Features
The wizard of a painter who created the world of Oz
As the creator of the backdrops for some of Hollywood’s most beloved films, George Gibson has a claim to being one of the most influential artists of his time
The man with the fantastic light machines
With his eccentric inventions, the mid-century artist Thomas Wilfred created a whole new genre of art that left its mark on the likes of James Turrell
Acquisitions of the month: October 2024
A massive bequest of Old Masters and a huge painting of a procession of giants are among the most important works to have entered museum collections recently
At the world’s northernmost medieval cathedral, religious art takes an agnostic turn
A collage series by Håkon Bleken in Nidaros Cathedral meditates on Christian imagery as well as the traumas of Norwegian history
‘As an image of victimhood, Cat in a Crate beats many a crucifixion’
Lucy Ellmann is troubled by an eerily realistic 19th-century painting of a cat behind bars
A new look for Japanese art at the MFA Boston
The museum holds the world’s largest collection of Japanese art outside Japan itself – and now has suitably meditative spaces to match
How Oxford became a pale shade of its former self
The replacement of Boswell’s department store with a luxury hotel is part of a beautification process that has gathered pace in recent years
When it comes to pudding or dessert, what’s in a name?
The language we use to describe the sweet course at the end of a meal is more revealing than we think
The plane crash that made it into a museum
Christian Boltanski’s installation at the Museo per la Memoria di Ustica is a stark tribute to the victims of an unsolved tragedy
The city of Linz is all about the future – but that wasn’t always the case
Given Hitler’s unrealised plans for a museum of looted art in Linz, the futuristic Ars Electronica festival is a triumph for the city, but there’s no room for complacence
How to be buried in style in ancient China
Ching-Ling Wang of the Rijkmuseum explains what we do and don’t know about a bronze Han-dynasty horse and its rider made as a burial offering
A fitting tribute to Dior
An imaginative exhibition in The Hague stresses how much the fashion house still owes to its founder
Inside the mysteries of Van Cleef and Arpels
The jeweller generally reveals precious little about its process, but Apollo gains access to the site in Paris where the magic happens
The French vineyard turning winemaking into a cottage industry
Château Smith Haut Lafitte is a vineyard sprinkled with the sensibility of an English country garden
How to make a new museum in Nigeria
The Museum of West African Art points to a new path for creating an institution from scratch and more imaginative ways of dealing with the colonial past
Making lunch for Lucian Freud
A regular haunt of artists, dealers and curators, Sally Clarke’s restaurant in Kensington has been a beacon of unfussy excellence for 40 years
Acquisitions of the month: September 2024
A 17th-century portrait of a bookseller from Lombardy and a breviary from the library of Charles V are among this month’s highlights
The slippery Surrealism of Pierre Roy
The French artist was largely ignored by his peers, but his uncanny painting of a snake is a masterpiece
How will Paris cope without the Pompidou Centre for five years?
The museum is set to close in 2025, leaving a hole in the city’s arts scene and adding to growing disquiet about its general direction
The warped aesthetics of Lynn Chadwick
The sculptor’s witty animal-like sculptures are dotted around the grounds of his house in the Cotswolds – and they feel right at home there
Frieze week highlights: two shamans and a sage of modern art
Plus: the subversive art of Kapwani Kiwanga, Georgie Hopton’s delightful prints and a brief history of drawing on blue paper
Frieze week highlights: a Japanese printmaking dynasty is feted in Dulwich
Plus: the Sikh Empire under Ranjit Singh, the trailblazing art of Lygia Clark and the serene ceramics of Magdalene Odundo
Frieze week highlights: Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum gets theatrical at the Barbican
Plus: the light sculptures of Anthony McCall, paintings by Frank Auerbach and his teacher David Bomberg, and Nordic nature scenes
Frieze week highlights: Tracey Emin puts on a visceral display of emotion
Plus: playful sculptures by Nairy Baghramian, revelatory paintings by Van Gogh, and the changing nature of beauty through the ages
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Seeing London through Frank Auerbach’s eyes