How a taped banana questioned the meaning of art
Credit: PA
No, it's not quite what we expected either, but Carla Passino's piece at the very end of last year kept people musing throughout 2020.
The story of the cottage featured in Constable’s The Hay Wain
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Kate Green took a look at the village of Flatford, which provided the inspiration for the classic depiction of rural life.
The incomparable photography of Helmut Newton
Toby Keel looked at a glittering career that blurred the lines between fashion, photography and art.
The forgotten masterpieces of Fabergé
Credit: Tessa Hallmann / Brighton and Hove Museum
A chance glimpse of purple and gold in a crowded cabinet led to an extraordinary discovery by Geoffrey Munn.
How the belt of a goddess revealed the true colours of the Parthenon marbles
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A mixture of research, original thought and a few gambles completely changed the academic community's perception of some of the world's greatest treasures, as Alexandra Fraser explained.
David Hockney's years-long mission to ‘photograph the unphotographable'
Lilias Wigan looked at an exhibition of the artist's mission to create art that captures the natural wonder that is the Grand Canyon.
How Spode went from local ceramics manufacturer to global fame and household name
Credit: Spode Museum Trust, Spode Society and Transferware Collectors Club
This year, Spode celebrated its 250th anniversary. Matthew Dennison told the story of how this English ceramics manufacturer, still based in the Potteries.
The scandalous child of Empire, the murderous photographer and the woman who fatally brought them together
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Eadweard Muybridge was not only the pioneering photographer of motion, but also a murderer. Jason Goodwin told the tale of the dashing rogue and adventurer who became his victim.
Piranesi, the architect, artist and engraver whose fantasy buildings won him 300 years of fame
In the 300th anniversary year of Piranesi’s birth, Huon Mallalieu celebrated the architectural fantasies of one of the most widely recognised names in 18th-century Italian art: Giovanni Battista Piranesi.
My Favourite Painting: Jenni Murray
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The journalist and broadcaster Jenni Murray talked about a painting that she described as 'the first illustration of #MeToo'.
In Focus: The wartime masterpieces of Alfred Munnings
Huon Mallalieu welcomes the opportunity to see a significant body of wartime paintings alongside other works by Munnings in his
The Tamar Valley AONB: Mines, otters and the ghost of a 'black widow' who roams the moors in a carriage of bones
Kate Green focuses on the Tamar Valley AONB.
In Focus: The Spanish painter whose visceral depictions of martyrdom still have the power to shock
The unflinching representations of brutality in Jusepe de Ribera's images of martyrdom is the focus of a new exhibition, the
In Focus: How the violin virtuoso Nicola Benedetti is changing the way we teach music
The violinist Nicola Benedetti speaks to Claire Jackson about virtual teaching, playing Elgar and lobbying the government.
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The greatest moment in the life of Jessie Owens: Country Life Quiz of the Day, June 13, 2025Breathtaking athleticism and Shakespeare's birthday are among the questions in the final quiz of the week.
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Merlins: Britain's smallest bird of prey is a 'swerving, zigzagging, 240mph weighted missile' that's gutsy enough to chase off a golden eagleSize doesn’t matter when it comes to the fighting spirit of the tiny merlin, a fierce parent and favoured hunting accessory of Mary, Queen of Scots.
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Ineos Grenadier: What price nostalgia?Ineos's Grenadier is a rugged off-roader with a simple job — to go anywhere. Its simplicity and singular purpose is the foundation of its success.
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This obscure and unloved picture that turned out to be Turner's first oil painting — and it's about to sell for 500 times what it last costJMW Turner's 'The Rising Squall, Hot Wells, from St Vincent’s Rock, Bristol' was lost and forgotten for years — but now it's been rediscovered, and is going under the hammer in July.
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Fields and fashion: why luxury loves the British countrysideFrom Perthshire to Paris, 'Anglomania' is taking over high fashion. Amie Elizabeth White tells us why
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What was Andy Warhol really like? The Newlands House Gallery exhibition shows the artist like never beforeThe exhibition, in Petworth, West Sussex, shows the many layers behind the artist's public persona.
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The world’s most iconic handbag could be on your arm40 years after its conception, the original Hermès ‘Birkin’ bag, owned by the OG It Girl Jane Birkin, is going up for auction with Sotheby’s on July 10.
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Sparkling diamonds: Nancy Astor and Ann Fleming’s jewellery is up for auctionAstor’s Cartier tiara will be sold by Bonhams, while the accessories of the wife of the James Bond author go up for auction with Dreweatts.
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'More of a family member than a car': 50 years of the Volkswagen PoloHalf a century? That’s a milestone for humans, never mind cars, so join us as we raise the bunting, stuff our faces with cake, and cheer for one of our favourite little memory makers.
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A five minute guide to the new V&A East Storehouse’s treasuresSamurai swords and 350,000 books are just some of the curios in the new Victoria & Albert storehouse in Stratford, London, which is now open to the public.
