The Guardian

Jonathan Jones

Richard Dadd review – can his mental illness help explain these arresting, bizarre images?

"Dadd was an interesting artist before Bedlam but became a great one in it – and a modern artist at that. In his own lonely way he overthrows the rules of art, reaching for unsettling new truths akin to those Manet and Whistler were probing, out in the “sane” world."

The Telegraph

Alastair Sooke

The troubled artist who found solace in fairies, then murdered his father

"Although, on this evidence, his folkloric paintings can appear obscure, as well as multitudinous and hallucinatory, the originality of his vision reinforces the show's premise. This exhibition may be weird, but it's certainly compelling."

The Independent

Mark Hudson

Some of the most haunting paintings in British art

"Now, however, at a time when we have a greater understanding of mental health, it’s possible to see that these works have their own clarity and logic in the way they construct their imaginary worlds. The exhibition doesn’t attempt to draw wider meanings from them. But if you happen to want to go to Fairyland, you won’t do it more convincingly than by looking closely at these extraordinary paintings."

The Observer

Laura Cumming

The fantastical world of mad, bad Richard Dadd

"It is hard to believe that they would ever have been shown had he not been incarcerated, and yet we are supposed to see them independent of his illness. That way, so to speak, lies madness."