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Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur
A fully illustrated catalogue of new work and texts by Sir Grayson Perry to accompany a landmark exhibition at the Wallace Collection in celebration of the artist's 65th birthday.
This publication accompanies a major exhibition created and curated by Grayson Perry at the Wallace Collection. The Collection's famous portrait of Madame de Pompadour (1759) by François Boucher has long fascinated Perry, as have a great many other pieces including its superb group of portrait miniatures and an early eighteenth-century bronze of Mezzetin, soulfully strumming his guitar.
Perry has created a fictional persona, Shirley Smith, who believes herself to be the rightful heir to Hertford House's treasures – and indeed, the entire Wallace Collection. Through this identity, a series of new artworks have been made – inspired and influenced by those in the Collection – intended to decorate an imagined family home, complete with ancestral portraits, Old Masters and priceless antiques. Delusions of Grandeur presents this fantasy world and playfully explores themes including the meaning of home and how it creates a sense of safety, the gendering of decoration, perfection versus authenticity, and the exquisite and pretty versus the brutality and pomp of masculinity. And through the backstory of Shirley Smith, the transformative and healing nature of art is demonstrated.
This book presents Perry's new works in a variety of ceramic, sculpture, textile and works on paper, which themselves complement the diversity and range of objects found within the Collection itself. This landmark exhibition marking Perry's 65th birthday is both a meditation and an introspection and offers an elaborate commentary on the very nature of making and collecting art.
This publication accompanies a major exhibition created and curated by Grayson Perry at the Wallace Collection. The Collection's famous portrait of Madame de Pompadour (1759) by François Boucher has long fascinated Perry, as have a great many other pieces including its superb group of portrait miniatures and an early eighteenth-century bronze of Mezzetin, soulfully strumming his guitar.
Perry has created a fictional persona, Shirley Smith, who believes herself to be the rightful heir to Hertford House's treasures – and indeed, the entire Wallace Collection. Through this identity, a series of new artworks have been made – inspired and influenced by those in the Collection – intended to decorate an imagined family home, complete with ancestral portraits, Old Masters and priceless antiques. Delusions of Grandeur presents this fantasy world and playfully explores themes including the meaning of home and how it creates a sense of safety, the gendering of decoration, perfection versus authenticity, and the exquisite and pretty versus the brutality and pomp of masculinity. And through the backstory of Shirley Smith, the transformative and healing nature of art is demonstrated.
This book presents Perry's new works in a variety of ceramic, sculpture, textile and works on paper, which themselves complement the diversity and range of objects found within the Collection itself. This landmark exhibition marking Perry's 65th birthday is both a meditation and an introspection and offers an elaborate commentary on the very nature of making and collecting art.
- GenresArt
112 pages, Paperback
Published May 27, 2025
About the author
Grayson Perry
33 books245 followersGrayson Perry CBE RA is an English contemporary artist, writer and broadcaster.
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November 17, 2025
"Seriousness is a sought-after commodity in art but in its attempts to be significant it can easily shade into earnestness and pomposity. Some people think the opposite of seriousness is humour, but they are mistaken. The opposite of serious is trivial. Humour is not trivial, it is a seriously important quality. What attribute is it that so often guides our choice of friends or lovers? It is their sense of humour. They bring us joy, they make us laugh. Humour is a vitally profound part of being human."
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review