Venice

Following his assignment to South Africa as Black and White Magazine's war artist, Mortimer Menpes travelled extensively, becoming the artist of choice for A. & C. Black's colour guide book series. His guide to Venice, co-authored with his daughter, Dorothy Menpes, contained 75 watercolour illustrations. Menpes's text, which serves well as a guide to the art and architecture of present-day Venice, is enlivened by his enthusiasm for everything Venetian, and especially by his satirical portrait of the community of foreign artists who gather at the Panada restaurant. - Summary by Phil Benson