The Latest Breaking News from Melanie McDonagh

Sir Joshua Reynolds “dominated the artistic life of England in his age”, said Melanie McDonagh in the Evening Standard. As the co-founder and first president of the Royal Academy, Reynolds (1723-1792) held immense power over the country’s art establishment, and was generally “revered” by his fellow painters. Constable, for one,…

The Mayor of London’s new campaign to tackle misogyny has been widely derided as a PR stunt that will do nothing to address the serious dangers faced by women in the capital.

The Rossettis were a “weird” bunch, said Melanie McDonagh in the Evening Standard. Born in London to Italian political exiles and raised to be “precocious artists and poets”, they were a major fixture of Victorian Britain’s cultural landscape. Dante Gabriel (1828-82), a painter, would become the co-founder and de facto…

From lavish dinners to extravagant gifts, couples are splashing the cash to show their affection this Valentine’s Day.