Tag Archives: Painting

COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE – JULY 8, 2026 PREVIEW

COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘The Experts’ Experts’ – Country Life asks architects, designers and specialists on its Top 100 list to delve into their little black books to reveal the talented craftspeople and suppliers they turn to for inspiration on their own projects…

Magazine spread from Country Life 8 July 2026

Why haste creates waste

Hold off on that online-shopping impulse buy — there’s no substitute for carefully crafted quality 

It’s getting hot in here

Ben Lerwill sets his tastebuds a-tingling as he meets the British chilli-sauce makers adding to the spice of life  

Luxury

If you only buy one suitcase, make it a classic GlobeTrotter, suggests Amie Elizabeth White

Winging it

Mark Cocker looks beyond the raven’s grim reputation to seek the truth about our largest corvid

Magazine spread from Country Life 8 July 2026

Sir Lindsay Hoyle’s favourite painting

The Speaker of the House of Commons is captivated by the Westminster riverfront in a work with a photographic quality  

On top of the world

Kirsty Fergusson applauds the stamina of the hardy souls who tend the spectacular clifftop gardens at Chygurno, Cornwall 

Magazine spread from Country Life 8 July 2026

Country-house treasure

John Goodall stands in the stead of William Tyndale behind a preacher’s pulpit at Bucklebury House in Berkshire  

The legacy

Agnes Stamp salutes Agnes Marshall, the Queen of Ices 

While the cat’s away…

David Glasper lifts the lid on the cat flap, the means by which the regal feline can come and go precisely as it pleases  

An architectural evolution

Jeremy Musson charts the rise of Selwyn College, Cambridge, from its origins as a memorial to a 19th-century missionary  

Magazine spread from Country Life 8 July 2026

The raw deal

Tom Parker Bowles savours the lip-smacking summer freshness of that Peruvian classic ceviche 

Travel

Rosie Paterson unpacks the latest in luxury-yacht looks and follows in Frida Kahlo’s footsteps 

Arts & antiques

Beauty and function were fused in the form of the sedan chair, the conveyance of choice for the upper echelons of Georgian society, reveals Carla Passino 

Art to dine for

Intriguing art can be a meal-time conversation starter in country-house dining rooms, as Melanie Cable-Alexander discovers 

Catch of the day

Collector Paul Martin shares his tips on amassing a school of exquisite antiquarian fish prints 

COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE – JUNE 24, 2026 PREVIEW

Cover of Country Life June 24, 2026

COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘Red Alert’ – Why you should buy Bordeaux now…

The legacy: Edmund Halley

Kate Green celebrates the astronomical achievements of Edmond Halley, who calculated the orbits of some 24 comets

Weeding out the wildflowers

John Lewis-Stempel explores Ralph Waldo Emerson’s view of a weed as ‘a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered’

Spreads from Country Life June 24, 2026

The great escape

When wandering Ouessant ram Max goes walkabout, it makes for a testing shearing day for John Lewis-Stempel

On red alert

History suggests that Bordeaux is best in years ending in a five — and 2025 is promising to maintain the sequence, says Harry Eyres

Country Life International

Jack Watkins treads in the foot-steps of Lord Byron in Ravenna, Corinne Julius is seduced by ceramics in Puglia, Holly Kirkwood seeks out the best properties for sale, Anna Tyzack finds artistic inspiration in Mallorca and Russell Higham charts the story of the Scarlatti dynasty in Naples

Spreads from Country Life June 24, 2026

Portraits of a lady

Obsessively painting her own image helped Frida Kahlo confront the pain that blighted her life, reveals Jessica Lack

Peter Layton’s favourite painting

The artist has his head in the clouds of a van Gogh classic

Country-house treasure

John Goodall takes a shine to an exceptional example of Italian craftsmanship at Highclere Castle in Hampshire

Spreads from Country Life June 24, 2026

Wedded to the landscape

Kathryn Ferry commends the labour of love that Clough and Amabel Williams-Ellis created at Plas Brondanw in Gwynedd

Shepherd’s delight

Skies streaked with crimson hues are a spectacular sight for Deborah Nicholls-Lee

Spreads from Country Life June 24, 2026

Winging it

Mark Cocker profiles the white-tailed eagle, the apex predator of the Unloved Birds’ Club

Luxury

Amie Elizabeth White eyes Egyptian jewels and Sir Quentin Blake clothing, plus a few of Corin Mellor’s favourite things

