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Georgian watch winder with moulded figures on either side, discovered on the Thames foreshore. Photo: Florence Evans

‘The river’s debris is my pleasure and obsession’

When treasures wash up on the banks of the River Thames, London’s mudlarkers are ready to find them

18 Sep 2017

Bruegel goes digital

Could virtual tours of artworks change the way we experience art – and is this technological approach worth welcoming?

15 Sep 2017
The opening reception at the 15th Istanbul Biennial

The paradoxical position of the Istanbul Biennial

Turkey has had a turbulent couple of years, but members of the country’s artistic community remain optimistic

13 Sep 2017
Hartwig Fischer in 2015. Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

How Hartwig Fischer plans to transform the British Museum

The museum has a glittering reputation, but ensuring its future success will require bold thinking and a significant overhaul

13 Sep 2017
The double entrance gateway to the Aleppo Citadel, largely the work of the late 12th century Ayyubid rulers of Aleppo (pictured here on 9 March, 2017) has largely survived the conflict with only minor damage. Photo: JOSEPH EID/AFP/Getty Images

Aleppo: what remains?

The historic city has suffered major damage, but the worst unkindness we could offer it now is to write it off as ‘destroyed’

5 Sep 2017
Image: Tom Lobo-Brennan

Why museums need their own ethics departments

Ethical questions about art arise on a seemingly weekly basis. It’s time for museums to invest in sustained, open-ended research

Old Greenwich Place, early 17th century; © National Trust Images

The traces of the Tudor palace at Greenwich are a truly remarkable find

Archaeological discoveries at Greenwich are rare – which makes finding the remains of the Tudor palace even more significant

30 Aug 2017
Paintings by De Chirico hang in the mirrored dining room of Francesco Federico Cerruti's villa. Photo: Gabriele Gaidano

The mysteries of collecting

They don’t make collectors like Francesco Federico Cerruti any more. Or do they?

29 Aug 2017
At the Cafe (detail) (c. 1875–77, Edgar Degas.

How do you deal with an artist like Degas?

An exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum encourages us to approach the restlessly experimental artist with an open mind

28 Aug 2017
Do museums need to be more socially engaged? Illustration by Graham Roumieu/Dutch Uncle

Do museums need to be more socially engaged?

Alistair Hudson and Elisabeth Callihan ask whether today’s museums could be more useful

28 Aug 2017
Installation view of 'This too shall pass' by Sudarshan Shetty, curated by Tasneem Zakaria Mehta (26 Septemberl–30 October, 2010). © Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum

Mumbai’s oldest museum looks to the future

Could the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum provide a model for modernising India’s cultural institutions?

25 Aug 2017

Getting round the Great Firewall of China

Will increased restrictions on the internet in China be too much for new media artists?

23 Aug 2017

Big Ben is the least of the Palace of Westminster’s problems

The greatest Gothic Revival building in the world is facing catastrophe unless MPs clear out

22 Aug 2017
Martin Roth, Apollo magazine, 40 Under 40 Europe

A tribute to Martin Roth (1955–2017)

The former director of the Victoria & Albert Museum has died at the age of 62

7 Aug 2017

Is the ‘monkey selfie’ case making a monkey out of the law?

Even if a wild animal could create an image by itself, it’s not easy to see how it can claim copyright

28 Jul 2017
House in Viscri, Romania., 2017, Photo: © Nicholas Hodge

There’s more to Transylvania than crumbling castles

Efforts to preserve and revive Transylvania’s UNESCO-listed villages depend on involving the inhabitants as closely as possible

27 Jul 2017

Drawings that change our view of Gainsborough

The reattribution of 25 drawings will transform how we think about a great British painter

25 Jul 2017
Exterior of the National Portrait Gallery, London

Nicholas Cullinan’s grand plan for the National Portrait Gallery

By revitalising London’s NPG, the ambitious director is hoping to make it a ‘truly national gallery for all’

5 Jul 2017

Will a seesaw upset the balance of Germany’s memorial culture?

Berlin is to get a memorial to reunification, but even its design raises difficult questions about how history is remembered

3 Jul 2017
Arts Council England

At last, some welcome relief for regional museums

Arts Council England had some good news for museums this week, but it can’t be the sector’s knight in shining armour

30 Jun 2017

What is driving the soaring demand for art storage?

As insurers get more demanding and contemporary art works grow in size, there are more art-storage facilities than ever. So what should a collector look for?

27 Jun 2017
Illustration by Graham Roumieu/Dutch Uncle

Do the prices at auction muddy our interpretation of art?

In May, a painting by Basquiat sold at auction for $110.5m. But when does money overtake other judgements?

26 Jun 2017
After A Midsummer Night's Dream (detail), by Raqib Shaw. © Raqib Shaw and the Whitworth, the University of Manchester

The quiet appeal of artists’ gardens

Raqib Shaw, Monet, Georgia O’Keeffe, the Bloomsbury set… Why do so many artists become obsessed with their garden getaways?

26 Jun 2017
Sir John Chancellor laying the foundations stone of the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem, June 1930. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.

Where do Israel’s antiquities belong?

The Israel Antiquities Authority’s move from the Rockefeller Museum in East Jerusalem to a purpose-built campus in the West has revived disputes about preserving the country’s cultural heritage

26 Jun 2017