A friend, an art dealer of forty years’ standing, tells me that there are one third more artists since Covid than there were before. With little else to do, some people took up painting as a hobby and considered they were so good at it, they jacked in their previous careers and re-identified as artists. Meanwhile, thanks to Rachel Reeves and her National Insurance and business-rates hikes, there are a third fewer art galleries than there were before Covid. Our older friend Anne, a fountain of wisdom, railed at a younger woman of her acquaintance recently. The younger woman had announced that she was working towards an art exhibition. Anne protested that there was no call for any more paintings: ‘Everyone’s got enough paintings! People are downsizing and getting rid of paintings!’ Mind you, when Mary and I brought out a book a few years ago, Anne railed at us...
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