Interiors

Arabella Youens admires a restful bedroom transformation and Giles Kime celebrates the graceful ageing of verdigris

Spreads from Country Life June 24, 2026

Seasons to be cheerful

Caroline Donald applauds the invention and imagination at play in the glorious gardens of Broadwoodside, East Lothian

Travel

Jo Rodgers unearths sheltered combes and steep coastlines as she heads far from the madding crowds in south Devon

Arts & antiques

Carla Passino meets Scotland’s first warriors as a new exhibition explores the long, bloody history of conflict north of the Border

COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE – JUNE 17, 2026 PREVIEW

Cover of Country Life June 17, 2026, featuring Van Gogh's Irises

COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘Why the iris charmed Van Gogh’; How Holbein survived Henry VIII; Making super salads; Piers of the realm: the British love of the seaside…

Everything, everywhere, all at once

Irises have inspired great artists from Vincent van Gogh to Sir Cedric Morris. Michael Prodger examines the flower’s allure

Green with envy

Why not take a leaf out of Tom Parker Bowles’s book and sample the very best salad flavours from around the world?

Pier into the future

Our seaside piers are the great survivors of the Victorian age and many are thriving in the 21st century, reveals Jonathan Lee

Spread from Country Life June 17, 2026

Arts & antiques

It is 500 years since artist Hans Holbein arrived on these shores, yet we remain captivated by his portraits, finds Carla Passino

Louise Farina’s favourite painting

The perfumer senses the zest of an Italian spring morning in a still life celebrating citrus fruit

Country-house treasure

John Goodall sees High Church spirit in a handwritten Bible at Treberfydd House in Brecon

Spread from Country Life June 17, 2026

History and fantasy

In the second of two articles, John Goodall delves into the fable-meets-fact history of Warwick Castle, Warwickshire

The legacy

Octavia Pollock adds a dash of colour to the illustrious history of Winsor & Newton, supplier to the stars of the art world

The importance of being Ernst

Ernst Vegelin van Claerbergen, head of the Courtauld Gallery, is optimistic about the future of the Arts, as he tells Carla Passino

Winging it

A beauty or a beast? Mark Cocker investigates how the exotic pheasant splits opinion

Spread from Country Life June 17, 2026

Luxury

Jonathan Self explores the royal enthusiasm for amethyst and Amie Elizabeth White weaves in some summer essentials

Interiors

An open-plan makeover wows Arabella Youens, plus perfect pitchers with Amelia Thorpe

Simply perfect

A 20-year revival of the Arts-and-Crafts garden at Fonthill House in Wiltshire catches the eye of Christopher Stocks

Spread from Country Life June 17, 2026

Travel

Sophia Money-Coutts savours all the fun of Florida on a trip to the party town of Palm Beach

A new sense of purpose

Robin Hereford is calling for a revival in the fortunes of brown furniture — pieces with style and sustainability on their side

A wrinkle in time

A new generation of American collectors is being charmed by exquisite English antique furniture, discovers Patrick Monahan

Cooking up a storm

Michael Billington is blown away by the RSC’s Tempest starring Sir Kenneth Branagh, but High Society delights without dazzling

COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE – JUNE 3, 2026 PREVIEW

COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE: The latest issue featuresConstable Country’ – The places the painter loved….

Taking the scenic route

History, hauntings and high-jinx figured in Britain’s first motoring guides, finds Jack Watkins

Spreads from Country Life 3 June 2026

What a Derby day

Epsom hosts one of racing’s most thrilling spectacles. Jack Watkins picks 10 of the best winners

Monaco

Adam Hay-Nicholls explores the changing face of Monaco, Steven King treads the Prince Rainier III sculpture trail, Arabella Youens seeks out the best properties for sale in the Principality and Mark Hedges cruises serenely into town

His green and pleasant land

John Constable painted places he knew and loved the best. Susan Owens examines how insight influenced his landscapes

Outstanding in their fields

From ‘shoy hoys’ to Worzel Gummidge, Aeneas Dennison traces the story of scarecrows

Spreads from Country Life 3 June 2026

Andy Wilman’s favourite painting

The television producer chooses a work that reveals a human response to the brutality of war

Country-house treasure

A godfatherly gift ensures that Sir Edwin Lutyens and Shilstone House in Devon are happy bed-fellows, discovers John Goodall

