Maggie Fergusson

All the art you’d pay not to own

Edward Brooke-Hitching’s freakish gallery includes giant Olmec heads, cans of excrement, nightmarish prison scenes and a woman’s face sprouting luxuriant hair

Portrait of Barbara van Beck, c.1640. [Wellcome Collection]

  • The Madman’s Gallery: The Strangest Paintings, Sculptures and Other Curiosities from the History of Art

    Edward Brooke-Hitching

    Simon & Schuster, pp. 255, £30

Already a subscriber? Log in

This article is for subscribers only

Get a free bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label when you subscribe to The Spectator for just £12 in our Black Friday sale

  • Free bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label whisky, worth £30
  • Unlimited access to our website and app
  • Enjoy Spectator newsletters and podcasts
  • Explore our online archive, going back to 1828

Read next

Trending

Julie Burchill

Is there any escape from Olivia Colman?

I still remember the day when, as an adult in my twenties, I was informed by a well-wisher that Aslan from The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe was really Jesus. As this was before my religious awakening, and I was quite the militant atheist at the time, I became rather irate at this revelation.

Also in Book Reviews

Also by Maggie Fergusson

Latest

Comments

Black Friday sale: Get 10 weeks for just $1

Unlimited access to the The Spectator, online and via the app

Already a subscriber? Log in