Antiques & Collecting
Features on Britain's antiques market, what people are buying and why, and how to collect items of historical significance, from the experts at Country Life.
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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.
By Michael Prodger Published
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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.
By Jack Watkins Published
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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.
By Toby Keel Published
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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.
By Country Life Published
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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.
By Charlotte Mullins Published
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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.
By Amelia Thorpe Published
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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.
By Carla Passino Published
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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.
By Annunciata Elwes Published
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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.
By James Fisher Published
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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.
By Carla Passino Published
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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 .'
By Country Life Published
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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.
By Annunciata Elwes Published
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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'.
By Charlotte Mullins Published
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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.
By Annunciata Elwes Published
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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.
By Carla Passino Published
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Malvern CollegeBy Country Life Published
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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.
By Carla Passino Published
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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.
By Toby Keel Published
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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.
By Toby Keel Published
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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.
By Matthew Dennison Published
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My Favourite Painting: Joanna JensenThe Childs Farm founder on a 'bruiser' bull.
By Charlotte Mullins Published