Spreads from Country Life 3 June 2026

Building on the past

In the second of two articles, John Goodall reveals how Elizabethan Doddington Hall is thriving into the 21st century

The legacy

Octavia Pollock profiles Percy Shaw, the inventor of cat’s eyes, the 20th century’s top design

Winging it

The feral pigeon’s modern-day scavenging masks a more valiant history, suggests Mark Cocker

Drawn to the land

Katharine Freeland meets artists who are mapping estates in an echo of traditional landowners

London Life

Jack Watkins strolls the streets that became an artist’s muse, our writers have all you need to know this month, Will Hosie shares seven of the best homes on the market and Rupert Clague charts the rise of the capital’s coffee houses

Spreads from Country Life 3 June 2026

Death, taxes and Tests with New Zealand

What next for England’s Bazball approach, asks James Fisher

Luxury

Amie Elizabeth White is on red alert — and gives pearl a whirl

Interiors

Arabella Youens admires an extended Cotswolds cottage and Giles Kime ponders going it alone

Dreaming of roses

Charles Quest-Ritson shares 1,000 reasons to fall in love with the restored walled garden at Dummer House, Hampshire

Arts & antiques

Rebecca Salter, president of the Royal Academy, outlines her ambitions to Carla Passino

Travel

A mountain-top encounter rings a bell with Pamela Goodman

And much more

GAGOSIAN QUARTERLY – SUMMER 2026 PREVIEW

Gagosian Quarterly: The latest issue features an excerpt from Sharad Chari’s recent essay on Ellen Gallagher, musing on his visit to the artist’s studio in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Sebastian Smee writes of Francis Bacon’s time in Paris, Adam D. Weinberg ruminates on Giuseppe Penone’s enduring engagement with bronze, and Derrick Adams joins Tessa Bachi Haas in conversation ahead of his first mid-career survey.

With the opening of the 61st Biennale di Venezia, a number of the magazine’s features engage with the history and contemporary culture of the storied city. Jenny Saville speaks with art historian Stefania Ventra to mark her major exhibition at Ca’ Pesaro–Galleria Internazionale d’Arte Moderna. In an essay bridging the Republic of Venice and the twenty-first century, Ben Street explores the timeless resonance of Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo’s tragicomic frescoes. And Nancy Spector discusses her bold pairing of Richard Prince and Arthur Jafa in an exhibition at the Fondazione Prada.

In the world of literature, Helen Oyeyemi shares the second installment of her fiction series As You Wish, Mary Gaitskill speaks with Jill Mulleady about their recent Picture Books collaboration inspired by Faust, Wyatt Allgeier interviews Andrew Durbin on the occasion of his new dual biography of Peter Hujar and Paul Thek, and Alana Pockros guides us through the refractive wonderlands of novelist Elaine Kraf.

Elsewhere in the issue, Carlos Valladares ponders Charli XCX’s mockumentary The Moment, Janne Sirén examines Anselm Kiefer’s mythological figures, and three luminaries from the worlds of design, fashion, and food—Ronan Bouroullec, Michèle Lamy, and Enrique Olvera—consider the furniture of Donald Judd.

The Burlington Magazine – May 2026 Preview

May 2026, #1478 – Vol 168 | Current issue | Current issue − The Burlington  Magazine

The Burlington Magazine: The latest issue features….

Main Articles and Research

“The Consolidation of Collections: New Light on the 18th-Century British Art Market” An in-depth study by the editorial team and guest contributors exploring how major British estates restructured their private galleries during the mid-1700s. The article utilizes newly discovered ledger books to trace the provenance of several key Italian Baroque works.

“Paolo Veneziano and the International Gothic in Venice” Following the research trends seen in the early part of the year, this feature provides a technical analysis of recently restored altarpieces attributed to Veneziano, focusing on the use of ultramarine and gold leaf techniques that defined the Venetian style in the 14th century.

“Nicholas Lanier and the ‘Star’ Drawings: New Discoveries” Building on recent scholarship (featured in related symposiums), this article identifies several previously unrecognized drawings from the collection of Nicholas Lanier (1588–1666). It specifically examines the “star-shaped marks” used by Lanier and his uncle Jerome to catalog their sixteenth-century Italian acquisitions.

Editorial and Shorter Notices
Editorial: “The Future of Art History in the Digital Age” Editor Christopher Baker discusses the balance between traditional archival research and the integration of AI and digital imaging in art historical authentication.

