The British Royal Family’s love of bling
The Edwardians are usually associated with elegance but an exhibition at the King’s Gallery in London suggests that excess was the hallmark of the age
The duchess who scandalised Spain
The art of long-distance communication
The French invention of the telegraph in a fractured post-Revolutionary collapsed time and space, changing visual culture for ever
Acquisitions of the month: March 2025
A deathly still life by Maria Van Oosterwijck and a huge trove of artefacts from Roman Britain are among this month’s highlights
The duchess who scandalised Spain
The Liria Palace in Madrid is paying tribute to its late, great owner in the form of installations by Joana Vasconcelos
The Black artists who found themselves in post-war Paris
The Pompidou presents African, Caribbean and American artists who could be free in the French capital in ways often denied to them at home
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Armchair travel in the Middle Ages
At the Morgan Library in New York, a selection of guides to foreign lands reveals a bustling Middle Ages full of fantastical visions
A new dawn for the art of South African wine labels
The Hazendal Wine Estate has begun inviting artists to design the labels for a new series of sparkling wines – and the results fizz with creativity
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In the studio with… A.A. Murakami
For five years, the husband-and-wife artists have lived in rural Japan, surrounded by the clacking of bamboo in the forest and the sights of misty hills
In the studio with… Catherine Wagner
The San Francisco-based photographer has moved into a new space, and she’s getting used to a more communal environment – but order is still all-important
April 2025
The Frick returns to Fifth Avenue
An interview with Oliver Beer
How the Acropolis became modern
In praise of ‘degenerate’ art
Also: The duchess who scandalised Spain, why the market for women’s art is slowing, Dutch paintings at Apsley House, how Bugatti built a style icon, the sensational designs of Alphonse Mucha, and a preview of Art Dubai; reviews of Gertrude Abercrombie in Pittsburgh, Medardo Rosso in Vienna, and a history of image-eating. Plus: Will Wiles on a French avant-garde portrait with a family connection
The sensational designs of Alphonse Mucha
In his posters and illustrations the art nouveau artist fused Slavic motifs with Japanese influences to create a style that was truly cutting-edge
Antoni Gaudí, God’s architect?
Pope Francis has set Catalonia’s architect-in-chief on the path to sainthood, but if the Sagrada Família is anything to go by, we could be in for a long wait
The very smart cars of Ettore Bugatti
With its sensuous design and sleek fittings, the Bugatti 57C Vanvooren – like many of the manufacturer’s models – has become a style icon
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The Frick Collection makes a triumphant return to Fifth Avenue
The beloved New York museum is reopening its doors after a four-year refurbishment – and there’s more to delight the public than ever before
How two artists have weathered one stormy marriage
The ups and downs in the lives of photographer Joel Meyerowitz and the writer and artist Maggie Barrett makes for documentary dynamite
Munch behind the mask
Self-portraits and depictions of family and friends build a picture of the ‘Scream’ artist as insider rather than outsider, more savvy than angsty
On the eggcentricities of Hitchcock and Dalí
The Psycho director may have hated them, but for those who aren’t as easily shell-shocked, eggs can crack open a whole new world
Celia Paul faces the ghosts of her past
In recent portraits and seascapes the painter ponders time and memory, and the legacy of Lucian Freud and co.
The rise of performance art in Renaissance Italy
An accomplished musician as well as a painter, Lorenzo Costa was perfectly placed to capture the changing fashions and shifting social etiquette of his day
Gilty pleasures – Versailles in the 21st century
With new leadership and restored rooms that haven’t looked this good since the Ancien Régime, the palace is entering a new golden era
Rosa Barba: The Ocean of One’s Pause
Covering the past 15 years of the artist’s career, this show unites film with kinetic sculpture and live performance to explore the power of light and sound
Sargent and Paris
A chance to see some 100 paintings, drawings and watercolours John Singer Sargent made during his formative years in France – including the infamous ‘Madame X’
Do Ho Suh: Walk the House
Home is where the heart is for Do Ho Suh, whose large-scale sculptures, installations, drawings and videos are on display in a major survey at Tate Modern
Out of focus, another vision of art from 1945 to the present day
Blurry effects have served all kinds of artists very well over the years, as this show at the Musée de l’Orangerie makes clear
How to give back looted objects
UK museums are hamstrung by outdated laws around restitution. It’s time for politicians to end the impasse and give them greater autonomy over their collections