Picasso & Modern British Art - Tate Britatin

The big exhibition at the Tate Britain at the moment focuses on Picasso and his influence on British Art in the 20th Century. It's quite a simple premise and it works rather well - hang some Picasso's beside some of the works he influenced by British artists and let us gawp at them in peace.

For some odd reason we didn't take to Picasso as quickly as countries on the Continent so it was left to some of the artists he impressed and inspired to sing his praises. He spent time over here, of course, and designed sets and costumes for Diaghilev's Ballet Russe in 1919, and some of these are on show. I've seen lots of Picasso's over the years but he was a prolific artist in different media and there are always more to see so this is a good opportunity to top up.

There are different rooms to show Picasso paintings alongside his British admirers, a few of his and a few of theirs hung together. I liked the Duncan Grant paintings (especially the one on the right) and the Wyndham Lewis and Ben Nicholson paintings. There was a seductive wooden shaped reclining statue by Henry Moore that I wanted to stroke to experience the curves with my hands. I wasn't keen on the Francis Bacons or Graham Sutherlands but it was good to see the David Hockneys which brought the exhibition to a close. The final painting in a room of its own is 'The Three Dancers' which Picasso sold to the Tate in 1965, the first time he'd ever sold anything to a museum.

The exhibition is on until 15 July 2012 so if you get the chance I'd recommend a visit. I went on a Friday afternoon so, although busy, wasn't as jam-packed as you'd expect at a weekend. As ever, the selection of postcards was poor and didn't even include the painting used on all the posters and on the front of catalogue. Postcards sell - people might not buy a £30 scarf but will buy a few postcards of the paintings they've seen and it all adds up.

Here are a few of the paintings to whet your appetite: