For those aged 11-16 join us for two outside art workshops at Summer Art Days, inspired by our ‘True to Nature’ exhibition. On 3 August join guest artist Caroline Wendling to make night sky landscapes with drypoint printing techniques, and on 4 August join guest artist Kaitlin Ferguson to try volcanic sculptural casting techniques. This beautifully illustrated catalogue has been published to accompany this major new show, contextualising the artist's work alongside other masters from the history of western art.

The documentary film showing in the Heong Gallery, with a view of Downing College through the window Anna Piper-Thompson For many, the answer is self-evidently to be found in the bright colours and eternal optimism of his effortlessly pleasing landscapes, and indeed the very question is an affront to good taste. But for those who like their art a little (or a lot) crunchier, or who remain unpersuaded by his mauve trees and joyous-but-childlike mark making, there is undoubtedly a case to be answered. This exhibition provides that answer. Also don’t miss the first official joint portrait of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge painted by award-winning British artist Jamie Coreth. The portrait is on display on the landing of the Museum’s Main Entrance and was viewed by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge themselves on Thursday 23 June. As much as the radical layout of this exhibition plays to its message, it certainly does not make for easy viewing. Whichever way you enter (and having gone around twice, each from a different end, I can certainly attest to this), you feel somewhat plunged into the unknown. Much like starting a new sci-fi or fantasy novel, the first couple of rooms you explore feel unfamiliar and like you’ve managed to miss something crucial to the experience. And yet, it appears that is just how the exhibition is intended. Many of his works will be seen in the UK for the first time, including a new self-portrait painted in 2021.

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Apathy is not a word one often associates with museums, but the uninspiring and sometimes overly technical signage of (typically) the older, permanent collections can certainly alienate the casual museum-goer. ‘Glazed earthenware’ and ‘oil on canvas, 1798’ are hardly the colourful descriptions deserved by the spectacular displays of artistic talent which catch the eye. Alongside the self-portrait, which was painted last November, the exhibition features a number of other works not publicly seen before in the UK.

The National Gallery has lent one of its greatest Dutch paintings for this show: Meindert Hobbema’s The Avenue at Middelharnis. Two lines of towering trees zoom towards a distant vanishing point beneath high Dutch skies. It is a lightning strike of geometry, symmetry and sheer verticality, dizzying to behold. Summer events include Family Art Week, running from Tuesday 26th - Friday 29th July, 10.30am - 3pm each day. This year’s nature-inspired activities include art activities, storytelling, tours and object handling with a new theme and activity each day. He said optical instruments “do not draw for you”, an idea that proved controversial among art historians and which featured in his 2001 book Secret Knowledge. Grand Canyon I, 2017' , 'Rubber Ring Floating in a Swimming Pool, 1971' and 'Viewers Looking at a Ready-made with Skull and Mirrors, 2018' Anna Piper-ThompsonELLEN WATTERS IS A SECOND-YEAR HISTORY OF ART STUDENT AT SELWYN COLLEGE AND A GALLERY ASSISTANT AT THE HEONG GALLERY.