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Amazon in the frame for a chunk of the Big Apple's art market; Middle March? More like Middle-earth...

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:51:40 +0100

Amazon appears to be entering the world of fine art. The global online retailer sent a round-robin email to gallerists in New York last week inviting them to a launch event for its Fine Art Gallery.

Arterial motive? Visitors to artist Andrei Molodkin's new show asked to contribute their own blood

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:47:36 +0100

It makes a change from warm white wine and waffle about the artist. Visitors to the opening night of Andrei Molodkin’s new show at Void Gallery in Derry last week were invited to give blood, and thus become part of his latest artwork.

Archaeologists uncover nearly 5,000 cave paintings in Burgos, Mexico

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:55:05 +0100

Nearly 5,000 ancient cave paintings have been discovered in Burgos, Mexico.

John Constable’s cathedral masterpiece saved for the nation after £23m Tate deal

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:04:43 +0100

One of the great masterpieces of British art will remain in Britain and be displayed in five galleries across the country after the Tate secured Constable’s Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows in a £23.1m deal.

Tacky or just plain weird? Gallery in Hamburg holds exhibition dedicated to bad taste

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:34:07 +0100

From jewel encrusted mobile phones to USB sticks shaped like human fingers, a new exhibition at a gallery in Hamburg is exposing crimes against design.

Ashmolean Museum acquires Millais portrait of John Ruskin which led to the end of his marriage to Effie Gray

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:59:51 +0100

A painting of John Ruskin which led to the end of the art critic's marriage has been acquired by the Ashmolean Museum.

Heavenly Bodies: Michael Landy's artistic marriage made in heaven... and hell

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:01:17 +0100

The master of destruction meets the martyrs of Faith.

Ai Weiwei unveils milk tin map of China in new protest piece against baby formula scandal

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:17:18 +0100

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has unveiled his latest work, a map of China made from baby formula tins, in response to fears surrounding milk safety in China.

I might have been on LSD, says artist Peter Doig, but I definitely didn’t paint THAT

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:44:17 +0100

By his own admission, Peter Doig led an unusual lifestyle when as a teenager he left home to wander the Canadian prairies. The Scottish-born artist and one of Europe’s most sought-after living painters worked with a gas drilling crew. He also occasionally took LSD.

Rankin honours parents with pictures of life before death

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:52:14 +0100

Rankin, the celebrated photographer, is on a mission to bring death to life in an exhibition inspired by the trauma he suffered after his parents died within weeks of each other.

Revealed: Eerie new images show forgotten French apartment that was abandoned at the outbreak of World War II and left untouched for 70 years

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:23:21 +0100

Eerie new images have emerged of a French apartment abandoned at the outbreak of World War II and left untouched in the seven decades since.

Auctions: The art of making a celebrity bidding war wildly lucrative

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Going, going, gone – to my billionaire best friend in the fifth row. It takes years to train as an auctioneer and a couple of decades on top to smooth one's salesroom patter and gavel-banging. If you're Leonardo DiCaprio, though, a few pals in high places are all you need. At an auction at Christie's New York on Monday, the actor raised $38.8m (£25.5m) for his Foundation, which works to protect endangered species and wildlife habitats.

Gerhard Richter painting sells for $37m setting new record for a work by a living artist

Wed, 15 May 2013 10:32:44 +0100

A 1968 oil painting by German artist Gerhard Richter sold for $37 million (£24 million) at Sotheby's contemporary art auction - a new record for a work by a living artist.

Leonardo DiCaprio's art auction raises $39m for environmental charities

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:43:16 +0100

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Christie's auction house raised $38.8 million (£25 million) through a charity art auction and donations with proceeds to benefit environmental and conservation causes.

Come and Holy See it: The Vatican sticks to a biblical theme for its first Venice Biennale

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:47:43 +0100

The Vatican is getting back into its centuries-old tradition of arts patronage with its first-ever exhibit at the Venice Biennale, commissioning a biblically inspired show about creation, destruction and renewal for one of the world's most prestigious contemporary arts festivals.

Britain's first female professional painter Mary Beale celebrated in radical Tate Britain rehang

Mon, 13 May 2013 15:49:27 +0100

Tate Britain has put on show two newly discovered works by Britain’s earliest professional female painter for the first time, as part of a radical rehang of its collection.

