Capturing the immediacy of fighting and the writhing bodies of soldiers, as well as keeping narrative clarity, proved enormously difficult for painters depicting battles before the advent of photography. Michael Hall reveals how they rose to the challenge

Works by certain artists often become symbolic of a particular era. This is an angle which has proved very popular with visitors to London’s National Gallery in recent years and, this month, welcomes

After early profligate years in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, Francis Grant traded sporting scenes for portraits and climbed the ladder to become president of the Royal Academy. A forthcoming exhibition at Dickinson does justice to his drawing

Our pick of the latest military history books

A new book combines poetry from WW1 with photography from the trenches and home front. Geoff Harris finds out more, including the photo-restoration process

A cyanotype of a fern leaf by early photographer Anna Atkins soared above its estimate in Surrey and ‘the most striking likeness’ of Horatio Nelson is drawing every eye at the LAPADA Fair