Former Sotheby’s chair James Stourton shares an insider’s glimpse into the murkier corners of a ‘gentlemanly’ world
As Art Basel Paris takes up residence at the Grand Palais, the FT invites you to discover the best of the fair, featuring key artists, collectors and gallerists
Technique or temperament? The alchemy of great art is elusive — but this peek inside painters’ studios offers tantalising insights
Ludovic Hunter-Tilney selects his best mid-year reads
Jackie Wullschläger selects her best mid-year reads
When we acquire a painting surely we are asking, where could I put that? Where would it fit? Does it go with the sofa?
An elegant and luxuriously illustrated book tries to pin down the painter via records he left behind — and very nearly succeeds
At the revival of Soho’s infamous Colony Rooms, the clientele are not true artists but aspiring bohemians
A personal and philosophical introduction to the Golden Age of painting that is fascinating but frustrating
Richard Fairman selects his must-read titles
Ludovic Hunter-Tilney selects his must-read titles
Top award in original English-language fiction reflects ‘full range of lived experience’, says jury chair
Paul Baker has written a stimulating history of a sensibility that is easier to recognise than to define
Writer dubbed ‘the erstwhile Mick Jagger of British letters’ was drawn to the underbelly of society
An art memoir that crackles with humour and anti-establishment rage
From the politics of food to the origin of time, the war on Ukraine to the realities of crime fiction
Requests to ban books in the US rose to record highs in the pandemic
Adam Kuper takes a provocative look at questions of ethnography, ownership and restitution
The celebrated record producer muses on what makes pop stars tick with grand but often frustrating statements
James Hall reveals some surprises in his diverting history of these ‘crucibles of creativity’
Ludovic Hunter-Tilney picks this year’s best stories in music
Politicians and parent groups step up hunt for publications they claim are inappropriate for children
Tell us your recommendation and pick up a few tips for your own reading list too
Frances Spalding’s beautifully illustrated history reveals the hidden undercurrents that electrify the work of 1920s and 1930s artists
