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Curious Questions: Why are there so few smiles in art?Centuries of portraits down the ages — and vanishingly few in which the subjects smile. Carla Passino delves into the reasons why, and discovers some fascinating answers.
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Full steam ahead: The art of railThe railway may have started its artistic life as a fire-breathing monster that devoured the countryside, but it soon became an emblem of advancing modernity, a cherished memento of the past and even, in the case of one station, the centre of the universe. Carlo Passino explains.
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The Titian masterpiece found in a plastic bag at a London bus stop has sold for £17.6 millionThe painting that secured Titian’s reputation as 'the greatest painter of the Venetian Renaissance' is going up for sale, 30 years after it was recovered in a carrier bag in the most unlikely of spots.
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'If you get 12 great photographs a year, you're doing well': Charlie Waite on the secrets of landscape photographyThe world-renowned landscape photographer Charlie Waite joins the Country Life Podcast.
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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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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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An exclusive chance for Country Life readers to see The George Farrow Collection before it goes under the hammerRoseberys London and Country Life invite readers to an exclusive preview of The George Farrow Collection, which is the subject of a major sale in June.
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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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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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150 years of the Impressionists, being celebrated in Paris and LondonIn 1874, a group of painters rejected by the official Paris Salon staged its own show and changed the course of art. It was France’s convulsed lurch into the modern era that helped spark the Impressionist revolution.
