The Finer Things
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The Legacy: Charles Rolls and 'the best cars in the world'
Tragically killed at 32, Charles Rolls accomplished plenty in his short life, including founding Rolls-Royce.
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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.
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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.
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'I loved it like a best friend, and shed a tear when it was finally consigned to the great junkyard in the sky': Country Life's team on our first cars
The L-plates are off and it’s time to hit the road. Everyone remembers their first car, so James Fisher asked Country Life staff and friends to tell us about theirs.
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You rang, your majesty? What it was like to be a servant in the Royal Household
Tending the royal bottom might be considered one of the worst jobs in history, but a life in elite domestic service offered many opportunities for self-advancement, finds Susan Jenkins.
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The Rolls-Royce Cullinan II: As smooth as a 'bubble bath with Roger Moore'
The original was greeted with raised eyebrows, but, as Adam Hay-Nicholls explains, the latest offering is as much a Rolls Royce as any other.
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'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.
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Rolls-Royce launch the Phantom Scintilla private collection, one of its 'most personal vehicles to date'
Hot off the press: Rolls-Royce unveils a brand new, ten car private collection — inspired by the manufacturer’s iconic Spirit of Ecstasy figurine — at Monterey Car Show 2024.
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Gather, grow and regenerate at The Newt in Somerset, with star-studded festival lineup announced
The Newt has launched its first 'Gather & Grow' festival, which will dig into discussions on gardening, farming and wellness.
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‘We nearly drowned a couple of times. I loved it': Meet the royal boat builder who's spent 45 years chasing perfection
Spending his days working with traditional techniques and timber as Old Father Thames flows by only feet away, boatbuilder Mark Edwards’s career is steeped in history, Hollywood and royalty, discovers Ben Lerwill.
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The £20,000 watch made from the wing of a Spitfire shot down in the Second World War
The ultimate enthusiast's timepiece?
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'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
For Country Life's My Favourite Painting slot, the writer Emily Howes chooses a work by a daring and challenging artist: Frank Auerbach.
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The years when Art was part of the Olympics — and the double-gold winning painter who became its greatest champion
For decades in the early 20th century, the Olympic Games included events in art, literature and music. Only one person won more than a single gold medal in those years: Jean Jacoby, a painter from Luxembourg who remains his country's most decorated Olympian.
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The foundry where Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore and Nic Fiddian-Green cast their bronzes
One of the oldest foundries in the world, Morris Singer in Hampshire has a long and storied past, creating art and sculpture for everyone from artists to dictators.
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'I painted my own reality': The five key moments that defined Frida Kahlo's life and work
70 years on from the death of Frida Kahlo, Carla Passino takes a look at the work and life of the trailblazing artist.
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Paris 1924, when sport came headfirst into an intoxicating mix of art, fashion and desire
When the Olympics opened in Paris in 1924, the French capital was already gripped by a ferocious blend of art, literature, cinema, fashion and a wild desire to dance. Sport merged into this culture to become the pinnacle of an extraordinary time, as Mary Miers reveals.
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'She adored Elvis and wore slippers with his face printed on them': How Debo Devonshire is inspiring fashion 10 years after her death
Designer Erdem Moralioglu’s must-see exhibition in Derbyshire is a loving tribute to Debo Devonshire and her passion for Chatsworth, chickens and couture, says Kim Parker.
