Features

The Mass at Dordrecht (c. 1650), Aelbert Cuyp. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Art anniversaries to look out for in 2020

From Renaissance painting to Romantic poetry – expect celebrations of Raphael, Piranesi, Wordsworth and more

2 Jan 2020
Within Reach (detail; 2019), Jordan Casteel.

The politics of pregnancy and the future of painting – contemporary art highlights in 2020

Highlights in the year ahead include a spate of shows around the theme of maternity and a survey of recent figurative painting

1 Jan 2020
Michael Clark & Company, I Am Curious, Orange (1988).

Time and motion study – the year ahead in dance

US audiences have new treats in store from Alexei Ratmansky, while in London the Barbican and Sadler’s Wells celebrate the work of Michael Clark and Richard Alston

31 Dec 2019

Arty films and books to look out for in 2020

From The Rock as an art detective to warts-and-all Warhol – the must-see films and a first reading list for art lovers

30 Dec 2019

The museum openings not to miss in 2020

The Humboldt Forum in Berlin is scheduled to open – finally – in the autumn, while in Oslo the Munch Museum returns in a smart new home

27 Dec 2019

Giddy heights in the Gulf and Shanghai and rescue missions in the UK – the year ahead in architecture

What to watch in the world of architecture in 2020, from the race to become the world’s tallest building to increasingly urgent conservation battles

26 Dec 2019
Standing Figure with African Masks (2018), Claudette Johnson. Tate, London

Books, biennials and trailblazing women – artists select their highlights of 2019

Artists including Lubaina Himid, Hew Locke and Ibrahim Mahama pick out their favourite shows and events of the past year

24 Dec 2019

‘The most accomplished watercolourist of his day’

Fifty years after his death, William Russell Flint – once hugely popular, if critically spurned – deserves reevaluation

21 Dec 2019

School of rock – inside the new-look Aberdeen Art Gallery

After a £35m renovation and expansion, the granite city can finally display its collections in the manner they deserve

18 Dec 2019
‘The Prophet Muhammad encounters the angel of half-fire and half-snow’, miniature from a copy of al-Sarai’s Nahj al-Faradis (c. 1465), Herat.

Eye of the beholder – how the Prophet Muhammad has been depicted through the centuries

Museums have avoided displaying images of the Prophet in recent years – but might this not do a disservice to the heritage of Islam?

18 Dec 2019
The ‘Getty fire’ in Brentwood, California on 28 October 2019 (with the Getty Center visible in the background).

What makes a museum ‘fire-proof’?

The Getty Center’s fire prevention system is a standard-bearer for museums and historic properties worldwide

17 Dec 2019
Late Maharaja of Benaras (1986), Raghu Rai

From New Delhi to New York – the ever-growing brand of DAG

The Indian art gallery opened its first modest space in Delhi in 1993. Now its spaces and partnerships extend across the globe

12 Dec 2019
Jonathan Miller. Photo: Lucinda Douglas-Menzies

‘Rehearsals were frequently full of laughter’ – remembering Jonathan Miller

The late stage director, filmmaker, comedian, writer and medical man wore his experience lightly – and made an excellent museum guide

11 Dec 2019
The Doors (video still detail; 2019), Zach Blas.

How a small German city became a leading home for new media art

The Edith-Russ-Haus in Oldenburg is currently host to an exhibition exploring the rise of ‘nootropics’, or smart drugs, in Silicon Valley

10 Dec 2019
Detail of the south wall of the Sala di Psiche, Palazzo Te, Mantua, Giulio Romano and workshop.

‘A buffet of bums, boobs and bollocks’ – Giulio Romano at Palazzo Te

The 16th-century frescoed palace has been sexed up with a show exploring power and desire in the mannerist’s art

7 Dec 2019
Queen Henrietta Maria (detail; 1636), Anthony van Dyck.

Acquisitions of the month: November 2019

Jayne Wrightsman’s final gift to the Met and a silver-gilt toilet service at the Louvre are among this month’s highlights

6 Dec 2019
Queen Victoria’s Christmas Tree at Windsor Castle (1850), James Roberts.

Exit through the gift shop

Apollo’s editors pick out some arty stocking fillers, from a glow-in-the-dark Leonardo figurine to Mondrian-inspired socks

5 Dec 2019
Fishermen in front of Cape Coast Castle, Ghana, with a staircase on the left leading up to a ‘Door of No Return’.

‘The dungeons are decorated with wreaths left by slaves’ descendants’

Four centuries after the first English slave ship arrived in Jamestown, Virginia, the president of Ghana is urging members of the African diaspora to discover their roots

3 Dec 2019
Faye Dunaway at the Beverly Hills Hotel, 29th March 1977 (detail).

‘He kicked open the doors of Society just as Sixties London began to swing’ – a tribute to Terry O’Neill

The late photographer shot some of the most iconic figures of the 20th century, from Winston Churchill to David Bowie

26 Nov 2019
The Peabody Essex Museum in 2019 with its new wing designed by Ennead Architects on the right

The Peabody Essex Museum makes a bigger splash in Salem

Thanks to the town’s seafaring merchants, the museum has one of the world’s best collections of maritime and Asian art – and a whole new wing for its display

23 Nov 2019
Last Supper (detail; c. 1560s), Plautilla Nelli.

Sister act – Plautilla Nelli and the painter nuns of 16th-century Florence

The Dominican nun led a flourishing workshop in the convent of Santa Caterina – as her recently restored Last Supper shows

21 Nov 2019
Anangu members perform a dance during a ceremony marking the permanent ban on climbing Uluru on 27 October 2019.

Rock stars – the Indigenous artists inspired by Uluru

A recent ban on climbing the sacred rock in Australia’s ‘red centre’ was celebrated with singing and dancing. What other forms of art have emerged from the site?

19 Nov 2019
In the final scene of Derek Jarman’s film The Last of England (1987), Tilda Swinton’s unnamed character destroys her wedding dress on Dungeness Beach.

English woes – Derek Jarman’s apocalyptic visions of England are as relevant as ever

Twenty-five years after his death, Jarman’s films, paintings and words are still incisive and inspiring

8 Nov 2019
Abraham Lincoln and Queen Victoria (early 20th century). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Acquisitions of the month: October 2019

Collections of hand-drawn postcards, quilts, and 18th-century French bindings are among this month’s highlights

7 Nov 2019