Diego y yo is expected to become most valuable Latin American artwork ever publicly soldA sorrowful Frida Kahlo self-portrait which shows her cheating husband, Diego Rivera, in the centre of her forehead, is expected to smash auction records as it beco…
English Heritage trials quiet ‘contemplation hour’ at monastic sites
Visitors to places such as Rievaulx Abbey will be encouraged to focus on appreciating the peace and tranquillityModern visitors to monastic ruins are more often than not on their phones or chatting to each other, or thinking about work and what’s for t…
Essex art gallery endangered by funding crisis named museum of the year 2021
Firstsite’s ‘innovation and integrity’ during pandemic wins Art Fund’s £100,000 prizeA gallery that six years ago was placed in special funding measures because of concerns over its viability has been named winner of the world’s largest museum prize.Th…
Contents of Karl Lagerfeld’s eight houses up for grabs at Sotheby’s
Bowls used by world’s most spoilt cat among the more than 1,000 lots that belonged to late fashion designerDishes used to feed one of the world’s most pampered cats and hundreds of pairs of fingerless gloves will be among more than 1,000 lots at eight …
Drama school Lamda finds ‘serious relations breakdown’ under ex-head
London academy reports on inquiry into complaints about former director Sarah FrankcomAn investigation into complaints made against the former head of the UK’s oldest drama school has reported a “serious breakdown of relations” between her and some sta…
‘Forgotten masters’: auction shines light on India’s overlooked artists
Paintings commissioned by East India Company in 18th and 19th century up for sale at Sotheby’sRemarkable paintings of the flora and fauna of India, including a work once owned by Jackie Kennedy Onassis depicting a stork eating a snail, are to go on sal…
Portrait of Queen ‘looking like a corgi’ to feature in Lucian Freud exhibition
National Gallery will mark centenary of Freud’s birth by bringing together his most important worksIt was hailed by the Guardian as the finest royal portrait for 150 years. Others thought it made the Queen look like a rugby prop forward or one of her c…
Meat-rich diet of 14th-century monks caused digestive issues, research finds
Change in papal law in 1336 to allow twice-weekly consumption caused problems at Muchelney AbbeyIt may have seemed a good day for medieval monks when a papal decree allowed them to start eating meat including mutton, beef, pork and venison. It was not …
Lamda boss to leave job amid ‘conduct and management style’ complaints
Sarah Frankcom to depart as director of UK’s leading drama school after less than two years in the roleThe head of one of the UK’s leading drama schools is leaving her job at the same time as an investigation into complaints about aspects of her “condu…
Historic England re-lists nine sites to mark 70th anniversary of Festival of Britain
Newbury Park bus station in Ilford and Royal Festival Hall in London re-listed Not many people get wildly excited by a concrete bus shelter but Elain Harwood is, proudly and unapologetically, one of them. “It is grand, I love it … it is a simple curve …