Reviews
Frayed histories – unravelling the stories behind seven women’s textile collections
An exhibition on the textile collections of women from the 19th century to the present day tells us as much about their own lives as about the objects themselves
The Mesopotamian city that can claim to be the cradle of civilisation
Uruk may not be as well known as Babylon or Ninevah, but layers of complex, urban life have been uncovered there over the course of the 20th century
Fertile ground – ‘Portraying Pregnancy’ at the Foundling Museum, reviewed
A visual history of hundreds of years of veneration, satire, or the breaking of taboos moves from the Virgin Mary to Demi Moore
The great dictator – William Feaver’s biography of Lucian Freud, reviewed
The painter exerts the force of his personality from beyond the grave in the first part of this unconventional biography
Naked positions – Mary Beard’s Shock of the Nude, reviewed
The BBC programme takes a playful look at changing attitudes to nudity in art – from Michelangelo’s David to modern life drawing
How Charlotte Salomon turned her dark family history into a masterpiece of 20th-century art
‘Leben? oder Theater?’ is a totally unique work of art, produced in extreme circumstances
‘For Goya, the normal, the terrible, and the fantastical existed cheek by jowl’
A gathering of some 300 drawings at the Prado is a comprehensive guide to life in the artist’s cruel and chaotic world
Tullio Crali’s flights into the future
The Estorick Collection presents a rare exhibition of works by the Italian painter with a passion for planes
The private collection that paved the way for the National Gallery
The Marquess of Stafford’s noble endeavour gave the public a taste of what a national collection might look like
May Morris was a master of many crafts, but it’s her embroideries that steal the show at Dovecot Studios
The designer was born into the Arts and Crafts movement, but her achievements speak for themselves
Leonardo at the Louvre is full of wonders – and a few surprises
While the paintings are astonishing, the notebooks and sketches really draw you in
The ace caff that now leaves a bad taste – at the V&A Café
Henry Cole had the art of the museum cafe down to a tee. Oh for his veal cutlets!
Television licence – how Nam June Paik turned cathode-ray tubes into art
Tate Modern’s show of the artist’s experiments with technology suggests that TV was his favourite medium
Society painters – the Indian artists who worked for the East India Company
The Wallace Collection’s exhibition is very welcome, but could tell us more about the two-way traffic between Indian and Western artists
The Whitworth Art Gallery’s 130-year mission to make itself useful
Founded in memory of the engineer Sir Joseph Whitworth, the museum has always supported the marriage of art and industry
Priam suspect – myths about ancient Troy collide with reality at the British Museum
The myth of the ancient city has fascinated artists through the ages – and invited archaeologists to dig deeper into the legend
Feast of burden – the uneasy paintings of Norbert Schwontkowski
The artist’s murkily atmospheric works convey a deep sense of anxiety with a wry touch
What’s new at Sutton Hoo?
The archaeological site’s redeveloped exhibition spaces aim to offer a window on to the early Anglo-Saxon world
The art galleries branching out – with shows about trees
At the Fondation Cartier and soon at the Hayward Gallery, art really does grow on trees
The sculptor who found favour with Lorenzo de’ Medici – Bertoldo di Giovanni at the Frick, reviewed
He is best known as the pupil of Donatello and teacher of Michelangelo, but the Florentine sculptor has more than enough accomplishments of his own
Animal instinct – George Stubbs at MK Gallery, reviewed
The painter’s forensic study of his subjects allowed him to portray them with a startling emotional depth
Has MoMA brought modernism up to date?
Man (as represented by white men) is no longer the measure of all things at the headquarters of modern art
Reign makers – Roy Strong’s guide to Elizabethan portraits, reviewed
This authoritative survey gives some of the most familiar works of English art a new lease of life
Practical magic – the Arts and Crafts designs of Ernest Gimson
A new biography shows how thoroughly the designer’s life and work were intertwined
What happens when an artist wants to be anonymous?