project
1992	Raft of the Medusa, TheThe Raft of the Medusa	First Prize in the Reportage Section of the Montreal International Film and Television Festival
1996	History of British Art, AA History of British Art	Six-part series Nominated for BAFTA and RTS awards
1996	Hogarth's Progress
1999	Renaissance	Six-part series Nominated for RTS award
2001	Art That Shook the World	Series 1 episode 1 "Monet's Impression Sunrise"
2002	Secret Lives of the Artists	Three-part series on Vasari
2002	Elgin Marbles, TheThe Elgin Marbles	Drama-documentary on the Elgin Marbles
2003	1000 Ways of Getting Drunk in England
2004–present	Culture Show, TheThe Culture Show
2005	Secret of Drawing, TheThe Secret of Drawing	Four-part series
2006	I, Samurai
2006	Real Casino Royale, TheThe Real Casino Royale
2006	100% English
2007	Battle for British Art, TheThe Battle for British Art
2007	Art of Eternity, TheThe Art of Eternity	Three-part series on Christian art Long-listed for Grierson Award
2008	Art of Spain, TheThe Art of Spain	Three-part series
2008	Art of Italy	Three-part series
2009	Art of Russia	Three-part series
2010	Art of Germany	Three-part series
2011	Treasures of Heaven	Documentary about the British Museum exhibition on relics and reliquaries
2011	I Never Tell Anybody Anything: The Life and Art of Edward Burra	Documentary
2011	Art of America	Three-part series
Young British Artists Artists Fiona Banner Henry Bond Christine Borland Glenn Brown Angela Bulloch Jake and Dinos Chapman Adam Chodzko Mat Collishaw Ian Davenport Tacita Dean Tracey Emin Angus Fairhurst Anya Gallaccio Liam Gillick Douglas Gordon Marcus Harvey Damien Hirst Gary Hume Michael Landy Abigail Lane Chris Ofili Sarah Lucas Stephen Park Richard Patterson Simon Patterson Steven Pippin Marc Quinn Fiona Rae Alessandro Raho Jenny Saville Georgina Starr Sam Taylor-Wood Gavin Turk Gillian Wearing Rachel Whiteread Jane and Louise Wilson Teachers Basil Beattie Helen Chadwick Michael Craig-Martin Ian Jeffrey Jon Thompson Mark Wallinger Richard Wentworth Influences Art in Ruins Gilbert & George Jeff Koons John Stezaker Andy Warhol Lawrence Weiner Artworks 24 Hour Psycho Bullet Hole Documents Series Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995 For the Love of God My Bed Myra No Woman No Cry October 26 1993 The Upper Room Tense The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living Shows Brilliant! East Country Yard Show Freeze Modern Medicine Sensation Curators Joshua Compston Carl Freedman Gregor Muir Norman Rosenthal Charles Saatchi Jon Thompson Galleries Anthony d'Offay Gallery Curtain Road Arts City Racing Gagosian Gallery Karsten Schubert Gallery Lisson Gallery Maureen Paley Saatchi Gallery Sadie Coles HQ South London Gallery Victoria Miro Gallery White Cube Collectors Bernard Arnault Janet de Botton Eli Broad Frank Cohen Steven A. Cohen Dakis Joannou Elton John Pauline Karpidas George Michael Jose Mugrabi François Pinault Miuccia Prada Charles Saatchi Jack Wendler Poju and Anita Zabludowicz Advocates Louisa Buck Matthew Collings Richard Cork Andrew Graham-Dixon Sarah Kent Norman Rosenthal Sir Nicholas Serota Matthew Slotover Opponents BANK Billy Childish Matthew Higgs David Lee Brian Sewell Julian Stallabrass Stuckists Charles Thomson See also Conceptual art Frieze Art Fair Momart Post-YBAs Turner Prize

External links

• Official website
• Andrew Graham-Dixon at the Internet Movie Database
• I Never Tell Anybody Anything: The Life and Art of Edward Burra