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

ARE you sure, Rebecca? I can’t believe you chose Béziers over Paris,” Marianne said as they made their way towards the Saint-Nazaire Cathedral. “It’s cool, Mum,” Rebecca replied as she scanned the str

How beauty was reconciled with Darwinian theory

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

Paintings have never looked so delicious. Tom Parker Bowles selects five pictures with gastronomic appeal and imagines the recipes to go with them, as Carla Passino investigates the stories behind the art