Object in Focus: “George Frederic Watts’s Satan (1847)” A specialized notice providing a new interpretation of Watts’s massive canvas. The author argues that the figure’s pose was inspired by the Monte Cavallo Horse Tamers in Rome rather than the Apollo Belvedere, as previously thought.

Exhibition and Book Reviews
The Farnese Gallery Drawings (Musée du Louvre, Paris): A critical review by Ketty Gottardo on the exhibition focusing on the Carracci brothers’ preparatory works.

Studio Prints: A History, 1968–2011: A review of the new publication by Paul Holberton Publishing, detailing the impact of the London workshop on 20th-century printmaking.

Modernizing the Catalog: A review of the Patek Philippe exhibition and the intersection of fine horology with decorative arts history.

GAGOSIAN QUARTERLY – SPRING 2026 PREVIEW

Gagosian Quarterly Spring 2026 | Gagosian Quarterly

Gagosian Quarterly: The Spring 2026 issue features Jeff Koons pays homage to Duchamp’s tremendous generosity. On the occasion of an exhibition of historic works by Jasper Johns, Larry Gagosian reflects on the artist’s crosshatching technique and its impact on audiences past and present. We also trace the evolution of Michael Heizer’s complex negative sculptures and celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Nan Goldin’s The Ballad of Sexual Dependency.

The House on Utopia Parkway: Joseph Cornell’s Studio Re-Created by Wes Anderson

The House on Utopia Parkway: Joseph Cornell’s Studio Re-Created by Wes Anderson is an exhibition conceived by curator Jasper Sharp and the acclaimed American filmmaker. The show brings Cornell’s New York studio to the heart of Paris, transforming Gagosian’s storefront gallery into a meticulously staged tableau—part time capsule, part life-size shadow box—for the first solo presentation of the artist’s work in Paris in more than four decades. In this video, Anderson discusses the genesis of the exhibition and the process by which it came together.

Michael Heizer: Negative Sculpture

Michael Heizer: Negative Sculpture

Across his nearly six-decade career, Michael Heizer has continued to probe the possibilities of sculptural form defined by its absence. His exhibition Negative Sculpture features Convoluted Line A and Convoluted Line B, among the artist’s most complex negative sculptures. Here, we consider a selection of works that have preceded the new sculptures.

Over the Guardrails, Into the Water

Over the Guardrails, Into the Water

Mike Stinavage meets with actor—and now director—Kristen Stewart to talk about her debut feature-length film, The Chronology of Water.

Berthe Weill

Berthe Weill

Valentina Castellani is the author of Trading Beauty: Art Market Histories from the Altar to the Gallery (2026), an expansive history of the art market and of the dealers who charted its course. Here—inspired by the recent exhibition Make Way for Berthe Weill: Art Dealer of the Parisian Avant-garde at the Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris—Castellani considers the impact of the French gallerist.

Titus Kaphar: The Fire This Time

Titus Kaphar: The Fire This Time

On the occasion of his exhibition The Fire This Time at Gagosian, Paris, Titus Kaphar explores themes of history, representation, and collective memory in his recent paintings and hand-carved wood sculptures.

A Tremendous Generosity: Jeff Koons on Marcel Duchamp

A Tremendous Generosity: Jeff Koons on Marcel Duchamp

Jeff Koons tells Alison McDonald about his appreciation for the pioneering artist and thinker Marcel Duchamp.

Jonas Wood: The Rules of the Game

Jonas Wood: The Rules of the Game

Following a recent visit to Jonas Wood’s Los Angeles studio, Justin Beal thinks through the artist’s paintings of tennis courts—the subject of an exhibition at Gagosian, Beverly Hills—examining their relation to the game, color theory, and the rewards of practice.

Game Changer
Beatrice Wood

Beatrice Wood

Salomé Gómez-Upegui honors Beatrice Wood, the “Mama of Dada,” an underappreciated trailblazer within the movement who went on to become a brilliant ceramist.

Jasper Johns: Between the Clock and the Bed

Jasper Johns: Between the Clock and the Bed

On January 22, Gagosian, in partnership with Castelli Gallery, opened an exhibition of historic works by Jasper Johns at the 980 Madison Avenue gallery in New York. A survey of the crosshatch paintings and drawings that dominated his practice from 1973 to 1983, the presentation united works that have rarely been seen with loans from sources including distinguished American museums. The exhibition commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of this body of work’s debut at Castelli Gallery in 1976. Here, Larry Gagosian speaks with the Quarterly’s Alison McDonald about the impetus for this project, his memories of seeing the exhibition in 1976, and the enduring impact of these paintings on artists and collectors.

