The "serpentine flash of a dollar sign" in Andy Warhol's striking canvas is the perfect opening to an exhibition that explores money through art.
"Money Talks: Art, Society and Power" at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford delves deep into this complex relationship; "money, after all, is in itself both an image and an object", said Laura Cumming in The Observer.
One of the most "enthralling" parts of the show is the section that explores how art is transformed into coins and banknotes. A series of portraits of Edward VIII are on display and they demonstrate the complexity of this process; some were discarded for showing the King as too young or not wearing the right clothing. Edward himself favoured the "modern" designs of John Francis Kavanagh that were "tersely rejected" by the Royal Mint: "Mr. Kavanagh's 'Cubist' designs cannot be taken seriously." In the end it didn't really matter as the King abdicated in 1936 and the coins were shelved.
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.
Elsewhere, it's interesting to see how Elizabeth II is portrayed differently on banknotes from several Commonwealth countries: she appears "fatter, thinner, older, eyes more sunken or lowered" depending on the country.
Other highlights include Rembrandt's etching "The Goldweigher", with his "fatly bagged coins"; Banksy's "Di-Faced Tenner", in which he replaced the head of Elizabeth II with Princess Diana; and Susan Stockwell's "dramatic" Victorian-style "Money Dress" stitched from banknotes.
The section on attitudes to money reveals a "fascinating" contrast, said Emma Duncan in The Times. While in Eastern art "money is delightful stuff", with countless gods and goddesses shown alongside symbols of wealth, Western artists take their lead from the Bible and portray it as sinful and corrupt.
But the exhibition avoids examining some of the "big questions" that the relationship between money and art inevitably raises. Somewhat "oddly", the Ashmolean – which renamed its Sackler Galleries in 2023 once the "lethal" consequences of the family's opioid-funded fortune became clear – fails to explore the way wealthy people use their money to strengthen their reputations. And the final section on non-fungible tokens "left me completely baffled".
Still, it's an absorbing show and the museum is filled with beautifully displayed treasures. "I'll take any excuse to go," said Duncan.
-
The Baltic ‘bog belt’ plan to protect Europe from RussiaUnder the Radar Reviving lost wetland on Nato’s eastern flank would fuse ‘two European priorities that increasingly compete for attention and funding: defence and climate’
-
October 12 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include the MAGA Matrix, bear and bull markets, and ICE at a job fair.
-
The quest to defy ageingThe Explainer Humanity has fantasised about finding the fountain of youth for millennia. How close are we now?
-
Choose your own wellness adventure in Greater Palm SpringsThe Week Recommends Hit the spa, try a sound bath or take a hike
-
A Taylor Swift analysis, the digital-addiction solution plus what it means to be a gay Black artist — all in October booksThe Week Recommends This month's new releases include ‘Taylor’s Version’ by Stephanie Burt, ‘Enshittification’ by Cory Doctorow and ‘Minor Black Figures’ by Brandon Taylor
-
8 of the best ‘cozy crime’ series of all timeThe Week Recommends Murder mysteries don’t necessarily have to make us miserable, and these shows have perfected a feel-good crime formula
-
Philadelphia’s Calder GardensFeature A permanent new museum
-
One great cookbook: ‘The Woks of Life’The Week Recommends A family’s opinionated, reliable take on all kinds of Chinese cooking
-
The 5 best mob movies of all timeThe Week Recommends If you don’t like a good gangster flick, just fuhgeddaboudit
-
9 haunted hotels where things definitely go bump in the nightThe Week Recommends Don’t fear these spirited spots. Embrace them.
-
The 5 best zombie TV shows of all timeThe Week Recommends For undead aficionados, the age of abundance has truly arrived
