When it comes to the world of British art, few names are more widely recognised than David Messum. From extolling the virtues of the English Impressionists to resurrecting interest in the Newlyn School, David has spent more than 60 years reminding us all that English art is as good as any across the world.
We were very lucky that when we asked him to join us on the Country Life Podcast he said yes. Not everyone says yes. We started off talking about his early career in the art world — from what inspired him to get into art, to his early days working at Christie’s and Bonhams — before moving on to the establishment of his eponymous business, which has been championing British art since 1963.
- Listen to Country Life podcast on Apple Podcasts
- Listen to Country Life podcast on Spotify
- Listen to Country Life podcast on Audible
What inspired him to revisit the late 19th/early 20th-century West Country painters known as the Newlyn School? Who are some of his favourite artists working today? What’s his favourite painting? What would he do if he could change one thing about the art world? All these questions and more are answered.
And it’s not for us to shout from the rooftops, but we are pretty sure this is a Country Life exclusive, as David tells us it’s the first time he’s been on a podcast. Listening to his whimsical tales of his life as a collector and dealer, it’s unlikely to be his last. Tune in above, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Episode credits
- Host: James Fisher
- Guest: David Messum
- Editor and producer: Toby Keel
- Music: JuliusH via Pixabay
- Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn
'What else can you do but say "it's completely disgusting"?': Britain's worst new buildings, with Charlie Baker and the Carbuncle Cup
The Carbuncle Cup returns after a six-year hiatus. Competition judge and magazine editor Charlie Baker speaks to James Fisher about
Podcast: Britain's best architects, interior designers, craftspeople and garden designers
Giles Kime joins James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast to explain how he and the team come up with
Norman Foster on the Country Life podcast: 'The Green Belt is one of our greatest inventions'
Lord Norman Foster, one of Britain's great architects, joins the Country Life podcast.
Credit: Country Life Picture Library
'The best job in the world': Listen to Mark Hedges on The Country Life Podcast
Country Life has launched a podcast, and for the first episode we're pulling back the curtain on the making of
Credit: Charlie Waite
'If you get 12 great photographs a year, you're doing well': Charlie Waite on the secrets of landscape photography
The world-renowned landscape photographer Charlie Waite joins the Country Life Podcast.
-
Dawn Chorus: The beavers who built a £1 million project for free, and Alexa Chung's new Barbour collection -
The real name of a 'ghost' rainbow, the first ever omnishambles, and golf on the moon: Country Life Quiz of the Day 20 February 2025Some real brainteasers for you in our Quiz of the Day. Good luck!
-
'We talk about life's big questions with people who probably thought they were just coming in to discuss the redecoration of their house': Nicole Salvesen and Mary Graham on the Country Life PodcastNicole Salvesen and Mary Graham of Salvesen Graham join James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast.
-
Literature, landscape and re-wiggling rivers, with Vicky and Charles Rangeley-WilsonVicky and Charles Rangeley-Wilson join James Fisher to talk about their upcoming literary festival in Norfolk and why the Arts and the landscape are so intertwined.
-
Lucy Shepherd: Britain's most intrepid young explorer on how she went from rural Suffolk to trekking the AmazonLucy Shepherd has spent the last 10 years adventuring through some of the most extraordinary landscapes in the world. She spoke to James Fisher about her life, her inspirations, her career to date and her latest expedition, through some of the most remote jungle in the Amazon.
-
Cooking baked beans in an Aston Martin, rubbing shoulders with Beyoncé and sneaking onto yachts at Monaco, with Adam Hay-NichollsThe motoring and travel journalist Adam Hay-Nicholls joins James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast this week.
-
The Spice Girls, The Stage and the state of the Arts, with Alistair SmithThe Stage editor Alistair Smith joins James Fisher on the Country Life podcast this week to talk about the performing arts.
-
From Tudors and Georgians to pet monkeys in Roman Britain: Matt Thompson of English Heritage on telling the stories of the pastMatt Thompson of English Heritage joins the Country Life Podcast.
-
Have you been doing holidays all wrong for years?Author and journalist Liz Schaffer joins the Country Life Podcast to talk about how 'Slow Travel' can help you make the most of your time off — and what she discovered while touring 22 of Britain's most beautiful off-the-track places.
-
When the King and Queen edited Country Life, by the editor who guided them every step of the wayPaula Lester, Country Life's Managing Editor, joins the Country Life podcast.
