Hilariously funny, sometimes rather sad, but invariably interesting, this is a superbly diverting book. Bird has fantastic access to the stories, anecdotes, and personal recollections of those who were actually there.

It's a brilliant book, by far the best survey of a period that I've read in years' - Andrew Lambirth, The Spectator 'A timely update of the story of British art, packed with contextual material and photographs . These are the ebbs and flows that Michael Bird teases out in this panoramic account of Britain and its artists in across the twentieth century. From the American James McNeill Whistler’s defence of his new kind of modern art against the British art establishment in the latter half of the 19th century to the Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson’s melting icebergs in London, he traverses the lives of the artists that have recorded, questioned and defined our times. Among new letters to have come to light, a good many date from the years 1898-1922, which has necessitated a revised edition of Volume One, taking account of approximately two hundred newly discovered items of correspondence.

A timely update of the story of British art, packed with contextual material and photographs … Mr Bird gives voice to artists previously sidelined in such historical overviews: Sir Frank Bowling, Lubaina Himid, Mary Kelly, John Latham, Phyllida Barlow….

His subjects included his family homes at Blenheim and Chartwell, evocative coastal scenes on the French Riviera, and many sun-drenched depictions of Marrakesh in Morocco, as well as still life pictures and an extraordinarily revealing self-portrait, painted during a particularly troubled time in his life.At the heart of this original book are the successive waves of displacement caused by global wars and persecution that conversely brought fresh ideas and new points of view to the British Isles; educational reforms opened new routes for young people from working-class backgrounds; movements of social change enabled the emergence of female artists and artists of colour; and the emergence of the mass media shaped modern modes of communication and culture.