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John Wilson

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Julian May

Front Row: John Constable, Frank Sinatra, The art of animation, Poetic performance enhancers

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04/12/2015

John Constable, Frank Sinatra, The art of animation, Poetic performance enhancers

BBC Radio 4 - Front Row, John Constable, Frank Sinatra, The art of animation, Poetic performance enhancers

John Wilson talks to Frank Sinatra's biographer and views Constable's The Lock.

John Wilson talks to Frank Sinatra's biographer, views Constable's The Lock and meets the great animation artist Barry Purves, plus there's a call to kick drugs out of poetry.

Frank Sinatra was born 100 years ago this month, and to mark his centenary John Wilson will be discussing the singing legend with James Kaplan, whose book Sinatra: The Chairman, the second volume of his magisterial biography of the crooner, has just been published. 

Barry Purves has been animating using stop motion techniques for decades. He talks to John about his career ahead of an evening dedicated to his work at the London International Animation Festival, which opens tonight. 

John visits the Sotheby's, where their biggest sales of old masters ever is being gathered. Paintings include John Constable's 'The Lock', one of only 3 Constables still in private hands, and a portrait of Henry VIII from the studio of Hans Holbein. Might these, so connected with this country, leave it? John discusses this, and whether it matters, with art critic William Feaver.

On a day when doping in sport is in the news the publisher Michael Schmidt has a modest proposal: to rid the world of performance enhancing substances - the world of poetry, that is.

Producer: Julian May.

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