Nan Goldin: Another Word for Love

Nan Goldin: Another Word for Love

For the fortieth anniversary of Nan Goldin’s genre-defining photobook The Ballad of Sexual Dependency (Aperture, 1986), Gagosian, London, will be exhibiting all of its 126 photographs, the first time the entire body of work will be shown in the United Kingdom. To celebrate the occasion, David Velasco looks back to the series’ creation and evolution, considering the radical exploration of seeing and love at the core of The Ballad.

Frank Gehry: Every Building, a Self-Portrait

Frank Gehry: Every Building, a Self-Portrait

Deborah McLeod, senior director at Gagosian, Beverly Hills, reflects on the generous and innovative vision of Frank Gehry. Having worked with the architect and artist for more than a decade, McLeod addresses his outsize impact on the city of Los Angeles and the world beyond.

Fashion and Art: Thomas Gainsborough

Fashion and Art: Thomas Gainsborough

The Frick Collection, New York, opened Gainsborough: The Fashion of Portraiture on February 12. The first exhibition devoted to the English artist’s portraiture ever held in New York, the show comprises more than two dozen paintings and explores the role of fashion in Gainsborough’s depictions, in terms both of the sitters’ clothes and of the larger context of class, labor, craft, and time. Aimee Ng, the Frick’s Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, has been working on the show for a decade; last fall she met with the Quarterly’s Derek C. Blasberg to talk about this historic project.

COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE – FEBRUARY 11, 2026

Cover of Country Life 11 February, 2026 featuring The Kiss by Gustav Klimt

COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE: The fine art issue, featuring Seurat, art in literature and Sir Antony Gormley, plus Ampthill Park House and the long-eared eagle owl. 

Cast in the same mould

Sir Antony Gormley examines the parallels between his own Reflect and the Adriaen de Vries bronze of Antiope and Theseus

Don’t believe in modern love?

With Valentine’s Day looming and singlehood rising, Will Hosie seeks dating tips from the finest minds among the Ancients

Ford momentum

Harry Pearson enjoys the thrill of splashing through the countless fords criss-crossing the rivers and streams of the British Isles

Spread from Country Life February 11, 2026

Luxury

Jonathan Self is bewitched by the poetry of poesy rings and Amie Elizabeth White says ‘if you only buy one Derby boot…’

Life in the fast lane

Norfolk farmer Gavin Lane tells Julie Harding of the sleepless nights he has endured since taking the reins at the CLA

Sir Thomas Drew and Hélène Duchêne’s favourite paintings

His Majesty’s Ambassador to France and the French Ambassador to the Court of St James share their artworks of choice

Country-house treasure

John Goodall glimpses early-20th-century life at Mapperton House in Dorset in the form of a black-and-gold satin dress

Spread from Country Life February 11, 2026

A house of collections

In the second of two articles, Jeremy Musson explores the exceptional modern collection in the historic setting of Ampthill Park House in Bedfordshire

The legacy

Carla Passino hails the artworks amassed by Sir William Burrell

Where the wild things are

Exotic animals from around the world were unveiled to European eyes by artists such as Dürer and Stubbs, finds Michael Prodger

Spread from Country Life February 11, 2026

Winging it

Mark Cocker profiles the elusive and elegant long-eared owl

Interiors

Arabella Youens lauds a London drawing room and Amelia Thorpe keeps the home fires burning

Floral geometry

Banish the gloom with glorious winter-flowering Camellia japonica, suggests Charles Quest-Ritson

Spread from Country Life February 11, 2026

Slow and steady wins the race

Tom Parker Bowles savours the boozy boeuf à la Bourguignonne

Travel

Ben Lerwill delves into the story of space travel when he touches down at NASA HQ in Houston

Arts & antiques

Georges Seurat’s sublime French seascapes are taking centre stage at the Courtauld Gallery in London, reveals Carla Passino

Write side up

Art has long drawn inspiration from literature — from Ovid and Virgil to Shakespeare and Lewis Carroll, discovers Carla Passino

COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE – JANUARY 7, 2026

Cover of Country Life January 7, 2026

COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘Portmeirion’ – A vision of the picturesque.

