Martin Gayford
Martin Gayford is an art critic, writer and curator. He is the author of Man with a Blue Scarf: On Sitting for a Portrait by Lucian Freud, A Bigger Message: Conversations with David Hockney, How Painting Happens (and why it matters), Venice: City of Pictures and Love Lucian: The Letters of Lucian Freud, 1939 –1954, and acclaimed books on Van Gogh, Constable and Michaelangelo. His latest book, with Tracey Emin, is My Heart is This: Tracey Emin on Painting.
Upcoming Events
5 Speakers, 15 Minutes Each - March 2026
Join us in March for another inspiring evening of thought-provoking stories and superb speakers, live at The Tabernacle.
The Tabernacle, W11
The Tabernacle, W11
Featuring Talks By:
Martin Gayford
on his conversations with Tracey Emin about painting
Lady Hale
on how we to make the law work better for everyone
Megha Mohan
on societies where women make the rules
Frank Tallis
on purpose, meaning and life after 40
Harriet Tyce
on being a barrister and Traitors star, and her latest page-turner
5 Speakers, 15 Minutes Each - March 2026
Join us in March for another inspiring evening of thought-provoking stories and superb speakers, live at The Tabernacle.
The Tabernacle, W11
Videos
Martin Gayford @ 5x15 - Man in the Blue Scarf
March 7th 2011, Union Chapel
Martin Gayford is the art critic for Bloomberg News and The Spectator, and contributes regularly to The Daily Telegraph, The Lady, Modern Painters and Harpers & Queen. Gayford described chronologically, in the acclaimed book Man With a Blue Scarf, sitting for a portrait by Lucian Freud.
Martin Gayford is the art critic for Bloomberg News and The Spectator, and contributes regularly to The Daily Telegraph, The Lady, Modern Painters and Harpers & Queen. Gayford described chronologically, in the acclaimed book Man With a Blue Scarf, sitting for a portrait by Lucian Freud.