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Published — 3 December 2025 ⏭ iutube

The story of gold: modern imaginations | Stories in Colour Podcast Gold Ep3 | National Gallery

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When the artist Louise Nevelson immigrated to America as a child, she was told that ‘the streets... would be paved in gold’. Obviously, they weren’t, but that hasn’t stopped modern artists turning pretty much everything else golden. Even a toilet.

Join National Gallery Courses and Events Programmer Caroline Miller, Associate Curator of Contemporary and Modern Priyesh Mistry and host Beks in the final episode of our sparkling miniseries. From Gustav Klimt’s ‘The Kiss’ to an artwork so valuable it has hardly ever been displayed, we explore how artists have explored and tested the limits of gold.
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You can email us with any questions via podcast@nationalgallery.org.uk

Find out more about the podcast on our website: www.nationalgallery.org.uk/podcast
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🎨 Find out more about artworks in the episode:

Joseph Beuys, ‘How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare’, 1965. Galerie Schmela, Düsseldorf [Performance art] https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/434.1997.9/

Anselm Kiefer, ‘Aus Herzen und Hirnen sprießen die Halme der Nacht (From Hearts and Brains the Stalks of Night Are Sprouting)’, 2019-2020. Emulsion, oil, acrylic, shellac, straw, gold leaf, wood, and metal on canvas, 185 ⅛ x 330 ¾ inches (470 x 840 cm) © Anselm Kiefer / Photo: Georges Poncet. Courtesy the artist https://gagosian.com/exhibitions/2021/anselm-kiefer-field-of-the-cloth-of-gold/

Anselm Kiefer, 'Mein Rhine', 2024. Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg Villa Kast [Exhibition] https://ropac.net/online-exhibitions/171-anselm-kiefer-mein-rhein/

Gustav Klimt, ‘Pallas Athene’, 1898. Wien Museum, Vienna. © Photo: Birgit and Peter Kainz, Wien Museum https://sammlung.wienmuseum.at/en/object/102991-pallas-athene/

Gustav Klimt, ‘The Kiss (Lovers)’, 1908 (completed 1909). Belvedere Museum, Vienna https://sammlung.belvedere.at/objects/6678/der-kuss-liebespaar

‘Emperor Justinian and Members of His Court’, early 20th century reproduction (original dated 6th century, Byzantine). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/466586

Barkley L. Hendricks, ‘Lawdy Mama’, 1969. Oil and gold leaf on canvas, 53 3/4 x 36 1/4 inches © Barkley L. Hendricks. Courtesy of the Estate of Barkley L. Hendricks and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York https://www.studiomuseum.org/artworks/lawdy-mama-2

Barkley L. Hendricks, ‘Father, Son, and...’, 1969. Art Bridges https://artbridgesfoundation.org/artworks/hendricks-father-son-and

Louise Nevelson, ‘Royal Tide II’, 1961-63. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York © Estate of Lousie Nevelson / 2025 ARS, NY and DACS, London / Photo Scala, Florence / Whitney Museum of American Art, New York https://whitney.org/collection/works/428

Installation view of ‘Tower of Power’ (1985) in “Chris Burden: Extreme Measures” at New Museum, New York, 2013. Courtesy New Museum, New York. © 2025 Chris Burden / Licensed by The Chris Burden Estate and DACS / Courtesy New Museum, New York. Photo: Benoit Pailley https://archive.newmuseum.org/exhibitions/1861

Maurizio Cattelan, ‘AMERICA’, 2016. Bowl: 18K Gold; Pipes and flushmeter: gold plated. 72,4 cm x 35,6 cm x 68,6 cm. ‘Installation view: Maurizio Cattelan: “America” 2016’, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York © Photo by Jacopo Zotti / The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York / Courtesy, Maurizio Cattelan's Archive https://www.guggenheim.org/exhibition/maurizio-cattelan-america
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Further reading:

Find out more about Maurizio Cattelan’s ‘America’ (2016) here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjev7vn4qp0o https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1j8z6r8zl6o
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Episode credits:

Guests: Caroline Miller and Priyesh Mistry
Host and executive producer: Beks Leary 
Producer: Harry Rosehill 
Researcher: Hannah Rogers 
Technician: Ian Warren
Video editors: Jeanne Kenyon and Alessandro Sorenti
Theme music: Theo Elwell 

#NationalGallery #ArtHistory #StoriesInColour #Podcast

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