I hesitate to use the word ‘great’ when discussing art. Like other over-used superlatives - ‘iconic’ is another I make a point of avoiding – the very familiarity of the term, and the ease with which it trips off the tongue, deny the significance intended. The idea of a ‘great’ painting or sculpture raises many questions. What makes a particular image or object so distinctive and compelling as to transcend the merely excellent? How is greatness judged? And why, I ask, did I find myself using the dreaded adjective when recently being interviewed on television about a portrait that has just gone on display in our 20th century galleries?…
By
Paul Moorhouse, 20th Century Curator
14 November 2012
