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My Favourite Painting: Rob HouchenThe actor Rob Houchen chooses a bold and challenging Egon Schiele work.
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Succession planning for plants? The organisation saving our National CollectionsCharles Quest-Ritson is full of praise for an organisation dedicated to keeping alive Britain's widespread national plant collections.
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Tanks, tulips and taxidermy: The strange lives of Britain's most eccentric collectorsFive collectors of unusual things, from taxidermy to tanks, tulips to teddies, explain their passions to Country Life. Interviews by Agnes Stamp, Tiffany Daneff, Kate Green and Octavia Pollock. Photographs by Millie Pilkington, Mark Williamson and Richard Cannon.
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One of the cleverest pictures ever made, and how it was inspired by one of the cleverest art books ever writtenThe rules of perspective in art were poorly understood until an 18th century draughtsman made them simple. Carla Passino tells the story of Joshua Kirby.
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Six things to know about the Royal Academy's Summer ExhibitionThe 2024 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition is here. Country Life's Arts and Antiques Editor Carla Passino shares some trivia and tips for how to get the most out of it.
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Bridesmaid's dress from Queen Elizabeth II's up for auction at Christie'sThe dress, designed by Sir Norman Hartnell, was commissioned by the Queen Mother and was once worn by Kate Moss.
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The circus performer who literally gritted her teeth to earn success and fame — and inspired one of the great Impressionist paintings of the 1880sWhen Miss La La hoisted herself to the top of the circus tent by a rope clenched in her jaws, she dazzled not only crowds across France and Britain, but also Edgar Degas. Carla Passino tells the story of the artiste — and the artist.
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Country Life 5 June 2024Country Life 5 June 2024 goes on a British wildlife safari, looks ahead to the King's birthday parade, and meets the eccentrics who collect everything from taxidermy to tanks.
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Curious Questions: What happened to saucy seaside postcards?Saucy seaside postcards were once a mainstay of British life over the summer, but these days they're rarely seen. Martin Fone asks why, and discovers the history of artists such as Donald McGill who turned wry, naughty humour into a huge industry.
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How a 20-year-old Leonora Carrington told off one of Surrealism's leading lights, and embarked on a career which has just seen her masterpiece go for $22 millionA densely-packed masterpiece by the brilliant Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington has just set a record at auction. We take a look at the life and emergence of the feisty young Lancastrian behind the $22 million sale of 'Les Distractions de Dagobert.
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The English climate destroyed almost all our medieval church paintings — but not these onesWinged creatures, robed figures and celestial bodies are under threat in a rural church. Jo Caird speaks to the conservators working to save northern Europe’s most complete Romanesque wall paintings.
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Michael Prodger: How Britain’s landscapes have inspired painters across the centuriesConstable thought of his beloved Stour valley as his mistress, Samuel Palmer saw the Darent valley as a soft, pillowy realm where corn is always ripe. Michael Prodger reveals how Britain’s landscapes have inspired painters across the centuries.
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A century of Royal Photography is going on show at Buckingham Palace, from Cecil Beaton to Annie LeibovitzThe Royal Collection Trust's summer exhibition at Buckingham Palace brings together some of the most wonderful royal portraits ever taken. Jack Watkins takes a look.
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The chair of the National Gallery names his favourite from among the 2,300 masterpieces — and it will come as a bit of a shockAs the National Gallery turns 200, the chair of its board of trustees, John Booth, chooses his favourite painting.
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Caravaggio: The brutal life and early death of the sinner who painted saintsAlthough named after an angel, Caravaggio needed no stronger reason to brawl than having his artichokes dressed with butter instead of olive oil. Maev Kennedy delves into his short and brutal life.
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'A wonderful reminder of what the countryside could and should be': The 200-year-old watercolour of a world fast disappearingChristopher Price of the Rare Breed Survival Trust on the bucolic beauty of The Magic Apple Tree by Samuel Palmer, which he nominates as his favourite painting.
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Upon reflection: How to buy an antique mirrorAmelia Thorpe speaks to the experts from the world of antique mirrors to provide the best advice on brightening up a room.
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From smashed glass to smashing teas: The restoration of a 300-year-old glass-roofed teahouse full of historic camelliasThe Georgian teahouse at Wentworth Woodhouse has undergone a multi-million pound restoration which has saved the centuries-old camellias which grow within.
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Paper houses: The Somerset artists turning books into model country homesEach of us has treasured memories of our home, past or present. Catriona Gray meets artist Ele Grafton, who captures these individual stories using vintage books and documents.
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John Le Carré's jukebox, furniture and effects head to auctionThe contents sale of Tregiffian in Cornwall will give buyers the chance to own the writing desk, and other items, of the late great master of spy fiction.
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Six of the best sculpture parks to visit around BritainA landscape full of sculpture is always a great experience; Carla Passino picks out some of the most extraordinary sculpture parks in Britain.
