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

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

The rediscovered nudes of Elio Luxardo

Nick Dakin-Elliot, who gardens in Tuscany, is still moved by the Italian hilltop gardens that command some of the most beautiful views in the world

Paul Hill considers… Kebab Paper, Leeds 2002, ...

Middleland: Dispatches from the Borders Rory Stewart (Jonathan ...