Something old, something new

Very last chance to see the inaugural exhibition at the magnificently revamped Holburne Museum — a selection from the collections of Peter Blake, together with some of his own work. If, as Geoffrey Grigson suggested, the mind is an anthology, and the museum case or exhibition is a map of that mind, then what a remarkably diverse but ordered person Mr Blake must be. The new temporary exhibition gallery at the top of the Holburne’s new wing is filled with images of fantasy, dream and even nightmare, but everything is calmly laid out with great clarity and precision. The result is obsessional but intriguing.

The museum reopened in May, its Grade 1 listed building restored and extended by Eric Parry Architects, the grand staircase moved, and the new spaces locked together with the old in a way that makes a harmonious and workable whole. The building stands at the top of Great Pulteney Street, looking down towards the river and the town, with Sydney Gardens at its rear.