From George Stubbs’s golden vision of the labourer’s place in society to Ford Madox Brown’s heroically monumental celebration of manual labour, artists gave individual interpretations of work, as Michael Hall reveals

BRAFA, the annual art and antiques fair held in the Belgian capital, remains alluring at 71 years of age by combining old favourites with new discoveries

There is much to admire in Andrew Graham-Dixon’s study of Vermeer—but not its tendency to overinterpret the old master’s work “Johannes Vermeer is the most laconic of the Dutch old masters,” Andrew Gr

Francesca Tancini Walter Crane Books in colour 856pp (two volumes). Yale University Press. £250 (US $325). “Nothing is dearer to the heart of a commercial age than a label”, Walter Crane declared towa

14 March to 28 June 2026 A selection of 64 Dutch and Flemish drawings from the 16th and 17th centuries will be on display, featuring works by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Rembrandt, Rubens, Jacob Jordaen

A pair of comfortable Gonse chairs brought last year’s sales to a splendid end, with Old Master drawings set to star at auctions and fairs early in 2026