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Pamela Goodman: In the battle of the beauties, Mona Lisa will always come out on top
Our monthly travel columnist and her family struggle to agree on whether Mona Lisa is a beauty for the ages or a plain Jane.
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A right royal affair with the stars
Scientific curiosity with the cosmos gripped the Royal Family for centuries, as Matthew Dennison reveals
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Thomas Gainsborough means one thing in Britain. He means another in America
Gilded Age industrialists were mad for the quintessentially English artist. A new exhibition at The Frick in New York City, focused on fashion in his portraiture, sets the stage for a revival.
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Sir Antony Gormley: Why I am continually captivated by Adriaen de Vries’s radical sculpture Antiope and Theseus
Sir Antony Gormley writes about why Adriaen de Vries’s sculpture may look vastly different from his own, 'Reflect', but still shares with it a fascination with balance and instability.
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'He was a French artist enamoured with light and colour, movement and lightness'
An upcoming auction at Dreweatts will see works by Paul Lucien Maze up for sale. James Fisher delights in the artist's chronicling of mid-20th-century British life.
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Write side up: The enduring influence of literature in art
The 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.
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Pushing back against a culture of disposability: The enduring importance of craft
Corrine Julius grapples with a world dominated by mass production, digital life, AI and explains why the unique and the tangible is spearheading a renaissance.
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'He allowed lion and a tiger to prowl around the castle and, if an unfortunate servant was mauled, they were paid compensation': Exotic animals in art
Exotic animals — whether dreamy-eyed rhinos, improbable flocks of birds from different latitudes or muscular big cats rendered in exact detail — captured the eye of artists in Europe, but also in their native countries.
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This Civil War coat and armour has survived four centuries in almost perfect condition — apart from the hole made by the musket ball that killed the man who wore it
John Goodall visits Doddington Hall in Lincolnshire to discover the tale of one of its most extraordinary artefacts: the coat worn by a 17th century nobleman when he was killed during one of the key battles of the English Civil War.
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The British Museum's successful attempt to save a Tudor-era pendant with links to Henry VIII is proof that the institution is on the up
After years of neglect and controversy, Britain's premier cultural institution seems to be finding its feet again.
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‘I don't consider myself to be a nepo baby at all’: Caroline Avedon on preserving her grandfather's legacy — and her consuming passions
Caroline initially wanted to be a lawyer, but now that she works for Richard Avedon’s foundation, she can’t imagine doing anything else, finds Lotte Brundle.
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Cybele and Juno statues finally return to Stowe's south-front portico
The statues were originally lost after a content sale, but have been dutifully re-created as part of an ongoing restoration programme.
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A study in sculpture: 10 of the finest pieces from the Royal Collection
A new catalogue in four volumes explores the extraordinary riches of the sculpture in the Royal Collection. Its author, Sir Jonathan Marsden, selects 10 of his favourite works that reflect the diversity of this astonishing collection.
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Eileen Soper: The 'schoolgirl among the masters' with paintings in millions of homes, even yours
Renowned for illustrating the ‘Famous Five’ series, the mercurial, motorcar-obsessed Eileen Soper lived a bucolic and eccentric life.
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A mesmerising portrait in the eerie country house that inspired Charlotte Brontë to write 'Jane Eyre'
A dark episode in the family history of Norton Conyers inspired a young Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre — but the hidden attic is just one of many treasures in this grand Yorkshire house.
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The monk strap: Where did the shoe with sole and sophistication come from?
Amie Elizabeth White charts the history of the monk strap shoe — beloved by Clark Gable, Cary Grant and James Bond.
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Twenty momentous photographs from the last 100 years that define our history
Every photograph tells a story and none more so than these 20 unforgettable ones.
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Tate-à-tête: The National Gallery’s promise to grow its modern-art collection risks reopening old wounds
The National Gallery's announcement of a new wing and more modern art promises to reignite a historic rivalry with Tate.
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The artistic and historical treasures in Ireland that you must visit at least once in a lifetime
In our new series, Charlotte Mullins explores the visual history of the British Isles in 50 treasures, from Ice Age caves to Sutton Hoo. Her first instalment looks at the treasures to be found in Ireland.
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Forget Bond, the understated George Smiley is fiction's greatest spy
As a new exhibition in Oxford charts John le Carré’s legacy, Emma Hughes takes a closer look at his most enduring creation, George Smiley.
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How the spirit of Andy Warhol lives on through Christmas
Andy 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.
