Barnaby Phillips’s new book follows the many twists and turns of the royal treasures Britain took from the Asante kingdom
As the threat of armed global conflict increases, we mustn’t stop trying to protect archaeological and cultural sites
Two unrelated cases in the 1990s show how hard it was to recover stolen artefacts – and even to know that they had gone missing in the first place
Designed by the architect shortly before his death 300 years ago, a ‘chamber pew’ in St George’s Church in Esher, Surrey, is a thoroughly charming anomaly
Modernists regarded the Scandinavian style as a mere throwback, but it was much more radical than it was given credit for
The Romanian sculptor expressed his creativity and identity through food just as much as art
Edward Hicks made 62 versions of the same scene of worldly harmony – but they were tinged with personal tragedy too
Since its founding in 1919, Buccellati has drawn on ancient techniques to create its sparkling pieces
The largest amount of wealth ever passed down from one generation to the next is about to change hands. What risks does this pose for the art market?
A new biography of the comic-book artist Vince Colletta reminds us that painting has long relied on a sense of narrative tension
Hettie Judah is captivated by the photographer’s seriously thoughtful approach to adolescence
For the Surrealist, alcohol provided both an escape from reality and a commercial opportunity
Over the centuries, the Princely House of Liechtenstein has amassed one of the world’s largest and most impressive private art collections. Now it’s being deployed to shine a light on the business of art itself
The Roman poet’s great work Metamorphoses has had a hold on artists from the Renaissance to the present
Work by Rubens and his most illustrious successors may be rare, but demand for these paintings has never been stronger
Nostalgia was all the rage at the opening of Tate Modern’s Tracey Emin show this week, with appearances from Bianca Jagger and David Furnish
When he wasn’t writing plays, soldiering or doing hard time for being a suspected spy, John Vanbrugh was busy bringing the baroque to Britain
The National Portrait Gallery retrospective includes photos of high-schoolers, sports players, political rallies – and some striking self-portraits
Some 140 masterpieces of painting, drawing, sculpture and decorative art from the last two millennia go on display at the Art Institute of Chicago
Between the advent of the term ‘homosexual’ and the outbreak of the Second World War, artists found creative ways to express queer sensibilities
The self-taught painter had a trememdous sense of self-belief, despite being ridiculed in his lifetime. A landmark exhibition confirms him as a singularly modern artist
To mark 185 years since the birth of Pierre-Auguste Renoir, we look at four artworks that capture the French capital in all its variety
Forty years after publication, Janet and Allan Ahlberg’s classic picture book delivers as much joy and humour as ever
The announcement that the president of the Palace Versailles will run the world’s most-visited museum comes a day after Des Cars resignation was accepted
