Since 1998, when Sotheby's Institute and SOAS parted company, the auction house has only offered limited Asian art-related evening courses and has instead concentrated on European art. The idea of this course is to get students familiar with the art of regions in Asia like India and the Middle East, as well as concepts like Buddhism and iconism. The proposed one-year MA will incorporate lectures to run from September to February and culminate in a dissertation. 25 July 2000 1. Held this year on 4 July, this well-established event sees all the galleries in St James's open their doors to the public for one evening of the year.
Visitors can wander freely from one gallery to another to view the best that they have to offer.
This year, the party kicked off with a band of Scottish pipers who entertained guests sipping champagne and wine at Christie's, before continuing along Bury Street to entertain the growing crowds as they wandered from gallery to gallery. The dreary summer weather failed to dampen the atmosphere, or effect the large numbers of people who had turned out for the event. Amongst the more notable pieces of Asian art on display was a stunning and rather rare pair of Chinese portraits. On view at Martyn Gregory Gallery, they are both datable to the late 18th century and would have been executed by one of the Jesuit artists working at the Imperial Court. Beautifully executed in oil on paper, their bust-like treatment of the subjects is unusual.