Nobody can be uncheered by paintings of the moonlit Thames. Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893) specialised in such scenes, capturing the industrial beauty of the Victorian docks, the gas-lit cobbles of cities and the leafy lanes of the country.
An exhibition of over 60 Grimshaw paintings opens at Guildhall Art Gallery on 19 September, documenting the artist's changing style from pre-Raphaelite to impressionist. Drawings, manuscripts and photographs by the loveable lunartist will also be on show.
And pencil 21 October into your schedules. The Gallery will hold its first ever late opening (free), inspired by the artist, with 'music, magic lantern shows, poetry and performance', as well as 'moonbeam cocktails'.
In fact, the only downside of the exhibition is that you won't be able to get that f*cking Toploader song out of your head.
Atkinson Grimshaw: Painter of Moonlight runs at Guildhall Art Gallery from 19 September to 15 January. Entrance £5/£3. Find out more on the gallery's Facebook page.
Image: Reflections on the Thames, Westminster, 1880, by John Atkinson Grimshaw, Leeds Museums and Galleries, Bridgeman Art Library
