Features

The painter’s urgent, sympathetic portraits of her fellow New Yorkers are exactly what we need in these troubled times

Robert Walpole was a supreme political operator – but his power and personal wealth made him a splendid butt of satire, too

Walking around the city can feel like following in the footsteps of the famous photographer – but today’s empty streets are altogether more depressing

Many British royals have been keen on acquiring works of art, but few have been as diligent about looking after them as Queen Mary

You’re not going abroad this summer – but you can still have a holiday with an artistic twist

The restored tomb of Augustus reopened this month – and an extensive new website gives a good sense of what has happened to it over the last two thousand years

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

Irma Stern’s idylls of African life have too often been read at face value – but they mask a more troubled history

Since the 1960s, artists and designers have regarded the brooch as a miniature sculpture – and an opportunity to try out new materials and techniques

Norman Rosenthal celebrates a great champion of contemporary art in Britain, who as director of the Tate founded the Turner Prize

Will Martin steps away from his screen and takes his cues from some of the world’s leading contemporary artists

When Marie Antoinette had a theatre built at Versailles, her play-acting took to a stage of its own – and now this splendid interior has been meticulously restored

A proposed law will prevent journalists and the public from photographing the police – and follows widely publicised acts of police brutality, writes Valeria Costa-Kostritsky

Richard and Isabel Burton are buried in a quiet churchyard in south London – but their remarkable tomb is a fitting monument to these insatiable travellers

Videos have become relics of a bygone era – but they are attracting a new following, glitches and all

Stringing glass beads was once the main work available to Venetian women – but it’s now a protected craft pursued by only a handful of skilled artists

Ivan Morozov built one of the greatest modern art collections in the world – but only a century after his death is his legacy being recognised

Museums in Switzerland have appealed to the government to let them reopen – and French museums are following suit

Mulberry trees are rare in the city, yet more than one is currently under threat – including the oldest tree in the East End

The humble apple has enticed all manner of artists, from Greek potters to Pop pioneers

Did Raphael know a bream from a sardine? Tessa Murdoch consults her fishmonger

Georg Baselitz says it makes the viewer pay closer attention – but plenty of paintings have simply been upended due to gallerists’ gaffes