The £20,000 drinks were on Hirst – not that he remembered having forgotten where he left his Turner Prize winnings

Mon, 13 May 2013 07:50:49 +0100

Damien Hirst thought he had lost his £20,000 winnings from the Turner Prize when he couldn’t find the cheque on him the following morning – but it turned out he had put the whole lot behind the bar at a London members’ club, he revealed on Sunday.

Vinyl meets Victorian London to become Op Art

Fri, 10 May 2013 19:00:00 +0100

How do you turn an art school into a work of art? You call in the Swiss artist Felice Varini, give him a vast amount of weatherproof silver adhesive vinyl, and let him do his thing. And that's why the surfaces of the buildings at Central St Martins new campus at Granary Square, King's Cross, are glinting with a 542-metre- long artwork.

Ilana Halperin: The world as a game of stones

Fri, 10 May 2013 19:00:00 +0100

The noted American sculptor Ilana Halperin, who is based in Glasgow, dates her love of rocks back to a childhood spent "scrambling all over them" in Riverside Park in her native New York.

The hot spot of the Venice Biennale comes all the way from Peckham; Festivals suffer identity crisis

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:02:11 +0100

Forget the Giardini, the hippest hang-out at the Venice Biennale is likely to be Palazzo Peckham, a fringe event in an old shipyard five minutes walk away from the pavilions proper.

Piles of stolen Ai Weiwei sunflower seeds grow as Couriers of Taste exhibition idea succeeds

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:34:22 +0100

Back in February, the Arts Diary wrote about Couriers of Taste at Danson House in Bexleyheath. The curators were looking for anyone who had pocketed one of the millions of porcelain sunflower seeds that made up Ai Weiwei’s artwork at Tate Modern in 2010 to lend them their souvenirs for the show.

Unknown portrait of Elizabeth I uncovered in house clearance acquired by National Portrait Gallery

Wed, 08 May 2013 14:24:10 +0100

A previously unknown postcard-size painting of Elizabeth I which turned up in a house clearance sale has been attributed to famous miniaturist Isaac Oliver and acquired by the National Portrait Gallery.

Sir Robert Walpole's 'magnificent' art collection to return home to Britain - temporarily

Tue, 07 May 2013 18:50:24 +0100

A “magnificent” art collection built up by Britain's first Prime Minister that was later sold to Catherine the Great of Russia is to return home, temporarily, for the first time in over 230 years.

Portrait of 'relaxed' Oscar Pistorius without running blades goes on show in new exhibition

Mon, 06 May 2013 15:47:30 +0100

A portrait of Oscar Pistorius is among 200 paintings to go on show at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in London this week.

Dutch masterpiece stolen by Nazis could fetch $2m at New York auction

Fri, 03 May 2013 13:05:15 +0100

A 17th century Dutch masterpiece that once graced the collections of Catherine the Great's art adviser and Russia's Hermitage Museum before being seized by the Nazis could fetch more than $2 million at auction, Christie's said on Friday.

Artist Dan Llywelyn Hall defends his 'Spitting Image' portrait of the Queen against critics

Fri, 03 May 2013 12:51:44 +0100

The artist whose portrait of the Queen has been criticised as looking like a Spitting Image puppet has defended his work, saying he "wouldn't change a thing".

How Warhol become one of the undead who haunts the ark market; and Brighton hosts Kate Bush ambush

Thu, 02 May 2013 09:42:19 +0100

Where does art go to die? Frieze New York, apparently.

A homage to Kaspar the friendly cat checks in at the Savoy's new eatery

Thu, 02 May 2013 09:32:32 +0100

It’s a tough job but someone has to do it. For the last six weeks, artist Jonty Hurwitz has been living at The Savoy as he creates a new artwork for Kaspar’s, the hotel’s new seafood bar and grill, which opens next week.

Historical hipsters: Shakespeare and Elizabeth I get makeovers from modern artists

Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:23 +0100

Shakespeare is an east London hipster; Horatio Nelson a chubby, desk-bound admiral with a prosthetic arm and Henry VIII is now a Cuban-heeled lothario: several of the world’s most historic figures have been given a 21st century make-over via a new art project.

Van Gogh Museum reopens in Amsterdam after seven month renovation

Wed, 01 May 2013 18:01:15 +0100

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has reopened after a seven-month renovation.

'Expressionist' painting of the Queen unveiled in Wales

Wed, 01 May 2013 17:36:38 +0100

A new "expressionist-style" portrait of the Queen commissioned by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) to mark the 60th anniversary of the Coronation has been unveiled.

