When it comes to treating yourself to a new party dress or a pair of cufflinks, or if you want to buy a brilliant present for a loved one, look no further than our High Life section. From the most inspiring travel trips to the latest news in luxury watches, and beautiful jewellery, let Country Life guide you to the very best in beautiful things.
Plus, read articles from our brilliant Gentleman’s Life magazine, including the 39 steps to being a gentleman.
Dr Francesca Whitlum-Cooper joins the Country Life Podcast to share how she and the team at the National Gallery picked the 12 most iconic pieces from the collection to celebrate the gallery's 200th anniversary.
Saucy seaside postcards were once a mainstay of British life over the summer, but these days they're rarely seen. Martin Fone asks why, and discovers the history of artists such as Donald McGill who turned wry, naughty humour into a huge industry.
A densely-packed masterpiece by the brilliant Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington has just set a record at auction. We take a look at the life and emergence of the feisty young Lancastrian behind the $22 million sale of 'Les Distractions de Dagobert.
The 2024 Aston Martin Vantage is the two seater sports car of your dreams. Or it is, if you're Toby Keel.
Winged creatures, robed figures and celestial bodies are under threat in a rural church. Jo Caird speaks to the conservators working to save northern Europe’s most complete Romanesque wall paintings.
Constable thought of his beloved Stour valley as his mistress, Samuel Palmer saw the Darent valley as a soft, pillowy realm where corn is always ripe. Michael Prodger reveals how Britain’s landscapes have inspired painters across the centuries.
The Royal Collection Trust's summer exhibition at Buckingham Palace brings together some of the most wonderful royal portraits ever taken. Jack Watkins takes a look.
Stretching for 1,600 miles between Donegal and west Cork, the longest defined coastal touring route in the world has been a resounding success. Nigel Tisdall took a test drive to mark a decade since it launch.
As the National Gallery turns 200, the chair of its board of trustees, John Booth, chooses his favourite painting.
Although named after an angel, Caravaggio needed no stronger reason to brawl than having his artichokes dressed with butter instead of olive oil. Maev Kennedy delves into his short and brutal life.
Christopher Price of the Rare Breed Survival Trust on the bucolic beauty of The Magic Apple Tree by Samuel Palmer, which he nominates as his favourite painting.
The infinite possibilities of decorative painting brought life to villas in Pompeii, Florentine palaces and Charleston in East Sussex. Today, a revival of interest in the artform is once again precipitating a highly distinctive new look in interiors. By Arabella Youens, with photography by Simon Brown.
Our cultural columnist Athena on the challenges — the many challenges — for Nicholas Cullinan, the new director of the British Museum.
In 1874, a group of painters rejected by the official Paris Salon staged its own show and changed the course of art. It was France’s convulsed lurch into the modern era that helped spark the Impressionist revolution.
For years, all you need to drive a car was to jump behind the wheel — but that all changed. Martin Fone traces the history of the driving test.
A new book by the photographer Gilbert McCarragher will give readers a first-look inside Derek Jarman's famous home on the shingle of Dungeness.
This 'beautiful, natural, heritage material deserves to be reassessed' and is slowly regaining popularity. Harry Pearson talks to the makers still working with this ancient gemstone.
Each of us has treasured memories of our home, past or present. Catriona Gray meets artist Ele Grafton, who captures these individual stories using vintage books and documents.
A seemingly insignificant painting sold in 2022 turned out to be a lost masterpiece — and it's now on display in Britain. Carla Passino tells the tale.
The contents sale of Tregiffian in Cornwall will give buyers the chance to own the writing desk, and other items, of the late great master of spy fiction.
