From the artist killed on his first day in the war to a masterpiece once sold for £30, these were our most popular arts stories of 2024.
The tragic tale of the artist whose time at the Front Line lasted less than 24 hours
Rex Whistler’s self-portrait of 1924. Credit: Alamy
Rex Whistler’s fate touched a chord, somehow saying everything about the senseless waste of life and potential of war.
‘The most wonderful painting in existence’, once sold for £30 and considered less valuable than its frame
Flaming June by Frederick, Lord Leighton, has seen its reputation rise, fall, and rise again in the 128 years since it first went on public display. Carla Passino charted its path.
My Favourite Painting: Jeremy Clarkson
Rain, Steam, and Speed (The Great Western Railway) 1844, by Joseph Mallord William Turner. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The motoring writer and TV presenter chose a classic Turner image painted in the early years of steam trains.
A few of my favourite things: Matthew Goode
The Downton Abbey actor shared his guilty pleasures — including his true connoisseur’s choice of golf clubs.
Curious Questions: When — and why — did we stop wearing hats?
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Curious Questions: Who created the ‘Your Country Needs YOU’ poster? ![]()
The story behind Lord Kitchener’s imposing — and genuinely iconic — image.
150 years of the Impressionists, being celebrated in Paris and London
In 1874, a group of painters rejected by the official Paris Salon staged its own show and changed the course of art.
When Christian Dior came to Scotland: ‘I was even more struck by the beauty of the country, the castles, and the moors, than I had expected’
French fashion designer Christian Dior (1905 – 1957) with one of his models backstage at his 1955 fashion show at the Central Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland. The designer flew eight models, six staff and 172 dresses to Scotland for two shows, one in Glasgow and one at the Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire, to raise money for the Friends of France. (Photo by Thurston Hopkins/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
‘I lingered a little in Scotland,’ wrote Christian Dior in his 1956 memoir, Dior by Dior. ‘I had heard so much about its beauty that I had feared to be disappointed — on the contrary, I was even more struck by the beauty of the country, the castles, and the moors, than I had expected.’
The grand master ‘paintings’ that are actually the most exquisite floral photographs you’ll ever see
Exquisite.
Bert Hardy: The photographer who chronicled mid-century Britain, from the Blitz to Blackpool
Former Tiller Girls Pat Wilson (right) of Bridgend and Wendy Clarke of Southall in London, chatting on the railings in Blackpool, 1951. Credit: Bert Hardy via Getty
‘The ideal picture tells something of the essence of life. It sums up emotion, it holds the feeling of movement thereby implying the continuity of life.’ The words — the philosophy, really — of renowned photojournalist Bert Hardy, who catalogued life at home and abroad in a career that spanned four decades.
‘If you get 12 great photographs a year, you’re doing well’: Charlie Waite on the secrets of landscape photography
The world-renowned landscape photographer Charlie Waite joins the Country Life Podcast.
Clive Nichols: Secrets from the king of garden photography
Britain's top garden photographer Clive Nichols joins the Country Life podcast.