Can 'mystery woman' in Stephen Ward sketch shed light on Profumo affair?

Wed, 01 May 2013 15:44:32 +0100

She has dark eyes, full lips and short hair in one of the favourite styles of London in the "swinging 60s" but who is she?

Controversy and a cock-up on Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 18:16:46 +0100

Plans to install a giant blue cockerel in Trafalgar Square are being opposed by a conservation group headed by one of the country’s most senior judges.

'World's largest jigsaw' collapses into 40,000 pieces days before it was due to go on show at Sandringham

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:37:30 +0100

A 40 thousand piece jigsaw commemorating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee crashed to the floor and broke leaving its assembler, who had spent more than 200 hours putting it together, heartbroken just days before it was due to go on display at Sandringham.

British Museum to display largest Viking ship ever discovered following £135m building revamp

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:38:28 +0100

Senior figures at the British Museum will next year realise a dream when they display the largest Viking ship ever discovered as part of a major new blockbuster exhibition.

Side Effects director Steven Soderbergh publishes novella over Twitter

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:05:26 +0100

The filmmaker Steven Soderbergh appears to be writing a novella composed entirely of tweets.

Qatar returns statues to Greece after row over nudity

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:36:28 +0100

A museum exhibition in Doha that was billed as a “bridge of friendship” between Qatar and Greece has instead become the centre of a bizarre row over two nude statues.

Rolf Harris turns to art after sex abuse arrest

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:44:57 +0100

Entertainer Rolf Harris has turned to his passion for art to deal with the trauma of being accused of sex abuse, his wife revealed.

Portraits of survivors of Norway’s Utoeya massacre take top Sony prize

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 23:17:18 +0100

Portraits of survivors of Norway’s Utoeya massacre took the overall winner prize at the 2013 Sony World Photography Awards.

Black paint smeared over art gallery displaying Rolf Harris paintings

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:10:35 +0100

Police are probing reports of threats to a Devon art gallery after black paint was smeared across its shop windows apparently to obscure paintings by Rolf Harris. The Australian-born artist and television entertainer was recently named as one of 12 men held by officers investigating the Jimmy Savile scandal.

David Shrigley’s fine line between art and fun nominated for Turner Prize

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 09:45:39 +0100

Some people think David Shrigley’s artwork isn’t serious enough to be, well, taken seriously. Yet the artist, noted for the humour that runs through his comical line drawings, may have the last laugh after being nominated for the Turner Prize.

Kate celebrates 'incredibly special' work of charity The Art Room

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 09:29:28 +0100

The Duchess of Cambridge has spoken of the power of art to change people's lives in a speech to celebrate the work of one of her charities.

Bouncy-castle style Stonehenge on display in international inflatable exhibition

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:30:39 +0100

A life-size inflatable replica of famous British landmark Stonehenge has gone on display in Hong Kong as part of an inflatable exhibition.

Unseen photographs of Andy Warhol go on show for the first time

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:06:03 +0100

Previously unseen photographs of Andy Warhol, which lay forgotten in a filing cabinet for 30 years, are to go on show for the first time in London and New York.

Culture secretary Maria Miller to make 'economic case' to stave off further arts cuts

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 08:54:45 +0100

Culture secretary Maria Miller is to call on arts organisations for support as she seeks to make the “economic case” for the sector; a move designed to head off further funding cuts.

Tributes paid to Storm Thorgerson, a cantankerous album artwork 'revolutionary'

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 16:33:59 +0100

Storm Thorgerson was cantankerous, couldn’t draw and wasn’t a great photographer. But his album artwork for Pink Floyd, described yesterday as “revolutionary”, has become part of our cultural wallpaper.

Tate to stage major exhibitions by Matisse, Turner and Mondrian

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:03:49 +0100

Major exhibitions by Matisse, Turner and Mondrian will be among the highlights of next year's shows at the Tate galleries.

Storm Thorgerson, the man behind Dark Side of the Moon cover art, dies aged 69

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 08:54:52 +0100

Storm Thorgerson, the artist and designer of some of the most distinguished album covers in history, has died. He was 69.

From Roxy Music to the cure? Brian Eno composes soundscapes to treat hospital patients

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:00:34 +0100

He is a multi-media innovator, an app-creating visual sculptor and the intellectual guru to rock legends seeking inspiration.

