96 Cheyne Walk, the former East End London home of painter James Whistler, has been placed up for sale, with an asking price of £30 million.  The artist lived there for just over 10 years, from 1867 to 1878m during which time he created his most iconic work, Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1, affectionately referred to as Whistler’s Mother.  Other residents of the Chelsea street have included Dante Gabriel Rossetti, George Eliot, Henry James, former British prime minister David Lloyd-George, Laurence Olivier and the musician Mick Jagger. (more…)

Artists Sarah Lucas and Tracey Emin are profiled in The Guardianthis week, recounting their early exploits running “The Shop,” a small East London gallery and boutique that served as a launching pad for the pair’s artistic ambitions.  “It was just an idea we had at an Indian restaurant on Brick Lane, but we were excited about it right away. We both had an anti-art slant, and this was always more than just a shop: it was a social thing. I remember we wanted it to be in the Brick Lane area mainly because of its bagel shop! But both of us were marketgoers and had sold stuff there when we needed a few bob.”  Lucas says.

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The Guardian UK, claiming that East London’s art scene was “dying” less than a week ago, now reports that the East End will stay ‘vibrant’ positing that although galleries have moved out of the East End, the area holds many advantages over the tourist-centered Fitzrovia.

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The Guardian, by looking into Vyner Street galleries, examines macro factors causing East End of London galleries to move West, “The East End has only really flourished during a boom…in 2005 it felt like a critical hub. As the galleries I really admired moved out, collectors came less and less,” says Fred Mann, owner of Fred Ltd, one of the latest galleries to move West.

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