Previous Posts: March 2026

Gainsborough will be the subject of a landmark exhibition marking the 300th anniversary of the artist’s birth. The show will bring together 120 works in a once-in-a-generation tribute to this quintessentially Georgian artist. Reflecting the rich variety of his practice, it will explore the contrast between the glamourous society portraits that made his name and the creative chaos in which he worked behind the scenes.

The Tudors reigned over a period that saw the birth of modern Britain, and in turn, that of British painting. Tate’s first major presentation of Tudor art in 30 years, this exhibition will bring a fresh perspective to this profoundly transformative period. Over 150 exceptional oil paintings, miniatures, works on paper, sculptures and decorative art objects will be brought together, including iconic portraits of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.

The Royal Collection contains an unparalleled collection of nearly 8,000 paintings and 3,000 miniatures.

Our team of talented Paintings Conservators is responsible for all conservation activities relating to the paintings displayed within the Royal residences as well for loans from the Paintings collection.

Immersing yourself in this fascinating collection, you will assess condition, carry out and document conservation treatments using the most appropriate methods and materials.

A book is eligible where it meets these criteria:

It is on the subject of British art history, conceived broadly to include fine arts, decorative arts, architecture, collecting and patronage, in Britain or by a British artist.

It was published in hard copy by any publisher during the preceding calendar year (1 January to 31 December 2025).

Titles may be nominated for the prize by their author(s), publisher or any associated organisation. There is no limit on how many submissions can be made by each entrant.

Discover the relationship between John Bradby Blake (1745-1773), an English botanist who worked as a supercargo for the East India Company in the 1770s, his Chinese interlocutor Whang At Tong 黃遏東, and Mak Sau 麥秀, the botanical artist Bradby Blake commissioned to document plants native to Canton.

The exhibition will explore the exchange of botanical knowledge shared between Canton (now Guangzhou) and London between 1766-1773, displaying a collection of Chinese botanical art and research for the first time in Britain since it was commissioned 235 years ago.

Featuring 30 botanical paintings by the artist Mak Sau 麥秀 together with herbals, maps, models, a portrait of Whang At Tong 黃遏東 by Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792), and watercolours and drawings of Canton from the V&A, Seeds of Exchange will tell the story of a little-known international botanical collaboration.

FT Weekend is seeking an art director to steer Life & Arts and House & Home into the future.

You will enjoy thinking about how to best present a range of stories, from theatre reviews to essays on world events both online and in print. From commissioning illustrations to creating secondary elements that entice readers to scroll deeper, you will need to think about all parts of the Life & Arts and House & Home offering. Working on H&H and L&A is a collaborative process from start to finish, and you will need to enjoy working closely with editors, picture editors and production experts.

Created on the north Kent coast, where the painter had decamped to escape depression and the pressures of London, it is, in effect, a tribute to Maria and an acknowledgement of the grief that Christina and Dante share—Christina, by contrast, expressed her feelings in the poem An October Garden. As his younger brother William would write a decade later, the portrait had a positive effect: “The experiment turned out a complete success. [Dante] perceived at once that nothing but an effort of will was needed to enable him to continue working at his art.”

The portrait, one of only two solo portraits he created of his sister in later life, was recently acquired by the National Trust and forms part of “The Rossettis – Siblings and Spouses,” an exhibition at Wightwick Manor in Wolverhampton, a city in the English Midlands. Wightwick Manor was bestowed to the National Trust in 1937 by Rosalie and Geoffrey Mander, whose devotion to collecting Victorian art has made the property a significant place to see Pre-Raphaelite and Arts and Crafts work.

In each of the present three studies, examination of the Venetian blue paper mounted on a thin wooden strainer also reveals a preparatory practice very close to that of Rosalba. However, the distinctive rounded eyes, most notable in the portraits of the children, are indicative of the hand of Marianna (as was first noted by Xavier Salomon in email correspondence with the present vendor in 2021).

Although documentary evidence relating to Marianna’s output makes firm identification of the sitters difficult, she is known to have been supported by the wealthy Zenobio family in Venice, and her close association with Rosalba suggests she likely came into contact with prominent patrons. The fact that these three elegant portraits almost certainly depict members of the same family again highlights their rarity and importance in unravelling the history of the mysterious Marianna Carlevarijs.

During his career, Titian produced some of the most innovative paintings of his time, becoming the most celebrated Italian painter in Europe. Since 1971, Save Venice has supported the restoration of many of his masterpieces, including "Saint Mark Enthroned" (Basilica della Salute), the "Assumption of the Virgin" and the "Madonna di Ca’ Pesaro" (Basilica dei Frari), the "Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple" (Gallerie dell’Accademia), the "Annunciation" at the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, and the "Annunciation" in the Malchiostro Chapel in Treviso Cathedral. Funded by Save Venice with the support of Christopher Todd Page, this volume presents discoveries from these conservation campaigns, offering new insights into Titian’s creative process and technique, and publishing previously unseen details from the Save Venice photographic archive, alongside reflections by conservators and leading scholars.

One of the most renowned groups in the Gulbenkian Museum’s collections is the splendid set of paintings by Francesco Guardi (1712-1793), the last great Venetian painter of views in the 18th century, acquired in the first twenty years of the 20th century. They include some of the most sublime works by the artist, who is famous for having begun painting views in middle age, after years spent experimenting with history and genre painting.

All dating from between 1770 and 1790, Guardi’s works in the Gulbenkian are outstanding examples of his style, with allusive brushstrokes and freely distorted proportions, creating views in which the structure of perspective appears elastic. Now far removed from Canaletto’s geometric certainties and camera obscura, Venice as portrayed by Francesco Guardi is made up of buildings eroded by light, rendered through tremulous brushwork, as if offering an inward image of Venice and its civilisation already in rapid decline. The subjects are those that the artist explored at various times, such as The Feast of the Ascension in St. Mark’s Square, the Regattas on the Grand Canal and the Departure of the Bucintoro.

“After more than a year of negotiations,” said Minister Alessandro Giuli, “we announce today the purchase by the Ministry of Culture of an extraordinary masterpiece by Caravaggio, the ’Portrait of Monsignor Maffeo Barberini.’ This is a work of exceptional importance, attributed to the Master by Roberto Longhi, which is now offered for the full enjoyment of the public and the international scientific community, just a few months after its first exhibition in a museum, which took place at Palazzo Barberini. This acquisition, together with the recent acquisition of Antonello da Messina’s ’Ecce Homo,’ is part of a broader project to strengthen the national cultural heritage that the Ministry of Culture will continue to pursue in the coming months, with the aim of making accessible to scholars and enthusiasts some masterpieces of art history otherwise destined for the private market. I would like to thank all the institutions, officials and technicians who worked with great skill and dedication so that a result of this significance could be achieved.”

The famous city views of Giovanni Antonio Canal (better known as Canaletto) and his nephew Bernardo Bellotto (who often called himself Canaletto as well, to emphasize his connection to his celebrated uncle) take centre stage in the upcoming exhibition at the Kunsthistorisches Museum. With the help of optical devices, such as the camera obscura, these two Venetian painters surveyed European cities with scientific precision, yet creatively transformed what they saw into grand pictorial scenes.

Both artists painted spectacular views of their hometown, Venice, but they both left the lagoon city to pursue their careers abroad: Canaletto moved to London, while Bellotto worked in Dresden and Vienna.  

Featuring major international loans – many of which have never before been exhibited in Austria – the exhibition invites you to rediscover the eighteenth-century city and two artists whose careers mirror a Europe shaped by mobility, war, and uncertainty.