The classically trained actor’s most famous role was Sybil in Fawlty Towers: a character who once seemed like a battle-axe, but is clearly a feminist icon
The news that Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly are tapping out as hosts of Strictly Come Dancing has put Rakewell in a spin
The singer has referred to a painting of Ophelia in her new music video – and it has brought a flood of Swifties to a regional German museum
Mattel has created seven new dolls inspired by MoMA’s collection – and the most glamorous of them all is Barbie® x Van Gogh
A donation of 20-year-old chocolate to a York museum puts Rakewell in mind of other foodstuffs that are good enough for the display case
Rakewell sings the praises of Claudia Cardinale, who has died at the age of 87
The boxer’s draft card is up for sale at Christie’s next month. Normally a museum would be the best home, but which one is a more complicated question than it used to be
The artist is auctioning off the contents of her pied-à-terre in Paris, including a magnificent Louis Vuitton trunk-cum-dressing-up-box
The designer revolutionised how men and women dressed in the 1980s, but he also made his mark on how films looked, what stars wore – and the making of the modern fashion exhibition
The news that the artist has reunited with Gagosian after four years in the wilderness prompts Rakewell to ponder art about returning home
Artworks made from the rapper’s discarded blunts has soared at auction, reminding Rakewell of the ties between smoking and art history
In a slinky new animated short, Polo Bear pulls off a daring act of recovery for the Met
With the late Queen's Range Rover set to go to auction, Rakewell explores the weirder fates that have befallen the cars of heads of state
The Star Wars mogul has always had an unusual approach to collecting, but his new museum makes clear that his art is in the right place
At their best, dioramas make for a lively union of disparate artistic disciplines – and are often stuffed full of creature comforts
It’s been a massive month in the auction world for extinct megafauna and the objects that spelled their oblivion
The original Hermès Birkin has bagged a record-breaking sum at auction, showing the enduring power of the film star’s je ne sais quoi
With the Bank of England crowdsourcing ideas for its next series of banknotes, Rakewell hopes his art-related suggestions will be on the money
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez have had to move their wedding reception to the Arsenale after a protest group threatened to fill the canal with crocodiles
The European Fine Art Fair plays a prominent role in the ‘Sex and the City’ sequel’s latest season, but its workings have left Rakewell scratching his head
A French furniture-forger has been convicted for his role in a major scam, but there’s no denying that he has an excellent nickname
French climate activists who stole the president’s waxwork from the Musée Grevin in Paris are no dummies when it comes to protest
On 18 June, you can eat in a Twin Peaks’-themed diner, see David Lynch’s art in Prague – and bid on the director's very own coffee machine
Is it time for the Smithsonian pandas to roll over? An agreement with Saudi Arabia means there‘s a new mammalian ambassador in town
