'As long as autumn lasts, I shall not have hands, canvas and colours enough to paint the beautiful things I see,’ wrote Vincent van Gogh to his brother, Theo, on September 26, 1888. That year, he filled his canvases with bursts of gold and orange streaked with green, standing against crisp blue skies festooned with passing clouds. As the last hooray of Nature before the end of the year, a time of browning fields and flaming leaves, fat rosehips and juicy berries, autumn has never failed to inspire artists. John Constable sang of the browning foliage and leaden skies of his beloved East Bergholt in Suffolk, Claude Monet of the resplendent reflection of the trees on the Seine at Argenteuil, just outside Paris in France, and the greatest poet of autumn among them all, Samuel Palmer, made his views of the Darent Valley, Kent, a gilded explosion of russet, tangerine and coral.
It’s only fitting, then, that this season sees a cornucopia of fairs and exhibitions. There is much for collectors of all kinds to look forward to in the coming weeks. London alone hosts PAD, a triumph of 20th-century and contemporary design; Frieze, always worth a visit, as much for the imaginative fashion of the art crowd as for the thought-provoking, sometimes shocking, but never boring works; Frieze Masters, for 16th-century Flemish and other greats, jaw-dropping antiquities and rare books; the Affordable Art Fair, for everything from contemporary British to indigenous Australian artists; or the antique clocks, glistering silverware, glorious furniture and paintings at LAPADA.
Not to be outdone, museums and galleries vie for attention with, among others, the glittering glamour of Marie Antoinette’s diamond-encrusted style (at the V&A Museum), Cecil Beaton’s soul-capturing photography (at the National Portrait Gallery), Picasso on either side of the Irish Sea (at Tate Modern and the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin) and, at the Wiltshire Museum in Devizes, an ingenious show that celebrates the county’s landscape and ancient history through the work of artists such as Henry Moore, Paul Nash and Norman Ackroyd.
Nevertheless, leave time, this month, to head outdoors. The happy spells of very warm, sunny weather in the summer, miraculously punctuated by enough rain to prevent an early drop en masse, promise some of the best foliage in years, a thrilling spectacle where bronze oaks, blazing Japanese maples and rich yellow beeches soar above the ground in a giant mosaic of bejewelled colours. Who knows, you may even have your very own van Gogh moment: ‘I have a terrifying lucidity at times when Nature is so beautiful these days, and then I am not conscious of myself any more…’
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Raising the steaks: Which native animal produces the best beef?We tasked eight gourmands — including food writer Tom Parker Bowles and chef Jackson Boxer — to find out which native British cow produces the best côte de boeuf.
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Ella Fitzgerald's Cote d'Azur suite is now a magnificent apartment in the Art Deco hotel where Churchill, Coco Chanel and Hemingway once lived the high lifeIt's almost 50 years since the iconic Hotel Le Provençal in Cap d'Antibes closed its doors, but it's now been transformed into a wonderful Riviera residence. Anna White looks inside.
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These boots were made for walking (up Mount Everest, 101 years ago): How identical twin brothers plan to test George Mallory's shoes against modern-day mountaineering kitShoemaker Crockett & Jones has crafted a replica pair of George Mallory's boots for one half of The Turner Twins to wear in the high-altitude Himalayas.
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‘Sex, Money, Race, Religion’: Unlikely pair Philharmonia Orchestra and Gilbert & George collaborate on one-off concertThe artist duo once declared music to be ‘the enemy’, but this hasn’t stopped them from teaming up at the Royal Festival Hall for the orchestra’s 80th anniversary.
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Sophia Money-Coutts: 'Strictly Come Dancing' is back and I hate it. Do I have to pretend otherwise for the next three months?Spoiler alert: Yes, you do have to pretend to like it.
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'Nowadays, little separates the literati from the glitterati': Britain's literary festivals are this season's hot ticketsBritain is synonymous with the literary festival, says Will Hosie, and they are only growing in popularity.
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The origins of the Oxford shoe and why it will never go out of style‘Oxfords, not brogues’ are words to live by, but what do they actually mean?
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Hollywood star Audrey Hepburn, whose early career was formed in London, is to be honoured with a prestigious Blue PlaqueThe 'Breakfast at Tiffany’s' star’s time in the capital will be celebrated with a plaque in Mayfair on the walls of her former home, and a film screening.
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'There were no fireworks. The art world remained unshaken. Then, this April, a letter arrived... to see it hanging in Tate will be very special': Art dealer John Martin on the piece he'd never part withA chance encounter with a huge, shimmering panel led art dealer John Martin to discover Nigerian sculptor Asiru Olatunde, a man who also owed his artistic career to an accidental find, as Carla Passino learns.
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'It’s always been more about the things than the money': The family crafting silk for Strictly, Highgrove, the House of Commons and Westminster AbbeyFor half a century, Beckford Silk has been supplying remarkable textiles since 1975. Ben Lerwill discovers what makes its wares materially different
