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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.
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My favourite painting: Andrew Graham-Dixon'Lesson Number One: it’s the pictures that baffle and tantalise you that stay in the mind forever .'
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The art and life of Pattie Boyd, the woman in the centre of the love triangle between Eric Clapton and a Beatle, has come up for auctionPattie Boyd was the girlfriend of two of the great figures in rock music in the 1960s and 1970s — and Christie's are holding a sale of her memorabilia.
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My favourite painting: Sir Alistair SpaldingThe artistic director of Sadler's Wells chooses a painting created 'purely to aid reflection and contemplation'.
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Trafalgar Square celebrates 25 years of Fourth Plinth art — but is it time for a permanent piece?Seven shortlisted ideas for the next stint on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square are currently on display — but some say it is now time for a more permanent fixture.
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The art heist with a happy ending, 15 years laterIn a heist with a happy ending, a stolen Lavery oil made its way back to Stonyhurst College, Lancashire, where it now inspires headmaster John Browne, as Carla Passino discovers.
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'The most wonderful painting in existence', once sold for £30 and considered less valuable than its frame, is back in LondonFlaming June by Frederick, Lord Leighton, has seen its reputation rise, fall, and rise again in the 128 years since it first went on public display. Carla Passino charts its path.
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My Favourite Painting: Norman FosterThe great architect Norman Foster — aka Lord Foster of Thames Bank — chooses a Lowry given to him as a present by his wife.
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Bert Hardy: The photographer who chronicled mid-century Britain, from the Blitz to BlackpoolThe work of photographer Bert Hardy is celebrated in a new show at The Photographers’ Gallery in London.
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My Favourite Painting: Sir Karl JenkinsThe composer Sir Karl Jenkins chooses an Italian painting which came to him in to his life in fascinating circumstances.
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The ancient mapmakers who shaped the world as we still see it centuries laterThe desire to chart the world around us is an impulse as old as time and some map-makers’ efforts have an astonishing longevity, reveals Matthew Dennison.
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My Favourite Painting: Joanna JensenThe Childs Farm founder on a 'bruiser' bull.
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Miniature heroes: The tiny portraits that delight, amuse, and have changed the course of English historyOver the centuries, miniatures sealed marriages, captured stolen glances and — in one unforgettable instance — tipped the balance power in Tudor England. Huon Mallalieu delves into the history of these often small and always perfectly formed portraits.
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My Favourite Painting: Ashley CampbellThe actor Ashley Campbell on a work that 'explodes with vivid, almost graffiti-like strokes'.
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Andy Murray: My favourite paintingSir Andy Murray, the double Wimbledon champion, Olympic gold medallist and former world number one, chooses his favourite painting for Country Life.
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My favourite painting: Keith HalsteadKeith Halstead of the Royal Countryside Fund chooses a scenic image by Edward Seago.
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How to tie the only knots you'll ever needThe 'Surrey Six' is a collection of ways to tie rope that, for most people, are the only six knots you'll ever need. Agnes Stamp tries her hand at tying them, and looks in to the lore of knot tying.
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The most incredible drinks cabinet you'll ever see: 'Who wouldn't want to have a whisky out of a hippo?'Not just a bronze sculpture by a modern French master, but a bronze sculpture which opens to reveal a whisky bar. Carla Passino found out more from the art dealer who fell so hopelessly in love with the piece that he was desperate to buy it himself.
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My favourite painting: Melanie VandenbrouckMelanie Vandenbrouck, chief curator at Pallant House Gallery in Chichester, chooses a Jadé Fadojutimi image.