The design 'Oscars': Gov.uk website beats the Olympic Cauldron and the Shard to top award

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 20:30:00 +0100

Dubbed the "Oscars" of design, the Designs of the Year awards pitched 99 of the most imaginative creations of 2013 against each other. The leading contenders included Thomas Heatherwick's Olympic Cauldron, the Shard skyscraper, a Louis Vuitton collection designed by artist Yayoi Kusama, and a group that has literally reinvented the wheel.

Sexuality and religion 'not off-limits' at Abu Dhabi Louvre

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:03:17 +0100

The curator of the Abu Dhabi branch of the Louvre says no artistic subjects are off limits as the museum builds its collection for the planned 2015 opening.

Artist Anthony McCall's Olympic 'Column' for Merseyside scrapped wasting £500,000 Arts Council England cash

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:56:40 +0100

One of the UK’s most ambitious arts projects which was meant to form a centrepiece of the nation’s Olympic year celebrations was scrapped after organisers admitted it would never come in on budget or on time.

Britain’s favourite Picasso heads to Qatar after failure to raise £50m

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 20:50:23 +0100

One of the best-loved works by Pablo Picasso on display in Britain is set to leave the country next month with Qatar its likely destination. Experts have expressed dismay that Child with a Dove could not be saved for the nation, suggesting steps to increase philanthropy “may not be enough”.

Pablo Picasso's Child with a Dove to leave Britain after 90 years

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 16:58:47 +0100

One of the best loved works by Pablo Picasso on display in Britain is set to leave the country next month with Qatar its likely destination. Yet experts are dismayed that Child with a Dove could not be saved for the nation, suggesting steps to increase philanthropy “may not be enough”.

$1bn gift of cubist art to transform New York's Met

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 19:50:11 +0100

Privileged residents of New York City – and the tourists who besiege it – will soon have a significant new present to unwrap, namely a billion-dollar trove of paintings from the Cubist era donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art by the cosmetics heir and heavy-weight philanthropist Leonard A Lauder.

In honour of World Parkinson's Day: Digital portraits of the disorder

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 18:50:24 +0100

An artist who specialises in digital painting is exhibiting portraits of people whose lives are touched by Parkinson’s disease at a crucial stage in the search for a cure.

Painter Bacon's portrait of lover Peter Lacy to be auctioned in New York

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 13:17:59 +0100

A 1962 painting by artist Francis Bacon of his lover Peter Lacy is expected to sell for as much as $40 million when it is auctioned in New York next month, Sotheby's said on Monday.

Dame Maggie Smith (reluctantly) agrees to have her portrait painted

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 11:51:18 +0100

A portrait of veteran actress Dame Maggie Smith has gone on display at the National Portrait Gallery today.

Colour of money: Damien Hirst catalogue divides art dealers

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 17:07:39 +0100

Damien Hirst’s spot paintings have been reviled and praised in equal measure. While many are left baffled by the huge sums they command, one mystery is set to be cleared up: quite how many are out there.

From Kate's smiling eyebrows to Harry Styles' staring chin: The topsy turvy faces of celebrity

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 00:00:46 +0100

The artist Darren Coffield has subverted some of the most recognisable faces in the worth by turning their faces topsy turvy.

Tate removes more than 30 Graham Ovenden works from collection after child sex conviction

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:36:21 +0100

The Tate has removed more than 30 prints by the artist Graham Ovenden from its online collection and will not show any of his works at its galleries following his conviction for a string of child sex offences.

Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum to reopen after €375 million revamp with Rembrandt pride of place

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 09:19:54 +0100

The Rijksmuseum, the National Museum of the Netherlands, is finally set to reopen to the public, with Rembrandt van Rijn's masterpiece "The Night Watch" reclaiming its place of pride.

'Russian Banksy' Pasha P183 dies aged 29

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 09:13:17 +0100

A prominent Russian graffiti artist who hid his identity behind the tag Pasha P183 and has been compared to Britain's Banksy has died aged just 29.

Finalists for Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year 2013 announced

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 19:45:55 +0100

The ten museums in the running for the UK’s largest arts prize, the £100,000 Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year, have been unveiled. Large institutions such as the Baltic, Gateshead will vie for the prize against smaller ones such as the William Morris Gallery, London and The Beaney, Canterbury.

