JUNE 2021 VOLUME CXCIII No– 698

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19 Editor’s Letter 20 Agenda

June highlights 24 Forum

Is the ‘arm’s-length’ principle under threat in UK museums? 27 Diary

Ben Street considers how art can make children of us all 31 Diary

Frances Spalding on the myths and monsters of Michael Ayrton

Cover The Butterfly Man – Venice (in homage to Damien Hirst), 2010, Peter Blake (b. 1932), paper collage on inkjet print, 83.8 × 94cm. Courtesy Waddington Custot See feature on pp. 48–53

APOLLO JUNE 2021

p. 60

34 Advertising Feature

For the contemporary buzz, a visit to Zurich and Winterthur is a must 38 Architecture

Barry Bergdoll on the best-laid schemes of Napoleon Bonaparte 40 Inquiry

Rebecca Ann Hughes on the Italian museums that have begun to think creatively about mass tourism 47 Masterpiece Online Preview

Jo Lawson-Tancred selects her highlights of the fair

Features 48 A Cut Above

Peter Blake talks to Martin Gayford about a life spent bridging fine art and pop culture 54 Talking Pictures

Christina J. Faraday on the Elizabethan penchant for writing messages on artworks and objects 60 Competitive Streaks

Harry Pearson on the noble but ill-fated effort to hold art competitions at the Olympics 66 A Tale of Two Cities

Alexander Röstel retraces the footsteps of Bernardo Bellotto through 18th-century Dresden

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