Chestertons Polo in the Park marks the start of summer
London’s summer social season starts this year with Chestertons Polo in the Park which takes place on 5-7 June at…
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Art & Culture
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Art & Culture
Sinking statues and Cheshire Cats – exploring the artistic landscape of Cowley Manor
Local legend says that Lewis Carroll found inspiration for some of his Alice-world creations – like the Cheshire cat, the…
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Debut UK exhibition by Massimo Agostinelli at Hus Gallery, London, sells out on opening night
The show, which opened on 15th May, presents a selection of twelve works from Agostinelli’s Palindromes series (2014), a sequence…
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Picasso masterpiece sells for record £116.3m
Author: Zahra Al-Kateb Picasso’s Women of Algiers has become the most expensive painting to sell at auction, going for £116.3m…
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A masterclass in antique pistols, albatross skin canes and whale memorabilia at Michael German Antiques
It’s hard to find a pair of duelling pistols these days, says antiques dealer Dominic Strickland. They were often split…
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Slow-moving Suffolk moves up in the world
Aldeburgh’s Jubilee Hall doesn’t date from any of HM Queen Elizabeth II’s Jubilees — goodness me, nothing so modern could…
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Time for the Outsiders to save the art world from itself
Above: a Henry Darger illustration from his fantasy novel, ‘The Story of the Vivian Girls’, courtesy Andrew Edlin Gallery It…
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There's more to education than the Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
Alessandro Tom’ says broad horizons, and recognition of the importance of choice are just as important as the drive epitomised…
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Review: Francis Bacon and the Masters at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts
Pictured above ‘Two Figures in a Room’ (detail) by Francis Bacon ‘Francis Bacon’s paintings, in spite of their unattractiveness, help…
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Review: Rossini, Il Turco in Italia, Royal Opera House
What a joyous romp Il Turco in Italia is. Rossini’s opera is rather confusing in synopsis, but let me try.…
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Diary: Melinda Hughes reveals the on-tour antics of an opera star
Pasta diva I thought the days of statuesque divas making the boards creak on stages all around the world were…
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Review: Sondheim, Sweeney Todd, English National Opera
This masterpiece of macabre musical theatre by Stephen Sondheim has had a deconstructive makeover by Lonny Price at the ENO.…
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Boy About Town takes us through his Easter Extravaganza
Through governmental and Godly benevolence, London’s overworked population has been blessed with a healthy, and hopefully sunny, four-day weekend, so…
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At GRAD and the Saatchi Gallery – Two exhibitions showing the present and past threats of Russian politics
Evgeny Granilshchikov stops speaking Russian and answers directly in English: ‘Of course, absolutely,’ he says, affirming he has felt pressured…
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Exclusive: Adam Dant’s sketches from Richard III’s reburial
I was delighted that Spear’s had a ringside seat inside Leicester Cathedral for the Sunday afternoon service for Richard III…
ByExclusive: Adam Dant's sketches from Richard III's reburial
Adam Dant – the official national general election artist – accompanied Spear’s editor William Cash to Richard III’s reburial. Here…
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Book Reviews: The Shifts and the Shocks by Martin Wolf and A Strange Business by James Hamilton
Christopher Silvester on a stimulating take on the financial crisis and Mark Le Fanu on an ambitious attempt to dissect…
ByFrom heart specialists to private operas, Spear's meets a UHNW fixer
William Cash meets chief fixer at BHB Partners Harry Becher, who explains that in his world there’s no such thing…
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Does money maketh minimalism?
All this stuff. My house is full of it. I live, now, in a pretty big house. Not big big.…
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Sanctions against Iran are crippling its artists and the chance for change
In retrospect, 2014 probably wasn’t the best year to have the UK-Russia Year of Culture. But despite political froideur, there…
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