Alastair Sooke

Alastair Sooke (/suːk/; born 1981) is an English art critic, journalist and broadcaster, most notable for reporting and commenting on art for the British media and writing and presenting documentaries on art and art history for BBC television and radio. His BBC documentaries include Modern Masters for BBC One and two three-part series, the Treasures of Ancient Rome and the Treasures of Ancient Greece, for BBC Four.[1]

Alastair Sooke
Born1981 (age 39–40)
Alma materChrist Church, Oxford
Courtauld Institute of Art (MA)
OccupationJournalist, broadcaster
AwardsQueen's Scholar

Alastair is a deputy art critic at The Daily Telegraph, writing on art and art history, including on the Turner Prize and contemporary art. He is also a regular reporter on The Culture Show.[2]

Biography

Sooke was born in west London[3] in October 1981[4] and educated at Westminster School,[5] an independent boarding school in Central London, where he was a Queen's Scholar,[6] followed by a Westminster Scholarship to Christ Church, Oxford,[5] where he read English language and literature and won the university’s Charles Oldham Shakespeare Prize. After graduating with a First, he studied for an M.A. at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, specialising in ancient Greek and Roman art.

Sooke is known as a writer and presenter of documentaries on art and art history for BBC television and radio.[7] His BBC documentaries include Modern Masters (for BBC One), exploring four artists who shaped modern art; the tripartite series Treasures of Ancient Rome in 2012 and Treasures of Ancient Greece, for BBC Four, in 2015, and How the Devil Got His Horns, a history of depictions of the Devil in Western art (also for BBC Four).

Sooke also serves as an art critic, and writes periodical-length pieces on art theory, history and criticism, as well as penning investigative pieces that have appeared in journals, and newspapers. These include The Telegraph, where he is a deputy art critic after joining the paper as a trainee journalist in 2003.[8] Sooke is also regular reporter on The Culture Show.[2] In addition, Sooke has written books, on both Henri Matisse and Roy Lichtenstein.


Filmography
Television
YearWorkChannel
2010Modern Masters[1]BBC One
2011Romancing the Stone: The Golden Ages of British Sculpture[2]BBC Four
2011The Perfect SuitBBC Four
2011The Summer Exhibition: BBC Arts at the Royal AcademyBBC Two
2011The World's Most Expensive Paintings[1]BBC One
2012How the Devil Got His Horns: A Diabolical TaleBBC Four
2012Unfinished MasterpiecesBBC Two
2012The Summer Exhibition: BBC Arts at the Royal AcademyBBC Two
2012Treasures of Ancient Rome[1]BBC Four
2013Pride and Prejudice: Having a Ball[1]BBC Two
2013The Summer Exhibition: BBC Arts at the Royal AcademyBBC Two
2013Whaam! Roy Lichtenstein at Tate ModernBBC Four
2014Constable: A Country RebelBBC Four
2014Pop Go the Women: The Other Story of Pop ArtBBC Two
2014The Summer Exhibition: BBC Arts at the Royal AcademyBBC Two
2014The World’s Most Expensive Stolen Paintings[1]BBC Two
2014Treasures of Ancient Egypt[1]BBC Four
2015Soup Cans and Superstars: How Pop Art Changed the WorldBBC Four
2015Treasures of Ancient Greece[1]BBC Four
2016Lichtenstein: A RetrospectiveBBC Two
2016Robert Rauschenberg: Pop Art Pioneer
2017An Art Lovers' GuideBBC Two
2017Trump on Culture: Brave New WorldBBC Two
2018An Art Lover's GuideBBC Two

Bibliography
  • Postcards from Vegas (2011) ISBN 9780955819513
  • Roy Lichtenstein: How Modern Art was Saved by Donald Duck (2013) ISBN 9780241965061
  • Henri Matisse: A Second Life (2014) ISBN 9780241969090
  • Pop Art: A Colourful History (2015) ISBN 9780241973073

References
  1. "Treasures of Ancient Greece". BBC Four. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  2. "The Culture Show - Alastair Sooke". BBC Two. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  3. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  4. "The Ampersand Foundation ... People". Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  5. "Oxford University Gazette, 26 October 2000: Colleges". ox.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  6. "In Conversation: Stephen Chambers RA and Alastair Sooke .... About Alastair Sooke". What's On, University of Cambridge, Cambridge. 17 April 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  7. "lBBC: Modern Masters, About Alastair Sooke". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  8. "Alastair Sooke". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
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