Stories of Art

How did William Hogarth transcend his humble origins to become one of the wealthiest artists in 18th century Britain? And in doing so, did he invent a new kind of art? Join Alastair and James as they chart the life and times of that most English of artists - William Hogarth.

If you want to see the artworks discussed in this episode you can switch on video in your podcast app at any time.

Artworks in this episode:
William Hogarth, The Painter and his Pug, 1745, Tate, London
William Hogarth, Hogarth's Shop Card, 1720
Marcellus Laroon, Sir James Thornhill, c.1712-15, National Maritime Museum, London
Sir James Thornhill, The Painted Hall, 1707-26, Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London
William Hogarth, Self Portrait, c.1735, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
William Hogarth, Falstaff Examining his Recruits, 1730
William Hogarth, The Cholmondeley Family, 1732, Private Collection
William Hogarth, A Harlot's Progress, Plates 1-6, 1732
William Hogarth, A Midnight Modern Conversation, c. 1732, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Recommended Reading:
Jenny Uglow, William Hogarth: A Life and a World, 1998
Mark Hallett, Hogarth, 2007
Jacqueline Riding, Hogarth: Life in Progress, 2022

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Follow Stories of Art on Instagram: @storiesofart.heni

For more great art content visit www.heni.com or visit the Heni Talks YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@HENITalks

Hosts: Alastair Sooke and Dr James Fox
Additional Research: Catherine Ingram
Social Producer: Grace Dewar
Producer and Editor: Ben Harding
Executive Producer: Emma Cahusac

Is The Garden of Earthly Delights the strangest painting in all of art history? Is Bosch's bizarre masterpiece a vision of paradise or apocalyptic doom? And what's with all the giant fruit? Join Alastair and James as they dive headlong into the weird and wonderful world of Hieronymus Bosch.
If you want to see the artworks discussed in this episode you can switch on video in your podcast app at any time. 
Artworks in this episode:
Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights, 1490-1500, Museo del Prado, Madrid
Hieronymus Bosch, Christ Mocked (The Crowning with Thorns), c.1490/1510, The National Gallery, London
Hieronymus Bosch, The Adoration of the Magi, c.1494, Museo del Prado, Madrid
Salvador Dalí, The Great Masturbator, 1929, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid
Recommended Reading:
Matthijs Ilsink et al, Hieronymus Bosch, Painter and Draughtsman: Catalogue Raisonné, 2016
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Follow Stories of Art on Instagram: @storiesofart.heni
For more great art content visit www.heni.com or visit the Heni Talks YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@HENITalks
Hosts: Alastair Sooke and Dr James Fox
Additional Research: Catherine Ingram
Social Producer: Grace Dewar
Producer and Editor: Ben Harding
Executive Producer: Emma Cahusac

How did Lee Miller find her way into Hitler's apartment on the day his death was announced? And did what she witness in the Nazi concentration camps change her forever? Join Alastair and James as they conclude the story of one of art history's most remarkable photographers - Lee Miller.

If you want to see the artworks discussed in this episode you can switch on video in your podcast app at any time.

Artworks in this episode:
Lee Miller, The Deputy Bürgermeister's daughter (Regina Lisso), 1945
Margaret Bourke-White, The Leipzig Suicides, 1945
Lee Miller, Fire Masks, London, England, 1941
Lee Miller, Non-conformist Chapel, 1940
Robert Capa, US troops assault Omaha Beach during the D-Day landings, 1944
Lee Miller, Bad Burns Case, 1944
Lee Miller, Beaten SS Prison Guard, 1945
Lee Miller, US soldiers examine a rail truck load of dead prisoners, 1945
Lee Miller, Dead SS Prison Guard Floating in Canal, 1945
Lee Miller and David E. Scherman, Lee Miller in Hitler's Bathtub, 1945
Lee Miller and David E. Scherman, David E. Scherman in Hitler's Bathtub, 1945

Recommended Reading:
Anthony Penrose, The Lives of Lee Miller, 1985
Carolyn Burke, Lee Miller: On Both Sides of the Camera, 2006

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Follow Stories of Art on Instagram: @storiesofart.heni

For more great art content visit www.heni.com or visit the Heni Talks YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@HENITalks

Hosts: Alastair Sooke and Dr James Fox
Additional Research: Catherine Ingram
Social Producer: Grace Dewar
Producer and Editor: Ben Harding
Executive Producer: Emma Cahusac

How did Lee Miller transform herself from Jazz Age beauty to Surrealist photographer in 1930s Paris? And what lay behind her extraordinary capacity for reinvention? Join Alastair and James as they tell the first part of the remarkable story of the American model, artist, photojournalist and celebrity chef Lee Miller.
If you want to see the artworks discussed in this episode you can switch on video in your podcast app at any time.
Artworks in this episode:
Lee Miller and David E. Scherman, Lee Miller in Hitler's Bathtub, 1945
Lee Miller, Charlie Chaplin with Chandelier, 1932
Lee Miller, Untitled (Severed Breast from Radical Surgery), c.1930
Man Ray, Indestructible Object (or Object to Be Destroyed), 1964 (replica of 1923 original), The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Lee Miller, Joseph Cornell, c.1933
Lee Miller, From the Top of the Great Pyramid, 1938
Lee Miller, Portrait of Space, Al Bulyaweb, near Siwa, Egypt, 1937
Lee Miller, Eileen Agar, 1937
Lee Miller, Picnic, Mougins (Nusch and Paul Eluard, Roland Penrose, Man Ray and Ady Fidelin), 1937
Pablo Picasso, Lee Miller, 1937, Private Collection/National Galleries of Scotland
Recommended Reading:
Anthony Penrose, The Lives of Lee Miller, 1985
Carolyn Burke, Lee Miller: On Both Sides of the Camera, 2006
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Follow Stories of Art on Instagram: @storiesofart.heni
For more great art content visit www.heni.com or visit the Heni Talks YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@HENITalks
Hosts: Alastair Sooke and Dr James Fox
Additional Research: Catherine Ingram
Social Producer: Grace Dewar
Producer and Editor: Ben Harding
Executive Producer: Emma Cahusac

What does the Bayeux Tapestry tell us about the events of 1066? Did King Harold really get an arrow in the eye? And does the Tapestry really depict a bizarre medieval sex scandal?  Join Alastair and James as they tell the story of Bayeux Tapestry and explore what it tells us about the power of art to shape the historical imagination. 

Follow Stories of Art on Instagram: @storiesofart.heni

If you want to see the artworks discussed in this episode you can switch on video in your podcast app at any time.

Artworks in this episode:
The Bayeux Tapestry, 11th century 

Recommended Reading:
The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry: Unravelling the Norman Conquest by David Musgrove and Michael Lewis, 2026

For more great art content visit www.heni.com or visit the Heni Talks YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@HENITalks

Hosts: Alastair Sooke and Dr James Fox
Additional Research: Laura Sovilla
Social Producer: Grace Dewar
Producer and Editor: Ben Harding
Executive Producer: Emma Cahusac