Gauguin exhibition

Had a few days in the South visiting relatives, so popped into London to see some exhibitions, including the Gauguin show. I have never seen Tate Modern so packed. I think it is to some extent a victim of its own success, there are crowds milling everywhere and it is virtually impossible to enjoy works in a state of quiet contemplation. The actual exhibition was not much better, but of course the pictures transcended the hubbub. I have some reservations about the show, it is arranged by themes,such as landscape. figure,religion etc and this can lead to confusion as you get a landscape of Brittanny followed by one of Martinique then one of Tahiti, for instance.This is very much a curators exhibition in the sense that it has been arranged to illustrate a particular point, how Gauguin treated the people, landscape and beleifs of the different cultures he encountered. This jumbling up of pics could become confusing to a visitor who had only a faint grasp of his life, and I wish it had been arranged chronologically. A lot of paintings have been pulled since its show in America and there are a lot of gaps, for instance there is virtually nothing from his stay with Van Gogh in Arles. But it is the paintings of Tahiti that predominate and nothing can take away the beauty of these. Do go if you get the chance, whatever the faults of the exhibition. Also visited the Imperial War Museum to help son with a school project so took some time to see their art collection, including some fine Paul Nash's and the John Singer Sargent painting "Gassed".