Art and Antiques

My favourite painting
: Andrew Carwood

Andrew Carwood, music director of St Paul's Cathedral, chooses a magnificent altarpiece.

In Focus: Walter Sickert, the artist who dragged Modern Art into Victorian Britain

Walter Sickert introduced Victorian Britain to Modern art, yet is best known for his drab-toned nudes on iron bedsteads. Mary Miers considers the career of an individualist who was both radical and charming.

My Favourite Painting: Mark Hedges

Mark Hedges, editor of Country Life magazine since 2006, chooses his own favourite painting for one of his magazine's best-loved regular slots.

My favourite painting: Gilane Tawadros

Writer and curator Gilane Tawadros chooses the harrowing Slave Ship by J. M. W. Turner.

In Focus: Alfred Munnings, the straight-talking, self-promoting artist who preached that art was 'to fill a man’s soul with admiration and sheer joy'

Pictures should ‘fill a man’s soul with admiration and sheer joy’, Sir Alfred Munnings famously said. Octavia Pollock charts his eventful life and argues that he perhaps does not receive the credit he deserves for the enjoyment his varied and vivid work has brought.

In Focus: Raphael the painter, draughtsman, architect, poet... and perhaps the ultimate Renaissance man

A brief life, a prolific output, an immortal legacy: the epitome of the Renaissance man, ‘the divine Raphael’ remains the paragon of perfection and aesthetic excellence, says Susan Jenkins.

My favourite painting: Tessa Hadley

In Focus: The magic carpet that flew at auction, and the enormous 31ft masterpiece showcasing 18th century fake news

A ‘polonaise’ carpet once owned by Rothschilds is one of the outstanding lots at Christie’s, as a distinguished auctioneer bows out. Huon Mallalieu reports.

My favourite painting: Rana Begum

Bangladeshi artist Rana Begum chooses Hand Inside by Ellie MacGarry.

In Focus: How the 'Tottering Hall' cartoonist became a sculptor

Best known as the creative force behind Dicky and Daffy, it was her son’s death that prompted Annie Tempest to learn ‘the grammar of the sculptor’s language’, discovers Ian Collins.

My favourite painting: Dr Frances Sands

Dr Frances Sands, curator of drawings and books at Sir John Soane’s Museum, chooses an extraordinary work from her own institution's archive.

In Focus: How Italy inspired JMW Turner

Mary Miers considers how the country that fascinated Turner from youth shaped his artistic vision.

My Favourite Painting: Paula Sutton

The author Paula Sutton chooses 'Portrait of Dido Elizabeth Belle' by David Martin.

My favourite painting: Orlando Rock

Orlando Rock, chairman of Christie's, chooses The Adoration of the Magi by Jacopo Bassano.

In Focus: The breathtaking nature photography of David Yarrow

Renowned British photographer David Yarrow has spent decades capturing some of the planet’s most endangered species in their natural habitats.

My favourite painting: Dr Kate Pretty

Dr Kate Pretty, founder of the Young Archaeologists' Club and former principal of Homerton College, Cambridge, chooses Gulf Women Prepare for War by Maggi Hambling.

In Focus: The fakes that became worth more than the originals — and how they made Meissen's name

My favourite painting: Dr Jean Wilson

Dr Jean Wilson, a specialist in the iconography and emotional history of English Renaissance funerary monuments, chooses Sir John Finch and Sir Thomas Baines by Carlo Doci.

In Focus: James McNeill Whistler, the American in London who 'flung a pot of paint in the public's face' and turned art upside down

Short and slight, monocle-wearing James McNeill Whistler was a dashing, combative character who sought parallels between music and painting, says Caroline Bugler.

My favourite painting: Tug Rice

New York based artist Tug Rice chooses St George and the Dragon by Leonhard Beck.