Martin Gayford studied philosophy at Cambridge, and art history at the Courtauld Institute of London University. He has written prolifically about art and jazz, contributing regularly to the Daily Telegraph and also to many art magazines and exhibition catalogues. He was art critic of the Spectator 1994-2002 and subsequently of the Sunday Telegraph before becoming chief art critic for Bloomberg News. His book about Van Gogh and Gauguin in Arles, “The Yellow House” (2005) was published in Britain and the USA to critical acclaim, and has been translated to date into five languages.
“Constable in Love”, a study of John Constable’s romance with Maria Bicknell, and their lives between 1809 and 1816 was published in 2009 by Penguin Fig Tree; he was also co-curator with Anne Lyles of the exhibition “John Constable Portraits” at the National Portrait Gallery and Compton Verney in 2009.
His portrait by Lucian Freud, “Man with a Blue Scarf” (2005) has been exhibited at the Correr Museum, Venice and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Martin Gayford is married, with two children, and lives in Cambridge, England. His book about posing for Lucian Freud, also entitled “Man with a Blue Scarf” is published by Thames & Hudson in September, 2010.