Art and Antiques

The £3 million Van Dyck painting going under the hammer with a unique buy-one-get-one-free offer

If you've ever dreamed of owning an Anthony van Dyck, now's your chance to pick up two in one go — plus more fun from today's Dawn Chorus.

The Legacy: Hans Sloane and the creation of the British Museum

A curious child who grew into a man of voracious intellectual curiosity, his life of collecting gave birth to one of the nation's great institutions.

Lost and then found: A missing painting by Lord Leighton returns to London

Someone, somewhere, knows something about where it went.

Masterpieces in miniature: Where art and elegance meets the precision of timekeeping

Rare metiers d’art timepieces are more than mere conversation starters. They are a joy to behold and the craftspeople at the top are as sought after as the highest-paid rock stars, explains Nicholas Foulkes.

The £7,500 peacock that brings grace, elegance and beauty... but without the noise and the defecation

Peacocks are beautiful birds — but that doesn't mean they're easy to live with. Unless they're not really peacocks at all...

Opinion: A vanishingly rare thing has happened — we have a minister for culture who actually sounds like he's visited some of the places he has responsibility for

Our culture columnist Athena is cautiously optimistic about the future of arts, culture and architecture — even if the same old problems remain.

The genius inventors who created the world's most important clocks

Early clocks had variable hours, but even in the golden age of British horology, when Thomas Tompion made his masterpieces, a man relying on public timepieces could end his walk earlier than he had started. Huon Mallalieu traces the evolution of British clock-making.

An exhibition that brings together the gun that started the First World War, Hemingway's typewriter, Captain Scott's snow goggle and Sgt Pepper's Drum

The gun used to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Hemingway's typewriter and the drum featured on the cover of Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band are part of Rick Guest's extraordinary collection of photography, Holy Relics at the StART Fair.

'As a child I wanted to snuggle up with the dogs and be part of it': Alexia Robinson chooses her favourite painting

Alexia Robinson, founder of Love British Food, chooses an Edwin Landseer classic.

My Favourite Painting: Geraldine Collinge

Geraldine Collinge, the director of Compton Verney art gallery in Warwickshire, selects Pierre-Jacques Volaire's An Eruption of Vesuvius by Moonlight.

My Favourite Painting: Rachel Podger

Rachel Podger, one of the world's leading violinists who specialises in Baroque music, chooses one of Vincent van Gogh's 'Sunflowers'.

What's for sale on 'the most mouth-watering shopping list in Britain'?

A browse through the summary of works of art and objects of cultural importance with a deferred export license reveals plenty of treasures. What should we keep?

The Pre-Raphaelite painter who swapped 'willowy, nubile women' for stained glass — and created some of the best examples in Britain

The painter Edward Burne-Jones turned from paint to glass for much of his career. James Hughes, director of the Victorian Society, chooses a glass masterpiece by Burne-Jones as his favourite 'painting'.

George Stubbs (1724–1806): Hero of the turf

George Stubbs, born 300 years ago, found Nature superior to art and approached his pictures with the eye of an anatomy scholar, yet no contemporary could rival him in capturing the elegance and character of racehorses, dogs and even zebras, as Jack Watkins discovers.

The Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece that never was, thanks to an assassination, a war, an abduction and an invasion

The great master Leonardo da Vinci was on course to create an equine statue that could have rivalled his greatest pieces — until fate intervened. Carla Passino tells the tale of the da Vinci sculpture that never was.

'But for a few twists of fate, she might well have been Queen of England': Who was the mystery woman in the Hilliard miniature?

A chance encounter with a cabinet miniature sent two art historians down a rabbit hole of Elizabethan intrigue, spycraft and courtship.

One of the largest banknotes ever printed to be offered for auction

The note, printed in 1998 to celebrate 100 years of Philippine independence, is legal tender and larger than a piece of A4 paper.

The tragic tale of Rex Whistler, the brilliant young artist whose time at the Front Line lasted less than 24 hours

Rex Whistler, determined that the Second World War shouldn’t be left to young boys, worked hard to become an officer and lead troops into battle, but the naivety of early courage cost him his life on his very first day of battle, as Allan Mallinson reveals.

Rare guitars played by Prince and Noel Gallagher lead Sotheby's Popular Culture Auction

From August 29, you can bid on rare guitars, a Steinway piano from Abbey Road, art by John Lennon and a costume from Gladiator II, among other items.

'I can’t look away. I’m captivated': The painter who takes years over each portrait, with the only guarantee being that it won't look like the subject