Name: Vermeer: A Life Lost and Found – Andrew Graham-Dixon
Start: 2026-07-07T18:00:00+01:00
Location: Festival Hall

$Vermeer: A Life Lost and Found \u2013 Andrew Graham-Dixon$

https://artsfestivaloxford.org/events/vermeer-a-life-lost-and-found/
Join acclaimed art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon for a revelatory talk on his groundbreaking new biography, Vermeer: A Life Lost and Found. Drawing on newly uncovered archival material from Delft, Rotterdam, and beyond, Graham-Dixon offers a dramatic reassessment of Johannes Vermeer—not as the isolated genius of legend, but as a painter deeply embedded in the radical, intellectual, and political life of the Dutch Golden Age.
In this richly illustrated talk, he will reveal Vermeer’s hitherto unknown friendships, his ties to a radical underground movement, and the powerful women who shaped both his private life and career. Alongside these startling biographical insights, Graham-Dixon presents fresh interpretations of beloved masterpieces, including Girl with a Pearl Earring, A View of Delft, The Milkmaid, and Woman Reading a Letter – recasting them in a bold new light.
Born in London in 1960, Andrew Graham-Dixon is one of the leading art critics and presenters of arts television in the English-speaking world. He has presented numerous landmark series on art for the BBC, including the acclaimed A History of British Art, Renaissance and Art of Eternity, as well as numerous individual documentaries on art and artists. He also teamed up with Chef, and friend, Giorgio Locatelli to combine his love of art and food for five series of the popular Italy Unpacked.
Andrew has a long history of public service in the field of the visual arts, having judged the Turner Prize, the BP National Portrait Prize and the Annual British Animation Awards, among others. He has served on the Government Art Collection Committee, the Hayward Advisory Committee and on the board of the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead.
For more than twenty years Andrew published a weekly column on art, first in the Independent and later in the Sunday Telegraph; and has written a number of acclaimed books on art and artists. His most recent was a biography of Caravaggio, and a similarly in-depth study of Vermeer is due to be published in October 2025. He lectures and leads tours around the world for a wide variety of audiences and private clients, and serves as an ambassador for the Prince’s Teaching Institute. Throughout his career, Andrew has received numerous awards for his writing and broadcasting.