
Carla Passino
Carla must be the only Italian that finds the English weather more congenial than her native country’s sunshine. An antique herself, she became Country Life’s Arts & Antiques editor in 2023 having previously covered, as a freelance journalist, heritage, conservation, history and property stories, for which she won a couple of awards. Her musical taste has never evolved past Puccini and she spends most of her time immersed in any century before the 20th.
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‘I wanted the clothes to make the woman’: Diane Keaton’s iconic fashion collection goes on saleAn upcoming auction of Diane Keaton's immense personal collection is the talk of the town, says Carla Passino.
By Carla Passino Published
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The small rural American city where an oil sketch by John Constable hid for decades in plain viewIt was only in 2017 that auction-house specialists began to suspect that there may be more to the painting.
By Carla Passino Last updated
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Bountiful maiden or Virgin Queen: The many faces of Elizabeth I paint a compelling portraitElizabeth I forged her own myth through portraiture, as a new exhibition at the Philip Mould Gallery in London reveals.
By Carla Passino Published
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It's a Henry Moore summer in the gardens of EnglandA suite of exhibitions this summer celebrates one of Britain's greatest ever sculptors.
By Carla Passino Published
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'I’m always desperate to know how cold it was in those big houses or how disgusting people smelled': Artist Lyndsey Mendick on her dream time-travel destinationsWhere would you go if you could wind back the clock?
By Carla Passino Published
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Where to eat, where to drink and where to shop in Chelsea, according to the Country Life teamThere's more to Chelsea than just the Flower Show so we've rounded up some of the best places to eat, stay and shop.
By Rosie Paterson Last updated
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Hamish Mackie reveals his dream time-travel destination and the artist he'd most like to meetWhere would you go if you could wind back the clock?
By Carla Passino Published
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'One of the most famous rooms in England’, lovingly built by the leading Victorian artist Frederic LeightonA newly opened exhibition at Leighton House, London, charts the Arab Hall’s development and explores its enduring influence, writes Carla Passino.
By Carla Passino Published
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Alphonse Mucha: The Czech artist who went from penurious obscurity to foundational figure of Art Nouveau movementAlthough most celebrated for his graphic work, Mucha also embraced sculpture and the decorative arts and designed everything from cutlery to textiles, stained-glass windows and jewellery.
By Carla Passino Published
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A distinguished copy of 'Salvator Mundi' is now on offer — could it also be the truest to Leonardo da Vinci's vision?One of the roughly 20 known versions of 'Salvator Mundi', executed by da Vinci's workshop, is being unveiled at TEFAF Maastricht, on the stand of British dealer Agnews Gallery.
By Carla Passino Published
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Easel on the eye: The genius of John PiperJohn Piper was a modernist who rejected Modernism, a versatile artist who defied categories, but one who remained true to the spirit and detail of the places he painted
By Carla Passino Published
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Write side up: The enduring influence of literature in artThe most sensual pictures of women sprang from Ovid's verses, the Aeneid gave Turner his longest-lasting subject matter and Edward Burne-Jones saw himself in Arthur's deathless slumber.
By Carla Passino Published
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'He was really the most radical artist of the 19th century': Georges Seurat at the Courtauld GalleryGeorges Seurat spent much of his short life painting the quietude of the Northern French coast, honing his rigorous technique on the play of light, sky and water.
By Carla Passino Published
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Twenty momentous photographs from the last 100 years that define our historyEvery photograph tells a story and none more so than these 20 unforgettable ones.
By Lucy Ford Last updated
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Six things that Britain should be proud of, from world-class restaurants and Championship-winning cars to the countrysideIt is too easy to dismiss 2025 as a downbeat year of failure, but good things did happen.
By Kate Green Published
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How the spirit of Andy Warhol lives on through ChristmasAndy Warhol found Christmas a tricky time, yet threw himself into the festivities and, when he decided to illustrate his series on American myths, he had no doubt he should include the jolly old man in the bright red suit.
By Carla Passino Published
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Has the secret of Vermeer’s most enigmatic masterpiece finally been revealed? A British art historian’s controversial claim to have uncovered the true identity of 'Girl with a Pearl Earring'Andrew Graham-Dixon talks to Carla Passino about Vermeer's 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' — an iconic example of Dutch Golden Age art and one of the most famous paintings in the world.
By Carla Passino Published
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The accidental Impressionist who captures country life on canvasPainting a local cricket match, Sherree Valentine-Daines received an invitation that changed her career and led her to become artist-in-residence at Goodwood
By Carla Passino Published
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Who won the rivalry between Turner and Constable? It was us, the publicA forthcoming exhibition at Tate Britain that revives the rivalry between these two 19th century painters sheds new light on their relationship.
By Carla Passino Published
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'The King of Hell was fat from gorging on souls and he expelled some more from his bowels': The many guises of the Devil Antiquity to present dayTaking as many guises as his names, the Prince of Lies turned at times into a man-devouring ogre, a mutant medley of claws, horns and wings, or the brooding rebel that lit the imagination of Romantic painters.
By Carla Passino Published
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A five minute guide to Wayne Thiebaud — the artist who 'reinvented still life as a genre and found fame in the process'The Courtauld Institute is staging the first-ever exhibition of Wayne Thiebaud's work.
By Carla Passino Published
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Five émigré artists who greatly enriched Britain's intellectual and creative scenesFrieze Masters kicks off this week and several contributing galleries are using it to shine a spotlight on the artistic contribution of émigrés past and present.
By Carla Passino Last updated
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Tim Knox, director of the Royal Collection, charts a century of regal tasteEdward VII swept away the cobwebs of mid-Victorian style, Queen Mary had passion for all things small and the Queen Mother bought rather avant-garde art.
By Tim Knox Published
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'There were no fireworks. The art world remained unshaken. Then, this April, a letter arrived... to see it hanging in Tate will be very special': Art dealer John Martin on the piece he'd never part withA chance encounter with a huge, shimmering panel led art dealer John Martin to discover Nigerian sculptor Asiru Olatunde, a man who also owed his artistic career to an accidental find, as Carla Passino learns.
By Carla Passino Published
