The sale of a Fabergé imperial egg and a 15th-century triptych made headlines last year, but one of the most powerful pieces was a painting by Richard Parkes Bonington showing what he could have become, had he not died so young

A new catalogue in four volumes explores the extraordinary riches of the sculpture in the Royal Collection. Its author, Sir Jonathan Marsden , selects 10 favourite works that reflect the diversity of this astonishing collection

Gracing the banks of the River Thames, this exquisite gem survived the Civil War thanks to a shrewd political operator, and is one of the finest Stuart houses in the country

With his vivid Grand Prix studies, James Stevens has become a true master of portraits, even when the star subject is limited to a pair of eyes peering out from a full-face helmet. Visitors to his sta

The making of the cover of the latest Portrait of Britain book, as told to Peter Dench

LS Lowry is arguably England’s greatest artist. He painted a subject area that no one had ever painted before, the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution, and became popular with the general public to