There are many excoriating ways in which the current administration in Washington might be described; a number of them are perhaps too impolite to appear in a decorous journal such as this. The necessity of restraint does not, however, mean we should refrain from expressing a view on the provocative actions of the new United States government. They are not merely a matter of political theatre that feeds the news cycles, but also a corrosive force that is undermining many valued cultural institutions and having a direct and negative impact on the lives of tens of millions of people.

Howard Burns had a profound, beneficial and far-reaching influence on the scholarship of Italian Renaissance architecture. He held posts at the Courtauld Institute of Art and Harvard University, was especially associated with the study of Andrea Palladio, and inspired generations of students.

At a time when many art museums are reluctant to organise exhibitions of Early Modern art for fear of low attendance, it is perhaps reassuring that Artemisia Gentileschi (1593– c.1656) has become a name with proven visitor appeal. Over the last ten years, there have been numerous retrospectives and exhibitions that include her work. This show is organised thematically and includes thirty-nine works – twenty-six of which are attributed to Artemisia – divided between eight rooms.