Bruce Attah responded:
Well, thank you for the praise. Let me say that I think your website is truly wonderful. It is a great tonic to find a collection of so many high quality images from excellent though often little-known artists, well organized and supplemented by great information and interesting essays. It keeps growing, and the research effort that's gone into compiling it must be phenomenal. I've been reading the essay by Vern Swanson on JW Godward, and it is full of fascinating insights. As to the essays that take on the shibboleths of modernism, I find myself completely in agreement with the analysis the ways in which the history of 19th century art have been distorted, and how modernism has stripped artists of their freedom. I have expressed similar views myself, likening the airbrushing out by 20th century art historians of previously famous artists like Bouguereau, Delaroche, Alma-Tadema and Leighton from the record to the actions of Mao's and Stalin's scribes in their treatment of their own countries' history. I feel certain that the Art Renewal Centre will serve both to boost the confidence and skills of artists who practice realism, narrative painting and classicism, and help bring about a greater honesty in the recording of 19th and 20th century art history.
