Field work – is it time Mike Leigh made a film about crop circles?
Film fans can only hope that the director will turn his interest in these mysterious patterns to practical effect
Pray silence for… the return of roller coasters
Rakewell celebrates the return of roller coasters – with no screaming allowed – by looking back at some of the earliest white knuckle rides
Pinting by numbers – a paean to the pub
While Apollo’s roving correspondent is more than ready to go to the pub, he can’t help wondering if it will all end in Hogarthian tears
Obstructing views of Tower Bridge
A development that would have impinged on Tower Bridge has landed Robert Jenrick in hot water – so Rakewell digs up some classic views of the landmark
George Eliot and the monuments madmen
The statue of George Eliot in Nuneaton has attracted some unlikely ‘defenders’
Winston Churchill in a box
Churchill’s statue on Parliament Square is currently boxed up but, given his attitude to portraits, perhaps Churchill himself wouldn’t mind
I spy with my little eye… a cultural tour of Killing Eve
What is it about art and espionage? The spies and assassins of BBC America’s hit show have sophisticated tastes in meeting venues
Chris Grayling, culture vulture – and NPG trustee
The former transport secretary has been appointed as a trustee of the National Portrait Gallery – so he must be a museum fanatic, right?
Peter Crouch, Michelangelo and the Sixteen Chapel
The former England striker is keen to stage an exhibition of photos of Roy Keane – and has strong opinions about the arrogance of most art galleries
The punchy paintings of Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers gave action painting a new spin in a sketch with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore in 1965
The museums offering remedies for Zoom gloom
Fed up with video calls, Rakewell finds light relief in teleporting himself (if only) to Waddesdon Manor and the Met
Performing Dr. Seuss – from Michelle Obama to Dr. Dre
Celebrities have often performed Dr. Seuss to kids to extol the benefits of reading – but should they have rapped through the books instead?
The card lads of German football
The fans of Borussia Mönchengladbach are to make up for closed stadiums by attending matches in the form of cardboard cutouts
How Apollo made its mark on Lovejoy
Your favourite art magazine has been spotted in the vintage BBC comedy-drama – though always in the hands of dodgy antiques dealers
Homeschooling with Danny Dyer
BBC Bitesize has announced that Danny Dyer and Sergio Agüero are among the celebrities joining its homeschooling programme. But who’s going to teach art?
A cultural tour of Jon Snow’s bookshelves
Rakewell has been eyeing up the broadcaster’s learned library while watching Channel 4 News
Curatorial cocktails at the Frick
The curators at the Frick are to brighten up cocktail hour in Manhattan – and Rakewell is already pouring himself a drink
Homemade masterworks – from the sublime to the ridiculous
With oodles of toilet paper and canned fish, it seems anyone can recreate an artistic masterpiece at home
Au revoir, Albert Uderzo – on Asterix in different tongues
Rakewell bids farewell to the co-creator of Asterix by taking a tour through his characters – and how their names have shifted in translation
The Courtauld quizzers come a cropper
After a solid run on University Challenge, the Courtauld team met its match in Jesus College, Oxford – and too many questions about art history
Don’t stand so close to me! Art in an age of contagion
Some scenes of art appreciation that wouldn’t pass muster in stricter viewing conditions
Has the tomb of Romulus really been found – or is someone crying wolf?
Claims that the resting place of the legendary founder of Rome has been discovered cause Rakewell to raise an eyebrow
Star Turner – The Fighting Temeraire, from biscuit tin to banknote
With the new £20 note in circulation, there are now two billion more copies of the much-reproduced painting in existence
The Versailles of Wales, Vienna, Hampstead, Belarus…
Every country has its own Versailles, right? Rakewell rounds them up
Most popular
- Recent
- Recent
Podcast
![Masterpiece [Re]discovery 2022. Photo: Ben Fisher Photography, courtesy of Masterpiece London](http://www.apollo-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/MPL2022_4263.jpg)
Has the Fitzwilliam lost the hang of things?