Artist Graham Ovenden found guilty on four counts of indecency with a child

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:17:13 +0100

An internationally renowned artist from Cornwall has been found guilty of a string of sex offences against children.

Paint by numbers: buying art adds up for anxious investors

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 20:45:00 +0000

One night last November, just hours after $240bn (£158bn) had been wiped off the US stock market, the New York branch of auction house Christie's held a record-breaking sale.

TV talent hunt launched to find portraitist for Hilary Mantel

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 14:04:30 +0000

Comic Frank Skinner is to lead a TV talent hunt to find an artist who will be asked to create a portrait of double Booker Prize-winner Hilary Mantel.

National Funding Scheme: Art galleries encourage philanthropy at the click of an app

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 16:04:22 +0000

Museums, galleries and theatres across Britain hope to play on “emotionally charged” culture lovers and persuade them to support exhibits and performances with a touch of a button on their mobile phone.

Famous art-covered section of the Berlin Wall removed to make way for building project

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 15:51:28 +0000

Work crews backed by about 250 police removed parts of the Berlin Wall known as the East Side Gallery before dawn today to make way for an upscale building project, despite demands by protesters that the site be preserved.

Sold for $155m to American hedge fund manager Steven A. Cohen: Picasso that was worth $16m less before it got ripped

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 19:12:51 +0000

Steve Wynn’s failure to tell his art from his elbow seven years ago left a six-inch tear in a Picasso masterpiece he owned- and derailed its sale for $139m.

Beauty vs poverty: Haitian slums get psychedelic make-over in honour of artist Prefete Duffaut's 'cities in the sky'

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 08:54:52 +0000

One of Haiti's biggest shantytowns, a vast expanse of grim cinderblock homes on a mountainside in the nation's capital, is getting a psychedelic makeover that aims to be part art and part homage.

Sleeping beauty: Tilda Swinton beds down in the name of art (again)

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 23:44:48 +0000

Tilda Swinton, arthouse film doyenne, blockbuster actress and sometime conceptual artist, has reprised her art exhibit The Maybe for the first time in almost two decades.

Art enthusiasts brave the snow for 'secret' sale

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Snow fell steadily on to the shoulders of a scruffy queue of people outside the Dyson building in Battersea, south London, at 9am. They muttered anxiously among themselves and clasped cups of coffee to warm their hands.

Artist accused of paedophilia says 'no shame' in nude portraits of children, court hears

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:25:07 +0000

An internationally acclaimed artist living in Cornwall who is accused of being a paedophile has told a court of the "witch-hunt" surrounding those whose works involve nude children.

Munich gets its very own Fourth Plinth (and you can live in it)

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:26:43 +0000

Munich is to have its own Fourth Plinth. In a project commissioned by the maverick artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset, a replica of Trafalgar Square’s spare pedestal has landed on Munich’s historic central Wittelsbacherplatz.

The Chinese Girl 'coming home' to South Africa

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 10:07:57 +0000

Bonhams auction house says Vladimir Tretchikoff's iconic Chinese Girl painting is coming home to South Africa after some 60 years in a private Chicago home.

Will David Bowie attend his best-selling show? Curators try to entice the Thin White Duke to the seat with the clearest view

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 16:32:09 +0000

David Bowie has already broken records for the V&A and the major retrospective of his career has not even opened yet. Whether the man himself will attend remains a mystery, and today the curators begged the media to help entice the Thin White Duke to the exhibition about him.

The Chinese Girl sells for nearly £1 million

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:54:14 +0000

The original painting of the Chinese Girl, thought to be the most reproduced print in the world, was sold for nearly £1 million today.

Post mortem on David Hockney's assistant found 'no obvious natural causes' of death

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 14:31:52 +0000

A post mortem found "no obvious natural causes" for the death of British artist David Hockney's assistant, who died after falling ill at the painter's home, police said today.

David Bowie exhibition V&A's fastest-selling event with 47,000 pre-sales

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 10:09:21 +0000

An exhibition celebrating David Bowie's career has become the Victoria & Albert Museum's fastest-selling event.

Tate's Alex Beard gets top job at Royal Opera House

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 10:06:40 +0000

Deputy director of the Tate Alex Beard has been appointed to the top role at the Royal Opera House.

Harry Hill unveils Gromit sculpture in Bristol

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 09:48:32 +0000

Comedian Harry Hill unveiled his giant sculpture of Gromit in Bristol - the popular plasticine dog from the animated series.

