Boris Anrep (1883–1969) brought an unexpectedly modern sensibility to one of art's oldest forms. A Russian-born mosaic artist who eventually settled in Britain, Anrep created the remarkable mosaic floors at London's National Gallery, filling classical and allegorical scenes with people from his own time, artists, writers, actors, friends and public figures

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What makes his work so engaging is the collision of old and new: an ancient technique, traditional imagery, and faces belonging unmistakably to the twentieth century. His mosaics invite us to look closely, not only at how they are made, but at who has found their way into the picture.

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There is also a personal story embedded in Anrep’s work. The Russian poet Anna Akhmatova, with whom he had an important romantic relationship before he left Russia, appears in The Awakening of the Muses. Years later, he placed her image into the mosaic—a private history preserved within a very public work.

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