5 d. ago Artist Kehinde Wiley puts power in a new frame with paintings of African leaders

American artist Kehinde Wiley has unveiled an exhibition in Morocco of portraits of African leaders as part of a yearslong series exploring politics and image-making

Politics

8 d. ago King's tour artist is first to create paintings digitally as he draws 'whatever inspires them' to make unique record of global royal travels

Rather than look to Italian greats such as Leonardo da Vinci or Titian for inspiration this week, the monarch decided to commission something with a more modern bent.

Politics

1 week ago Artist who painted famous Churchill portrait commemorated with blue plaque

The wartime leader hated his depiction when the portrait was unveiled, and it was secretly burnt on the orders of his wife, Lady Clementine Churchill.

Culture

1 week ago LS Lowry painting sold to Guardian literary editor for £10 could fetch £1m

Rare early work Going to the Mill is to be auctioned after remaining in the Wallace family since 1926When LS Lowry sold one of his earliest paintings to the literary editor of the Manchester Guardian in 1926, he had an immediate change of heart.Arthur Wallace had edited a supplement for the Guardian to accompany a civic week organised by Manchester city council in October 1926, and featured three paintings by the then struggling artist. Continue reading...

Economics

1 week ago King Charles and Queen Camilla beam in Italy as they celebrate 20th wedding anniversary

The King and Queen have released a new portrait in Rome to commemorate their 20th wedding anniversary and start of their four day state visit to Italy

Politics

1 week ago King Charles and Queen Camilla grin and share fond glances as they celebrate 20th wedding anniversary with portraits taken at Roman villa

A special portrait has been unveiled to commemorate the King and Queen's 20th wedding anniversary - which the couple are spending on a four-day trip to Italy .

Politics

2 w. ago British painter says Trump portrait accusations put her business in danger

Artist Sarah Boardman created the painting of the US president, which was recently taken down.

Politics

2 w. ago Artist of ‘truly the worst’ Trump portrait says her career is threatened

British-born painter Sarah A Boardman disputes US president’s claim that she ‘purposefully distorted’ his imageThe British artist called “truly the worst” by the US president, Donald Trump, after he derided a portrait she created of him, has said the criticism called her “integrity into question” and is threatening her career.The British-born artist Sarah A Boardman painted Trump’s official portrait for the Colorado state capitol building in Denver, where it hung for six years from 2019. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago ‘A mutual love affair’: David Hockney 25 retrospective makes a splash in Paris

Exhibition of 456 works by the Bradford-born Francophile underscores Paris’s efforts to reclaim its status as Europe’s art capitalPoised to open its doors on Wednesday, Paris’s biggest art show of the year carries the humble title David Hockney 25. A more accurate description of its ambition would have been the name of the artist’s best-known painting: A Bigger Splash.Purportedly focused only on the last 25 years of the Yorkshire-born painter’s career, the 456 works on display at the Fondation Louis Vuitton’s 11 vast galleries in fact span 1955-2025. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Phone theft hotspots marked with ‘blue plaques’ in City of London

Criminals snatched 70,137 devices last year - one every seven-and-a-half minutes

Politics

2 w. ago ‘We introduced avocado to the high street!’ How Pret conquered London – and began eyeing the rest of the world

The sandwich chain now has 274 branches in the capital. How did it grow so huge – and can anything stop it getting even bigger?At 93-95 Victoria Street, Westminster, a blue plaque marks a piece of London history: the first ever branch of Pret a Manger opened on this spot on 22 July 1986. Nearly 40 years later, it is still going strong.It’s a nice story – but it’s not the whole story. Look closer and the plaque states that the first Pret sandwich shop opened “near here”. In fact, it was down the road, at 75b, now a branch of Toni & Guy. Except  that wasn’t the first shop, either. The original Pret opened two years earlier and five miles to the north, in Hampstead. It went bust after a year and the founder, Jeffrey Hyman, sold the name, branding and logo to Julian Metcalfe and Sinclair Beecham, who reopened in Westminster. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago City of London gets 'blue plaques' to mark phone theft hotspots

City of London gets 'blue plaques' to mark phone theft hotspots  BBC

Politics

2 w. ago French mayor loses bid to snatch scene of Van Gogh painting from villagers’ back garden

Artist painted ‘Tree Roots’ in the village of Auvers-sur-Oise hours before his death

Politics

3 w. ago Hockney says he did not offer to paint King Charles during royal visit

British artist, 87, who was visited by the king in his London home, said he did not know him well enough to paint himRenowned artist David Hockney has said he did not offer to paint King Charles when the monarch visited his London home on Monday because he doesn’t know him well enough.This is not the first time that Hockney has shied away from painting royalty. The 87-year-old also refused a number of offers to paint the late Queen Elizabeth II because he only paints people he knows. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Artist David Hockney says he did not offer to paint King after house visit

Hockney said he does not paint pictures of people he does not know.

Politics

3 w. ago ‘Maybe people see Edward Hopper, or a spaceship, or something else’: Martin James Burton’s best phone photo

The British photographer saw an echo of a famous painting when he shot three strangers in a Toronto galleryWhile in Toronto on a work shoot, Martin James Burton decided to take the opportunity to visit the Art Gallery of Ontario. The photojournalist, who is based in Lewes, East Sussex, England, had some lunch before heading in to see the art. While there he happened upon these three strangers. “The people in the picture are sitting waiting either for nothing to happen or for something to happen. There is a feeling of the surreal to it and an odd sense of anticipation,” Burton says. “The man with his head turned towards you draws you in, and the huge bright, blank screen is like a giant softbox lighting the subjects perfectly.”Burton remembers his excitement at taking the shot: he immediately knew that he had captured something unusual. He also saw a resemblance to the painting Nighthawks, by American artist Edward Hopper, which portrays four people...

Events

3 w. ago Rare painting of The Beatles by Paisley artist John Byrne set to go to auction

The artwork was bought by a Renfrew priest in the 1970s and is one of 10 pieces that will go under the hammer at auction next month.

Economics

3 w. ago ‘Making art made me feel free’: the prison paintings of Myanmar’s Htein Lin

The artist, who has an exhibition at Birmingham’s Ikon Gallery, created a unique body of work from jail uniforms, soap and lids while detained by Myanmar’s regimeThe Burmese painter Htein Lin’s art bears the imprint of his years in a Myanmar jail, where he created hundreds of paintings using prison uniforms as his canvases and makeshift tools including syringes, soap blocks and cigarette lighters.“I had no canvas, no brushes, no paint. But I had to make art,” says Htein Lin from his home in Myanmar’s Shan state. “I befriended the prison guards to smuggle in paint, scavenging for materials wherever I could. Continue reading...

Events

4 w. ago Fuming Donald Trump rages at his 'worst' picture and makes Barack Obama comparison

Donald Trump has slammed an artist for painting an "unflattering" portrait of him that is now hanging in Colorado's State Capitol - and has demanded it be taken down in a furious rant online.

Politics