CountryLife Culture

Book Review: Lucian Freud Portraits catalogue

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:15:39 GMT

Angus Stewart admires the National Portrait Gallery�s superlative catalogue for Lucian Freud�s portraits

The best art exhibitions to see this week

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:42:34 GMT

From John Piper at Blenheim Palace to Lucian Freud at the National Portrait Gallery there are lots of art exhibitions to see this week all over the country

Book review: How England lost its Great Country Estates

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:01:49 GMT

Jeremy Musson enjoys a new book on some of England�s great lost estates, and feels grateful for those to whom it falls to preserve the remainder

Art to see in February: Hawksmoor and the Diamond Jubilee are just two exhibitions to catch this year

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:10:16 GMT

The very best exhibitions to see this month include Hawksmoor at the RA and a wonderful touring down to mark the Diamond Jubilee

Book Review: A Tour of the English Lakes

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 08:08:06 GMT

John Martin Robinson admires a book exploring the English Grand Tour of the Lakes through watercolours and landscapes

The very best art exhibitions to see in January

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:53:07 GMT

From the Hockney blockbuster to a collection of garments made from spun spider silk there is a wonderful range of art to see this January, in and out of London

Book Review: Georgette Heyer: Biography of a Bestseller

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 08:08:17 GMT

Leslie Geddes Brown says this biography could have been a misery memoir

Book Review: PG Wodehouse: A Life in Letters

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 08:03:16 GMT

Letters that reveal the author's plagiaristic tendencies and inability to suffer fools amuse Roderick Easdale

Book Reviews: Books on Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 08:02:39 GMT

Three books about the life of Pre-Raphaelite Dante Gabriel Rossetti are a fascinating insight into his complex life

Book Review: Gardening: Wild Flowers

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:28:03 GMT

Knowledge built over years of fieldwork makes this book useful, as well as striking a chord with the enthusiast

The best art exhibitions to see this January

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:56:39 GMT

This January catch a new Graham Sutherland exhibition, and some fantastic watercolours in Kendal

Book reviews: The Glitter and The Gold

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 08:04:41 GMT

Martin Williams reviews the re-issued memoir of Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan

The Royal Academy definitive Hockney exhibition

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 08:04:41 GMT

Martin Gayford talks to David Hockney about his new exhibition at the Royal Academy

Book Reviews: New war/history books

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 08:04:00 GMT

Philip Eade is moved by the effect of war on ordinary individuals

Michala Gyetvai paints with threads

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:30:08 GMT

Michala Gyetvai's passion for threads infuses her swirling stitched and felted artworks, which can be seen at the Herbert Art Gallery in Coventry until 24 January.

The best art exhibitions to see this December

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:01:09 GMT

With a few days off it's the perfect chance to catch some of the best exhibitions to see by the end of the year, including Gerhard Richter at TATE Modern and Richard Long in Cumbria

Ice sculptures at Christmas

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 11:17:48 GMT

Get ready for the ultimate ice sculpting competition at Canary Wharf in January and commission your own ice sculpture this Christmas

The most attractive literary heroes

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 08:12:13 GMT

From Heathcliff to Horatio Hornblower, fiction is full of fanciable men. Emma Hughes lists the literary heroes who make her heart beat fastest

Book Review: Music in the Landscape

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 08:00:50 GMT

A wealth of anecdote and insight make for fascinating reading in this new book on how the British Countryside inspired our greatest composers

Book review: A Glimpse of Empire

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 08:13:13 GMT

Jessica Douglas-Home writes a wonderful memoir evoking memories of empire

Recommended art exhibitions to see this December

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:40:56 GMT

Mary Miers picks the best of the exhibitions to visit this month from London to Newcastle including Anita Austwick �Cityscape 2011� at the Modern Artists Gallery in Berkshire

The best music concerts in December and January

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 07:12:14 GMT

Had enough of carols? A diverse programme of music awaits music lovers throughout December and January including Wagner, Beethoven and Strauss

Country Life picks our ultimate favourite gifts for our exclusive online guide

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:29:29 GMT

These Christmas present ideas from gorgeous dog beds to beautiful cashmere scarves are bound to provide inspiration

Book review: Room for Diplomacy: Britain�s Diplomatic Buildings 1800-2000

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 08:01:51 GMT

Gavin Stamp welcomes a much-overdue look at British embassies abroad, how they were built and who they were built by

Five of the best diaries for 2012

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:42:10 GMT

There's nothing better than starting the new year afresh with a brand new diary. Here is our choice of the most luxurious. At least it's one resolution you can easily keep.