Andrew Graham-Dixon
Graham-Dixon in 2012
Born	(1960-12-26)26 December 1960 (age 64) London, England
Education	Westminster School
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford Courtauld Institute of Art
Occupations	Art historian Television presenter
Known for	The Culture Show Art of Eternity Art of Spain The Art of Russia Art of Germany Art of China Art of America
Website	andrewgrahamdixon.com

Andrew Michael Graham-Dixon (born 26 December 1960) is a British art historian, art critic, author and broadcaster. He is chief art critic atThe Independent andThe Telegraph newspapers, and presents art documentaries for the BBC, as well as five series ofItaly Unpacked, in which he explored the culture and cuisine of Italy with chefGiorgio Locatelli. He has written a number of books about art and artists, including a biography ofCaravaggio, which was shortlisted for theSamuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction.

Andrew Graham-Dixon is a son of thebarrister Anthony Philip Graham-Dixon (1929–2012),Q.C.,^[1][2] and (Margaret) Suzanne "Sue" (née Villar, 1931–2010), a publicist for music and opera companies.

Graham-Dixon was educated atWestminster School, apublic school.^{[citation needed]} He continued his education atChrist Church, Oxford, where he read English. He graduated in 1981 and then pursued doctoral studies at theCourtauld Institute of Art,University of London.

Graham-Dixon began work as a reviewer for the shortlived weeklyThe Sunday Correspondent before becoming the chief art critic ofThe Independent, where he remained until 1998. He won the Arts Journalist of the Year Award three years in a row – in 1987, 1988 and 1989. He later became the chief art critic ofThe Sunday Telegraph.

In 1992 Graham-Dixon won the first prize in the Reportage section at theMontreal World Film Festival for a documentary film aboutThéodore Géricault's paintingThe Raft of the Medusa. From 2004 he was a contributor toThe Culture Show onBBC Two, covering a variety of subjects and often acting as the main presenter.^[3] He has also presented manyBBC documentary series on art, includingA History of British Art (1996),Renaissance (1999),Caravaggio (2002),^[4]The Secret of Drawing (2005),^[5]The Battle for British Art (2007),^[6]Art of Eternity (2007),^[7]Art of Spain (2008),^[8]The Art of Russia (2009),Art of Germany (2010),Art of America (2011),^[9]British Art at War: Bomberg, Sickert and Nash (2014),^[10] Art of China (2014) andArt of France (2017). He is passionate about theMona Lisa, appearing in the popular BBC documentarySecrets of the Mona Lisa (2015).^[11] In 2018 he presented a four-part series on BBC Four –Art, Passion & Power: The Story of the Royal Collection.

He has also presented programmes on subjects other than art, such asI, Samurai (2006)^[12] andThe Real Casino Royale for the BBC and100% English (2006) forChannel 4. In 2010 he interviewedJohn Lydon for aCulture Show special aboutPublic Image Ltd.^[13]

In 2016 and 2018 he gave lectures as part of theAlpine Fellowship symposium inVenice. In 2022 he gave a lecture at their symposium in Ellenborough Park, UK.^[14]

His publications includeHoward Hodgkin (1993),A History of British Art (1995),Paper Museum: Writings About Painting, Mostly (1995),Renaissance (1999),In the Picture (2005), an anthology of articles published between 2001 and 2006 in theSunday Telegraph, andMichelangelo and the Sistine Chapel (2007).

Graham-Dixon also wrote and presented the BBC documentaryWho Killed Caravaggio?, broadcast on BBC 4 in 2010.^{[citation needed]} The same year saw the publication of his biography,Caravaggio: A Life Sacred And Profane.

He has previously judged theTurner Prize (1991), the BP National Portrait Prize (2001,2002), and the Annual British Animation Awards. He has been on the Government Art Collection Committee, the Hayward Advisory Committee, and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead. He is on theBlue Plaque Committee forEnglish Heritage and is an ambassador for the Princes Teaching Institute.^[15]

In 2010Plymouth University awarded Graham-Dixon an honorary Doctorate of Arts.^{[citation needed]}

He was an early supporter of the group later known as theYoung British Artists. In 1990 he wrote:

Goldsmiths' graduates are unembarrassed about promoting themselves and their work: some of the most striking exhibitions in London over the past few months—"The East Country Yard Show", or "Gambler", both staged in docklands—have been independently organised and funded by Goldsmiths' graduates as showcases for their work. This has given them a reputation for pushiness, yet it should also be said that in terms of ambition, attention to display and sheer bravado there has been little to match such shows in the country's established contemporary art institutions. They were far superior, for instance, to any of the contemporary art shows that have been staged by the Liverpool Tate in its own multi-million-pound dockland site.^[16]

On 9 November 2021 Graham-Dixon was banned from speaking again at theCambridge Union after a debate titled "This House Believes there is no such thing as good taste", for the Cambridge Union Debating Society. Speaking in opposition to the motion, Graham-Dixon recited part of speech made byAdolf Hitler including the lines: "This modern, horrible art that was promoted by the Jews.. and the modern art, it was cubist – inspired by the art of the negroes. This tribal art, urgh, how horrible is that?" He later apologised for the impression and stated that he was trying to "underline the utterly evil nature of Hitler." He added: "I apologise sincerely to anyone who found my debating tactics and use of Hitler's own language distressing; on reflection I can see that some of the words I used, even in quotation, are inherently offensive."^[17]

Public figures includingLouis de Bernières andJohn Cleese were among those to defend Graham-Dixon, and criticism of the Union's plans for an exclusion list prompted a U-turn from its president.^[18] In a statement toThe Jewish Chronicle, fellow historian Guy Walters said: "The idea that Andrew Graham-Dixon has been blacklisted for performing what was clearly a satirical impression of Adolf Hitler is both disgraceful and deeply ironic."^[19] A full transcript of the speech was published byThe Telegraph.^[20]

Graham-Dixon is married and lives in East Sussex. He has four children.

• Howard Hodgkin. London:Thames & Hudson, 1994 (ISBN 0-50027769-9); revised, 2001 (ISBN 0-50009298-2).
• John Virtue: New Paintings. Bristol:Arnolfini, 1995.ISBN 978-0-907738-41-1.
• Paper Museum: Writings About Painting, Mostly. London:HarperCollins, 1996.ISBN 0-00-255557-3.
• A History of British Art. London:BBC, 1996.ISBN 0-563-37044-0.
• Renaissance. London: BBC, 1999.ISBN 0-563-38396-8.
• In the Picture: The Year Through Art. London:Allen Lane, 2002.ISBN 978-0-7139-9675-3.
• Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel. London:Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2008.ISBN 978-0-297-85365-7.
• Caravaggio: A Life Sacred And Profane. London: Allen Lane, 2009.ISBN 978-0-7139-9674-6.
• Art: The Definitive Visual Guide. Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2023.ISBN 978-0-2416-2903-1

• Art of Spain (2010)
• Art of Germany (2011)
• Art of China (2015)
• Art of America (2014)
• Italy Unpacked (2014)
• Sicily Unpacked (2014)
• Rome Unpacked (2018)

• Official website
• Andrew Graham-Dixon atIMDb
• I Never Tell Anybody Anything: The Life and Art of Edward Burra

• 1960 births
• Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
• Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art
• British art critics
• British art historians
• Living people
• People educated at Westminster School, London

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use British English from November 2015
• Use dmy dates from November 2021
• Articles with hCards
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• Articles with unsourced statements from February 2025