Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur – a 'playful' collection of paintings and objects
The Turner Prize-winning artist's show at The Wallace Collection showcases his persistent 'anti-establishment stance'

Grayson Perry's new exhibition at The Wallace Collection is a characteristically "playful" and unconventional affair, said Nancy Durrant in The Times. When the Turner Prize-winning artist was invited to create a show amid the museum's holdings of Old Master paintings and rococo decorative art, he admitted that he found its "grandeur" and "conspicuous expense" rather repellent, its cherubs and curlicues "cloying". His response was to create an alter ego "to love the Wallace for him".
Step forward Shirley Smith, a troubled "outsider artist" (inspired by Madge Gill, who showed her art at the Wallace in the 1940s) who is convinced she is actually the aristocratic heir to the museum's collection. "Convoluted" as all this may sound, the ploy allows Perry to explore themes such as "taste and status, gender stereotypes, the purpose of fantasy and the power of art" through the prism of his "deluded" imaginary character.
The display mixes all sorts of objects and paintings from the Wallace in with the artist's own bronzes, ceramics, tapestries, drawings and "documentary material" relating to the fictitious Smith (to whom around a third of the works are attributed). Perry may not be a fan of the venue, but it's a "perfect context" for his madcap vision.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The trouble is that Perry's heart just isn't in it, said Alastair Sooke in The Telegraph. Indeed, "his irritation with the project is palpable": in his captions, he expresses his dislike for the Wallace and its contents, even its West End location; he describes an intentionally crude new pot he has made for the show as "a grumpy outburst in pottery form", its rough edges hewn in response to the museum's trove of exquisite 18th century Sèvres porcelain. "OK, so he hates French rococo style – but, given that this is a speciality of the Wallace Collection, why take this exhibition on?" Perry's teasing provocations are usually offset by his "famous wit", but here he comes across as stroppy. Nor does the alter ego gambit come to much: we see some drawings apparently by "Smith" and some black-and-white photos of Perry pretending to be her in full drag, a "rich insider" posing as an outsider. It's "arch and over-elaborate", and can't compensate for the weaknesses of this "awkward, snarky venture".
There's some fun stuff here, said Hettie Judah in The Guardian. Perry is at his best when he creates "straightforward" works that reference the museum's collection without recourse to made-up characters. There's an elaborate suit of armour "complete with curled eyelashes and tiara", "a gun for shooting things in the past", and some "delightfully pompous ceramic busts". Yet Perry's persistent "anti-establishment stance" rings hollow: he is, lest we forget, "a knight of the realm and a ubiquitous presence on TV". Ultimately, you get the sense he is "indulging in nostalgia for a lost status as an underdog" – and the show is none the better for it.
The Wallace Collection, London W1. Until 26 October.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
October 19 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's editorial cartoons include Pete Hegseth and the press, an absence of government, and George Washington crossing the Delaware
-
A little-visited Indian Ocean archipelago
The Week Recommends The paradise of the Union of the Comoros features beautiful beaches, colourful coral reefs and lush forests
-
AI: is the bubble about to burst?
In the Spotlight Stock market ever-more reliant on tech stocks whose value relies on assumptions of continued growth and easy financing
-
A little-visited Indian Ocean archipelago
The Week Recommends The paradise of the Union of the Comoros features beautiful beaches, colourful coral reefs and lush forests
-
Diane Keaton: the Oscar-winning star of Annie Hall
In the Spotlight Something’s Gotta Give actor dies from pneumonia at the age of 79
-
Heirs and Graces: an ‘enthralling’ deep dive into the decline of nobility
The Week Recommends Eleanor Doughty explores the ‘bizarre fascination’ with the British aristocracy
-
6 sporty homes with tennis courts
Feature Featuring a clay tennis court in New York and a viewing deck in California
-
Critics’ choice: Seafood in the spotlight
Feature An experimental chef, a newspaper-worthy newcomer, and a dining titan’s fresh spin-off
-
Taylor Swift’s Showgirl: Much glitter, little gold
Feature Swift’s new album has broken records, but critics say she may have gotten herself creatively stuck
-
Theater review: Masquerade
218 W. 57th St., New York City 218 W. 57th St., New York City
-
Film reviews: Roofman and Kiss of the Spider Woman
Feature An escaped felon’s heart threatens to give him away and a prisoner escapes into daydreams of J.Lo.