When London had a much richer interior life

A new book by Steven Brindle lovingly catalogues the lavish interiors that could once be found in London’s grandest houses but are now lost

27 Nov 2024

‘If Jeff Koons directed an ad for Nescafé Gold Blend’ – Rivals, reviewed

From explosions of chintz to thrusting postmodern architecture, the sets for Jilly Cooper’s bonkbuster leave us in no doubt we’re watching a 1980s period drama

28 Oct 2024
Profile Donegal Man Lucian Freud portrait

It’s time to separate Lucian Freud’s life from his art

The painter’s biography has long tended to loom over his works, but Stephen Patience tries to turn his attention to the actual art

26 Sep 2022
After a fashion – Mary Quant on the Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, in October 1960. Photo: Cyril Maitland/Mirrorpix/Getty Images

How Mary Quant defined the look of Swinging London

Sadie Frost’s documentary about the designer is hardly original, but then Quant didn’t actually invent the miniskirt – and it doesn’t hurt to be reminded of her genius

27 Oct 2021
David Suchet as Hercule Poirot. Photo: courtesy ITV

Thoroughly modern murder: how Poirot came to personify art deco

Agatha Christie’s sleuth has been nowhere more at home than in ITV’s interwar locations – their clean lines the perfect match for the punctilious Poirot

5 Apr 2021
Noël Coward and Gertrude Lawrence in Private Lives (1931) at Times Square Theatre, New York.

Surface tension: the glamorous world of Noël Coward

The glittering displays of Noël Coward and chums masked an altogether less divine reality – but anxiety and fear were always part of the act

20 Mar 2021
'Me and Dali in New York', 1972, David Bailey.

Exposure time – David Bailey’s autobiography, reviewed

A memoir as raw and unfiltered as the photographs that made Bailey’s name at Vogue, this curious book offers up some brilliant anecdotes but ultimately lacks focus

29 Oct 2020
Robert Freeman (1936–2019)

The late Robert Freeman was the Beatles’ favourite photographer – and now his entire archive has been stolen

From his portraits of Khrushchev and John Coltrane to celebrated album covers for the Beatles, Freeman’s entire archive was taken just weeks after his death

8 Sep 2020
Andy Warhol photographed in 1980.

How do you solve a problem like Andy Warhol?

Blake Gopnik’s new biography sets out to solve the puzzle of a man who saw his life as an extension of his art

27 May 2020
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
Karl Lagerfeld with Cara Delevingne during the Chanel show at Paris Fashion Week, 2014.

Karl Lagerfeld’s greatest creation was himself

The late couturier, photographer, art collector and ‘showman’ was a master of harnessing the power of the image

26 Feb 2019