Early life and education Andrew Graham-Dixon is a son of the
barrister Anthony Philip Graham-Dixon (1929–2012),
Q.C., and (Margaret) Suzanne "Sue" (née Villar, 1931–2010), a publicist for music and opera companies. Graham-Dixon was educated at
Westminster School, a
public school. He continued his education at
Christ Church, Oxford, where he read English. He graduated in 1981 and then pursued doctoral studies at the
Courtauld Institute of Art,
University of London.
Career Graham-Dixon began work as a reviewer for the short-lived weekly
The Sunday Correspondent before becoming the chief art critic of
The Independent, where he remained until 1998. He won the Arts Journalist of the Year Award three years in a row – in 1987, 1988 and 1989. He later became the chief art critic of
The Sunday Telegraph. In 1992 Graham-Dixon won the first prize in the Reportage section at the
Montreal World Film Festival for a documentary film about
Théodore Géricault's painting
The Raft of the Medusa. From 2004 he was a contributor to
The Culture Show on
BBC Two, covering a variety of subjects and often acting as the main presenter. He has also presented many
BBC documentary series on art, including
A History of British Art (1996),
Renaissance (1999),
Caravaggio (2002),
The Secret of Drawing (2005),
The Battle for British Art (2007),
Art of Eternity (2007),
Art of Spain (2008),
The Art of Russia (2009),
Art of Germany (2010),
Art of America (2011),
British Art at War: Bomberg, Sickert and Nash (2014),
Art of China (2014) and
Art of France (2017). He is passionate about the
Mona Lisa, appearing in the popular BBC documentary
Secrets of the Mona Lisa (2015). In 2018 he presented a four-part series on BBC Four –
Art, Passion & Power: The Story of the Royal Collection. He has also presented programmes on subjects other than art, such as
I, Samurai (2006) and
The Real Casino Royale for the BBC and
100% English (2006) for
Channel 4. In 2010 he interviewed
John Lydon for a
Culture Show special about
Public Image Ltd. In 2016 and 2018 he gave lectures as part of the
Alpine Fellowship symposium in
Venice. In 2022 he gave a lecture at their symposium in Ellenborough Park, UK. His publications include
Howard Hodgkin (1993),
A History of British Art (1995),
Paper Museum: Writings About Painting, Mostly (1995),
Renaissance (1999),
In the Picture (2005), an anthology of articles published between 2001 and 2006 in the
Sunday Telegraph, and
Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel (2007). Graham-Dixon also wrote and presented the BBC documentary
Who Killed Caravaggio?, broadcast on BBC 4 in 2010. The same year saw the publication of his biography,
Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane. He has since published a similarly in-depth study of
Johannes Vermeer —
Vermeer: A Life Lost and Found (2025), which a reviewer said is "the best biography of Vermeer and the most complete analysis of his artwork that has ever been published". He has previously judged the
Turner Prize (1991), the BP National Portrait Prize (2001, 2002), and the Annual British Animation Awards. He has been on the Government Art Collection Committee, the Hayward Advisory Committee, and the
Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead. He is on the
Blue Plaque Committee for
English Heritage and is an ambassador for the Princes Teaching Institute.
Honorary doctorate In 2010
Plymouth University awarded Graham-Dixon an honorary Doctorate of Arts.
Supporter of Young British Artists He was an early supporter of the group later known as the
Young British Artists. In 1990 he wrote:
Goldsmiths' graduates are unembarrassed about promoting themselves and their work: some of the most striking exhibitions in London over the past few months—"The East Country Yard Show", or "Gambler", both staged in docklands—have been independently organised and funded by Goldsmiths' graduates as showcases for their work. This has given them a reputation for pushiness, yet it should also be said that in terms of ambition, attention to display and sheer bravado there has been little to match such shows in the country's established contemporary art institutions. They were far superior, for instance, to any of the contemporary art shows that have been staged by the Liverpool Tate in its own multi-million-pound dockland site.
Cambridge Union speech On 9 November 2021 Graham-Dixon was banned from speaking again at the
Cambridge Union after a debate titled "This House Believes there is no such thing as good taste", for the Cambridge Union Debating Society. Speaking in opposition to the motion, Graham-Dixon recited part of speech made by
Adolf Hitler including the lines: "this modern horrible art that was promoted by the Jews, which was
Cubist, inspired by the art of the Negro,
tribal art – yeurgh, how horrible is that". He later apologised for the impression and stated that he was trying to "underline the utterly evil nature of Hitler." He added: "I apologise sincerely to anyone who found my debating tactics and use of Hitler's own language distressing; on reflection I can see that some of the words I used, even in quotation, are inherently offensive." Public figures including
Louis de Bernières and
John Cleese were among those to defend Graham-Dixon, and criticism of the Union's plans for an exclusion list prompted a U-turn from its president. In a statement to
The Jewish Chronicle, fellow historian
Guy Walters said: "The idea that Andrew Graham-Dixon has been blacklisted for performing what was clearly a satirical impression of Adolf Hitler is both disgraceful and deeply ironic." A full transcript of the speech was published by
The Telegraph. == Personal life ==