Art and Antiques

My Favourite Painting: Peter Sheppard

Peter Sheppard, The Norfolk Churches Trust, chooses a Venice 'snapshot' that still captures the character of the city more than 500 years after it was painted.

My Favourite Painting: Finlay Scott

The philanthropist Finlay Scott chooses an unusual portrait of Whistler which captures some of the great man's spirit.

In Focus: John Croome, the 'mouse that roared' of the art world

Huon Mallalieu celebrates the bicentenary of John Croome, the enigmatic and oft-overlooked founder of the Norwich School of painting.

Cerne Abbas: Was the giant naked man an artistic act of defiance aimed at monks?

My favourite painting: Maria Balshaw

Tate Director Maria Balshaw picks a powerful work by Lubaina Himid, whose major solo exhibition will open at Tate Modern in November.

'Getting your portrait painted isn't much more than a vainglorious act of self-love; here's why I'm doing it anyway'

Our columnist Joe Gibbs has been sitting for a portrait, despite a few misgivings. Here's what he's learned.

My favourite painting: Mark Dowie

Mark Dowie of the RNLI makes an appropriately nautical choice: Cochrane’s Compensation by John Chancellor.

In Focus: Jemima Blackburn, the extraordinary artist of nature who became the real-life Jemima Puddle-Duck

Once regarded as a rival to Bewick and Audubon, but now largely forgotten, ornithological artist Jemima Blackburn (1823–1909) was a formative influence on the young Beatrix Potter. Ian Morton takes a closer look.

Jason Goodwin: The portrait of my mother I never knew existed, and how it came to me 62 years after it was painted

A chance encounter united our columnist Jason Goodwin with a portrait of his mother that he never knew existed.

In Focus: How David Hockney chronicled the first spring of Covid-19 with iPad art

Ahead of David Hockney’s forthcoming exhibition at the Royal Academy, Martin Gayford considers the octogenarian’s fresh and lyrical iPad evocations of spring in the French countryside.

My Favourite Painting: Lola Young

Baroness Lola Young chooses a picture by Sonia Boyce thats' 'about the invisibility of black women who neither had a place in feminism nor black liberation movements'.

My Favourite Painting: Quentin Blake

Quentin Blake chooses his favourite painting for Country Life.

In Focus: the fungi sculptures that bend stone into soft, flowing forms

They may look as delicate and organic as the real thing, but Ben Russell’s sculptures of fungi, cacti and roots will outlast us all, believes Natasha Goodfellow.

In Focus: The art of Ford Madox Brown

Known for his bold and thoughtful pictures, as well as a fondness for magenta, Ford Madox Brown was one of the most flamboyantly gifted Pre-Raphaelites, even if he was never a member of the sacred brotherhood.

My Favourite Painting: Simon Mayall

Retired army office Sir Simon Mayall explains his love of a 'vibrant tableau summons up the exotic allure of India'.

In Focus: How 21st century artists are reviving the art of the fresco

Once practised by Michelangelo, Raphael and da Vinci, the art of fresco creation has changed little in 1,000 years. Marsha O’Mahony meets the artists following in their footsteps.

My favourite painting: Skye McAlpine

The chef and writer Skye McAlpine chooses The San Zaccaria Altarpiece by Giovanni Bellini.

The secrets of the basket-maker: 'With a basket, you watch it grow before your very eyes'

Anna Stickland has woven a new career as a basket-maker; she spoke to Nick Hammond.

My Favourite Painting: Neil Mendoza

Lord Mendoza, provost of Oriel College, chooses 'The Painter and his Pug' by William Hogarth.

Why a good frame can be a work of art in its own right

Catriona Gray retraces the history of frames, admires the craftsmanship required to make them and discovers what's the best way to preserve them.