A peculiar genius

Kathryn Ferry salutes the fore-sight of Clough Williams-Ellis a century on from the opening of his Picturesque confection at Portmeirion in Gwynedd

Spreads from Country Life January 7, 2025

Pour show

The winter ritual of wassailing is an ancient plea for abundant apple harvests that is indulged in to this day, finds Laura Parker

Shoot for the stars

Relive the most memorable moments of the past 100 years with 22 incredible images chosen by Lucy Ford, Emily Anderson and Carla Passino

Spreads from Country Life January 7, 2025

London Life

Will Hosie considers how water defines and divides Londoners and ponders the possible renewal of a rivalry between the National Gallery and Tate Modern, plus our writers have all you need to know this month

In the garden

Grow ground nuts, says Mark Diacono, and enjoy tubers with a taste of nutty new potatoes

Helen Allen’s favourite painting

The executive director of the US Winter Show picks an intriguing portrait sporting a quizzical look

Country-house treasure

John Goodall is captivated by the fighting cats in a 17th-century mosaic above the Long Library fireplace at Holkham Hall, Norfolk

The legacy: Agatha Christie

Kate Green acclaims murder-mystery-writing maestro Agatha Christie, whose 66 detective novels have sold more than two billion copies worldwide

Playing your cards right

Matthew Dennison is holding all the aces as he traces the history of playing cards right back to 9th-century China

Spreads from Country Life January 7, 2025

The good stuff

Glide seamlessly into 2026 with Amie Elizabeth White’s stylish selections for the ski slopes

Interiors

Giles Kime welcomes the world of possibilities offered by free-standing kitchens and Arabella Youens admires the boot room of a house in Gloucestershire

Shining a light on the past

Carl Linnaeus’s glorious 18th-century herbarium is showcased in a new collection of exquisite photographs by Lena Granefel, discovers Christopher Stocks

Spreads from Country Life January 7, 2025

Travel

Pamela Goodman takes in peerless Himalayan panoramas from a remote luxury lodge in India and, in her monthly column, wonders what the Normans did for us

Arts & antiques

Actor and poet Leigh Lawson tells Carla Passino why he will never part with memorabilia dedicated to music-hall queen Marie Lloyd, his great-aunt

Scale model

Abundant mackerel was once greeted with garlands thrown into the sea. David Profumo profiles Scomber scombrus

COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE – DECEMBER 31, 2025

Country Life December 31, 2025 | Country Life

COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘Britain in 50 Treasures’ – The monuments that make the nation.

Dangerous libations

How do you cope with a Kung-Fu Panda? What do you do when the Temple of Doom strikes? Olly Smith reveals how to deal with hurricane-force hangovers

Magazine spread from Country Life 31 December 2025

Interiors

Is design destined to be more Moorish or will Egyptomania rule? Country Life predicts the shape of things to come in 2026 and Giles Kime says painted furniture is key to a laidback look

Jacu Strauss’s favourite painting

The creative director of the Lore Group chooses an intriguing unfinished 1830s painting that is still confounding art experts almost 200 years on

Learn it by art

The story of the British Isles is peppered with ancient artefacts and much-loved monuments. Charlotte Mullins surveys the centuries through 50 treasures, from the Ice Age caves of Derbyshire’s Creswell Crags to Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle at Greenwich in London

Magazine spread from Country Life 31 December 2025

Are you ready to order?

Artfully designed menus have long been a tasty proposition for collectors, aided by designs from leading artistic lights such as Ravilious, Bawden and David Hockney, finds John F. Müller

Country-house treasures

John Goodall treads the silver-grey elm floorboards of the remarkably well-preserved 1630s hall dais at Restoration House in Rochester, Kent

Culture and commerce

John Martin Robinson marvels at the rejuvenation of Salts Mill, a vast Victorian factory building at Saltaire in West Yorkshire, founded on the prosperity of the British wool trade

Magazine spread from Country Life 31 December 2025

The good stuff

Enter the new year fresh-faced and on tip-top form with the help of Amie Elizabeth White’s selection of skincare stars

Glistens like coral

The proliferation of new types of Japanese flowering quince prompted a four-year RHS trial. Charles Quest-Ritson cheers the rise of Chaenomeles and reveals his favourite varieties

Magazine spread from Country Life 31 December 2025

Arts & Antiques

The exquisitely rendered Cornish luggers sailing serenely across Henry Scott Tuke’s 1908 new year card to a friend make it a prized possession for Michael Grist, as he tells Carla Passino