Discover constable and the hay wain

French artists have appropriated alfresco dining ever since Édouard Manet scandalised Paris with his Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe , yet many charming scenes were painted in Britain, too, and are worth rediscovering, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee

Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro spent time in London, but it took James McNeill Whistler to act as artistic bridge with Britain and the ‘sweetened’ Impressionism of Jules Bastien-Lepage to inspire most homegrown painters, says Caroline Bugler

From topless staddle stones outperforming complete ones to two versions of the same desk selling on the same day 212 miles apart, bizarre occurrences are par for the course at contents sales

Gouache is a versatile, opaque medium providing great covering power and the ability to correct errors very easily. The range of colours is relatively small compared to other media, but gouache colour

With high summer beckoning, John Lewis-Stempel reflects on the incomparable richness of pond life and the rewards of pausing to peer into the murky depths on a warm June afternoon

We reveal why rising stars of architecture are leaning into the importance of place to create more beautiful and sustainable homes in the countryside, and what freedoms, opportunities and challenges arise from building in a rural setting today