Country Life's top 10 arts stories of 2024
From the artist killed on his first day in the war to a masterpiece once sold for £30, these were our most popular arts stories of 2024.

The tragic tale of the artist whose time at the Front Line lasted less than 24 hours
Rex Whistler's fate touched a chord, somehow saying everything about the senseless waste of life and potential of war.
'The most wonderful painting in existence', once sold for £30 and considered less valuable than its frame
Flaming 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 charted its path.
My Favourite Painting: Jeremy Clarkson
The motoring writer and TV presenter chose a classic Turner image painted in the early years of steam trains.
A few of my favourite things: Matthew Goode
The Downton Abbey actor shared his guilty pleasures — including his true connoisseur's choice of golf clubs.
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
Curious Questions: When — and why — did we stop wearing hats?
Curious Questions: Who created the 'Your Country Needs YOU' poster?
The story behind Lord Kitchener's imposing — and genuinely iconic — image.
150 years of the Impressionists, being celebrated in Paris and London
In 1874, a group of painters rejected by the official Paris Salon staged its own show and changed the course of art.
When Christian Dior came to Scotland: 'I was even more struck by the beauty of the country, the castles, and the moors, than I had expected'
‘I lingered a little in Scotland,’ wrote Christian Dior in his 1956 memoir, Dior by Dior. ‘I had heard so much about its beauty that I had feared to be disappointed — on the contrary, I was even more struck by the beauty of the country, the castles, and the moors, than I had expected.’
The grand master 'paintings' that are actually the most exquisite floral photographs you'll ever see
Exquisite.
Bert Hardy: The photographer who chronicled mid-century Britain, from the Blitz to Blackpool
‘The ideal picture tells something of the essence of life. It sums up emotion, it holds the feeling of movement thereby implying the continuity of life.’ The words — the philosophy, really — of renowned photojournalist Bert Hardy, who catalogued life at home and abroad in a career that spanned four decades.
Credit: Charlie Waite
'If you get 12 great photographs a year, you're doing well': Charlie Waite on the secrets of landscape photography
The world-renowned landscape photographer Charlie Waite joins the Country Life Podcast.
Clive Nichols: Secrets from the king of garden photography
Britain's top garden photographer Clive Nichols joins the Country Life podcast.
Toby Keel is Country Life's Digital Director, and has been running the website and social media channels since 2016. A former sports journalist, he writes about property, cars, lifestyle, travel, nature.
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A one-of-a-kind waterfront estate with two private beaches is for sale on the same storied American island that Jackie Kennedy, the Obamas and Princess Diana have all visited
Beach Farm on Martha’s Vineyard — a favourite summertime holiday destination with prominent American families — is a perfect melding of New England and Scandinavian design styles.
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Snakes alive! Country Life Quiz of the Day, July 15, 2025
Napoleon's downfall and two of James Bond's most memorable villains in Tuesday's quiz.
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The teeny tiny car that you absolutely don’t need, but will absolutely want this summer — and it has an inbuilt shower
The Fiat Topolino has been reimagined by French swimwear brand Vilebrequin just in time for the summer holidays.
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Small engines, big batteries: The quiet revolution of car design
More and more cars on the road are electric, and some unusual shapes and sizes glide past silently. But what does it all mean for design?
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You can’t always rely on the Great British summer — but you can rely on its watches
British watchmakers have excelled themselves in recent months — releasing bright and beautiful timepieces that you'll want on your wrist through summer, and beyond.
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No strings attached: A brief history of swimwear, from heavy skirts of linen linked to women's drownings, to the skimpy two-piece named after a nuclear weapons site
From knee-length numbers to a scandalous suit denounced by the Pope, the colourful history of swimwear has been brought to life by a glamorous London exhibition.
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Downtown Abbey is about to finish forever, and you're about to get a chance to see — and to buy — the costumes from the show
Downton Abbey's exquisite costumes and props are going on show at a free exhibition ahead of a sale being held by Bonhams later this summer.
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‘One of the most effective pieces of propaganda ever made’: the Bayeux Tapestry heads to Britain for the first time in almost a millennium
A historic agreement between this country and France sees the 225ft-long tableau — which may have been made in Britain but has been in France since 1077 — arrive at the British Museum in Autumn 2026.
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‘They remain, really, the property of all of those who love them, know them, and tell them. They are our stories, the inheritance of the people of Scotland’: The Anthology of Scottish Folk Tales
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Canine muses: Lucian Freud's etchings of Pluto the whippet are among his most popular and expensive work
In the third edition of our limited series, we meet the dogs who've inspired some of our greatest artists.