Reviews
The private collection that paved the way for the National Gallery
The Marquess of Stafford’s noble endeavour gave the public a taste of what a national collection might look like
May Morris was a master of many crafts, but it’s her embroideries that steal the show at Dovecot Studios
The designer was born into the Arts and Crafts movement, but her achievements speak for themselves
Leonardo at the Louvre is full of wonders – and a few surprises
While the paintings are astonishing, the notebooks and sketches really draw you in
The ace caff that now leaves a bad taste – at the V&A Café
Henry Cole had the art of the museum cafe down to a tee. Oh for his veal cutlets!
Television licence – how Nam June Paik turned cathode-ray tubes into art
Tate Modern’s show of the artist’s experiments with technology suggests that TV was his favourite medium
Society painters – the Indian artists who worked for the East India Company
The Wallace Collection’s exhibition is very welcome, but could tell us more about the two-way traffic between Indian and Western artists
The Whitworth Art Gallery’s 130-year mission to make itself useful
Founded in memory of the engineer Sir Joseph Whitworth, the museum has always supported the marriage of art and industry
Priam suspect – myths about ancient Troy collide with reality at the British Museum
The myth of the ancient city has fascinated artists through the ages – and invited archaeologists to dig deeper into the legend
Feast of burden – the uneasy paintings of Norbert Schwontkowski
The artist’s murkily atmospheric works convey a deep sense of anxiety with a wry touch
What’s new at Sutton Hoo?
The archaeological site’s redeveloped exhibition spaces aim to offer a window on to the early Anglo-Saxon world
The art galleries branching out – with shows about trees
At the Fondation Cartier and soon at the Hayward Gallery, art really does grow on trees
The sculptor who found favour with Lorenzo de’ Medici – Bertoldo di Giovanni at the Frick, reviewed
He is best known as the pupil of Donatello and teacher of Michelangelo, but the Florentine sculptor has more than enough accomplishments of his own
Animal instinct – George Stubbs at MK Gallery, reviewed
The painter’s forensic study of his subjects allowed him to portray them with a startling emotional depth
Has MoMA brought modernism up to date?
Man (as represented by white men) is no longer the measure of all things at the headquarters of modern art
Reign makers – Roy Strong’s guide to Elizabethan portraits, reviewed
This authoritative survey gives some of the most familiar works of English art a new lease of life
Practical magic – the Arts and Crafts designs of Ernest Gimson
A new biography shows how thoroughly the designer’s life and work were intertwined
George Herriman’s Krazy Kat – revisiting an abstruse but charming comic strip
The story of a simple-minded cat and his animal neighbours was never widely popular – but it counted E.E. Cummings and De Kooning among its fans
A Delft touch – the intricate patterns of Pieter de Hooch
The Dutch painter’s courtyard and interior scenes reveal his fascination with frames, grids and lines
Mane attraction – the star quality of Susan Sontag
For all her flaws – and love of the limelight – Sontag’s commitment to seriousness feels more necessary than ever
From the high life to the Life of Christ – James Tissot’s path to piety
On his 50th birthday the society painter set off for the Holy Land, experiencing something of a conversion
Van Dyck, the artist’s artist
An exhibition in Munich explores the less familiar aspects of the portraitist’s work, including the support he gave to his peers
Disciplinary action – ‘A History of Art History’ by Christopher S. Wood, reviewed
This wide-ranging and original study gives art historians much to think and argue about
Women looking at men looking at them – at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle
Paintings from the museum’s founding collection show the unsettling ways in which men have often represented women
Pattern and Decoration – the movement that made a leitmotif of light motif
Embracing polka dot, patchwork and plenty of colour, P&D artists set out to challenge the norms of good taste
The many faces of Mary Magdalene