Could shock death of David Hockney's friend and studio assistant Dominic Elliott cause Bridlington's most famous resident to end domestic exile in Yorkshire?

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 18:15:01 +0000

Perched on the edge of a residential street overlooking Bridlington Bay, the sturdy red brick house looks more like the retirement resting place of a successful bank manager from Leeds than the home of Britain’s greatest living artist.

Parody in blue: iconic kitsch painting set to fetch £500,000 at auction

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 22:24:33 +0000

The cabaret singer Tricity Vogue dressed as the "blue lady", a character inspired by the painting Chinese Girl by artist Vladimir Tretchikoff, poses next to the work at Bonhams auction house in London yesterday, ahead of the painting's sale.

Incandescent: artist Philip Vaughan’s fury after Hayward Gallery switches off his Neon Tower light sculpture

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 19:50:52 +0000

The artist behind one of London’s landmark sculptures has launched a blistering attack on the director of the Hayward Gallery – accusing him of allowing the work to be destroyed.

David Hockney 'in shock' following death of friend and studio assistant Dominic Elliott

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 17:35:23 +0000

David Hockney was said to be in a “state of shock” last night following the unexplained death of his close friend and studio assistant.

Rembrandt painting in Devon abbey long thought to be pupil's work is £20m a self-portrait

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

For three years, visitors to Buckland Abbey in Devon would have barely glanced twice at a portrait of Rembrandt hanging on the walls, believing it to be the work of one of the Dutch master's pupils.

Science as art: Photography competition brings the two disciplines together

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 00:00:15 +0000

Albert Einstein's claim that “The greatest scientists are artists as well,” is illustrated by some of the contenders for a photography competition at Cambridge University on Tuesday.

'Chinese Girl': The Mona Lisa of kitsch

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

With her copper green face and unfinished background, The Chinese Girl was never an obvious masterpiece. But cheap copies of this obscure portrait by a Russian artist were once so popular that it became one of the best-selling prints of all time.

360 degrees of cute? Dog portraitist William Wegman creates his first animated Gif

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 15:58:45 +0000

The artist William Wegman, best known for his arresting portraits of dogs, has created his first animated Gif. The subject-matter? An adorable puppy in a bowl.

Edinburgh International Festival 2013 celebrates old and new

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 12:38:46 +0000

Arts lovers can hear Beethoven in a spaceship and see Leonardo da Vinci take centre stage with modern technology at this year's Edinburgh International Festival.

British visitor attractions swerved 'Olympic drag' but cold weather has taken its toll

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 00:00:49 +0000

UK’s leading attractions managed to shrug off the feared “Olympic drag” on visitor numbers last year, but for those with outdoor spaces it was the freezing weather conditions that took their toll.

Old dog learns new tricks: George W Bush turns his hand to painting pets

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 00:00:16 +0000

George W Bush has taken up an unlikely hobby for a former US president: painting portraits of his dogs.

Turner Prize-winner Simon Starling takes a 'ghost train' ride around Tate Britain

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 13:42:55 +0000

Turner Prize winner Simon Starling has taken a “ghost train” ride around Tate Britain’s past exhibits in a new film work that even has a little Harry Potter magic sprinkled over it.

Much-loved Picasso to leave UK for ever

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

One of the most recognised and loved pictures in all modern art is likely to disappear from public view in Britain for ever, when Picasso's Child with a Dove heads overseas to its new private owner.

It's time to come clean, culture vultures - how many classics have you not seen, heard, or read?

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 00:02:28 +0000

When two or more culture vultures get together, the conversation will naturally be about what they have read, seen or heard recently; the books, shows concerts and albums that have really made an impression.

A far from faultless royal appointment in The Audience, but Helen Mirren is still majestic

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 00:01:43 +0000

Reading one of the reviews of Helen Mirren's performance in The Audience, Peter Morgan's tableau vivant about the relationship between the Queen and some of the 12 Prime Ministers who have come and gone during her reign, I was particularly struck by one word – "faultless". It seemed an odd word to use, not because Mirren wasn't good in the role, but because faultless was precisely what she wasn't. Possibly the critic in question didn't go on the same night as I did. But if he did then this looked like an interesting example of regal aura. Because what was notable on the first night was that Mirren was still a bit rocky on some of her lines. There were a few uncharacteristic stumbles, the odd moment when there was a little rattle to the rhythm as she struggled not to derail entirely.