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My Favourite Painting: Alison Mitchell
'I was struck by the bold, vibrant colours and swirling shapes. It conveyed a sense of purpose and positivity to me at a time when I was feeling a little lost.'
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My Favourite Painting: Stephen Calloway
'I was then – and remain still – enchanted by the mysterious Arcadian landscape and by the enigma of those figures.'
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My Favourite Painting: Alexzandra Hildred
'The structure of the great ships and the depiction of the crew making a warship ready for sea are minutely and perfectly rendered. Add to that the detail regarding the working of the guns within the forts, and even Henry VIII himself, and you have a breathtaking document of 16th-century life.'
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My Favourite Painting: Thea Musgrave
‘Paintings, of course, exist in space, not in time – and yet they inspire motion, as well as emotion, in the beholder.'
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My Favourite Painting: James Graham-Stewart
‘Is it in the present or in the past? These plays on time and space keep the story alive. None of this would be especially interesting if it weren’t for the unsurpassed humanity that binds Velázquez’s virtuosity.'
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My Favourite Painting: Mike Leigh
The film director and writer chooses 'The Subway' by George Tooker, an artist who John McEwen describes as 'one of the most original and mysterious American painters of the 20th century'.
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My Favourite Painting: Barry Cryer
'Like all her work, it displays a ripe sense of humour, which is what attracted me to it. No pretension, just joyful observation.’
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My Favourite Painting: Mark Hix
Chef and cookery writer Marx Hix chooses a modern work by Bridget Riley, which he has owned for two decades.
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My Favourite Painting: The Archbishop of Wales
'The Christian faith is, for some, too idealistic or naïve, but for those who understand Strutt’s inspiration, the painting is a metaphor for the Kingdom of God.'
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My Favourite Painting: Michael Peppiatt
'I visited in January 1966 with a scrawled introduction from Francis Bacon, but felt too intimidated to knock on his door. Later, I learnt Giacometti had just died. This lost opportunity haunted me.'
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My Favourite Painting: Sir Peter Osborne
'There’s that extraordinary gaze of hers, how confident and proud – she was, after all, born a princess – but, at the same time, how alluring and seductive, her eyes following you as you walk past her.'
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My Favourite Painting: Tim Breitmeyer
The head of the CLA chooses a wintry scene by Vermeulen.
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My Favourite Painting: Rodney Peppé
The children's author on a key work by Georges Rouault which entranced him before he knew anything of its creator.
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My Favourite Painting: Cassandra Goud
'I love flowers and the idea of a huge basket of calla lilies being brought to me is my idea of heaven.'
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My Favourite Painting: Sir Nicholas Serota
'The subject looks back to Botticelli, Titian and Ingres and forward to Picasso’s Demoiselles, but the visceral power is closer to relief sculpture.'
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My Favourite Painting: Aileen Ribeiro
'Does Finale mean the last notes of the music or the end of an affair?'
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My Favourite Painting: Caro Howell
'There’s something tender and protective about the way the severed arm cradles the dismembered foot.'
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My Favourite Painting: Anya Hindmarch
'It’s such a fresh depiction of The Queen and deservedly has become iconic. To see an image of her with her eyes closed would once have been unheard of.'
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My Favourite Painting: Hilary McGrady
Hilary McGrady, director-general of the National Trust, chooses a painting she first encountered in childhood.
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My Favourite Painting: Johnnie Boden
Catalogue clothing entrepreneur Johnnie Boden chooses a fascinating still life.
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My favourite painting: Bamber Gascoigne
'The house is full of images of him. However, the story ends sadly – he died at the age of 11, in 1922.'
