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While the great Italian renaissance painters and the Dutch masters are world famous, why are there so few British artists from this period leading the way? It’s one of the questions the art historian Bendor Grosvenor examines in his new history, The Invention of British Art. From prehistoric bone carvings to the landscapes of John Constable, Grosvenor reassesses the contribution British artists have made at home and abroad.

The writer and former curator at the V&A Susan Owens wants to turn our attention to drawing. It is a simpler, more democratic form of art-making, she argues in The Story of Drawing: An Alternative History of Art. And one that is a fundamental part of the creative process. She reveals what can be learnt by looking again at the sketches made by Gainsborough, William Blake and Tacita Dean.

Maggi Hambling is a renowned British painter and sculptor. In her latest works she attempts to paint the magical sound of the nightingale’s song. The series of gold-on-black paintings were inspired by a night spent in the Sussex woodland, alongside the folk musician Sam Lee. Maggi Hambling: Nightingale night is on at Chichester’s Pallant House Gallery, 9th November until 27th April 2025.

Producer: Katy Hickman