The three paintings, one entitled 'Girl Bathing' (pictured top left) and two called 'Tree Studies' (one of which is pictured bottom left), were thought to have been created by the notorious gangland boss (right) in 1986 while he served a life sentence at Wayland Prison in Norwich and Parkhurst Jail on the Isle of Wight. But Cambridge auctioneers Cheffins have removed the works from sale after experts deemed them too good to have been painted Kray. ...read
Art big picture gallery
By using a photo-processing method called tilt-shift, Richard Silver spent £20,000 over seven-years to create the eye-popping visual feast from across the planet.
Art Headlines
Supersonic sculpture: Designer creates five tonne stainless steel artwork using Concorde's nose cone
Sebastian Conran crafted the piece of art, called Icon, using the nose cone rescued from the iconic Concorde prototype and five tonnes of polished stainless steel, burr walnut, and bronze. The seven metre-long sculpture was inspired by sonic waves that the aircraft would have made by surfing the earth's atmosphere at speeds of more than Mach II. ...read
The pictures that make you look twice: Intriguing optical illusions that were created with no camera trickery
These clever photos merge apparently mundane elements into incredible juxtapositions which have a mind-bending hint of the fairytale about them. With cameras often believed to reflect the real state of things, to create a facsimile of the true state of the world, so when photographs show something wildly chimerical it delights the imagination. Many of the incredible images in this set play with our sense of perspective by bringing side by side two elements that are, in fact, distant from each other in depth. ...read
MUST READS...Art stories from around the world
Incredible slow-motion shots capture cheetah accelerating to 70mph
Adalberto Mangini, 51, held his nerve to get these pictures as the cheetah hurtled up an enclosed run as it chased a fake chicken at the Mukuni Big 5 Safari in Livingstone, Zambia. It was part of the big cat's rehabilitation as staff prepared it for life back in the wild.
Spectacular pictures of the mountain spewing scarlet smoke over a desolate grey Sea of Sand
Mount Bromo, in East Java, in Indonesia, is best seen at dawn and dusk when the dim light transforms the landscape.
Photographer captures 360 degree pictures taken aboard some of the world's scariest rides
Photographer Lewis Whyld has developed a camera system which can take 360 degree pictures and attached it to some of the UK's scariest rides. The photographs, taken at the most exciting points of each, capture the delight - and terror - of those aboard.
LATEST ALBUM RELEASES
Scroll through for the latest new album releases
Heart Of Nowhere (Mercury)
Once part of the new folk scene with Laura Marling and Mumford & Sons, the ever prolific Noah And The Whale are maturing beautifully. With Charlie Fink’s tuneful rasp prominent, their fourth album in five years builds on the FM guitar-rock of 2011’s Last Night On Earth. Not Too Late is a poignant coming-of-age anthem, while the string-driven title track benefits from a powerful vocal cameo from guest Anna Calvi.
★★✩✩✩
Modern Vampires Of The City (XL)
Most indie-rock bands are good for one or two albums, but this third effort suggests a long career. The New Yorkers once sang of bus routes in Manhattan, but the themes are deeper and darker here. Worship You revisits Sixties psychedelia, and the thumping Diane Young recalls Simon & Garfunkel’s Cecilia. A refreshingly adventurous affair.
★★✩✩✩
Mother (Sony Music)
One-third of Texan country rebels The Dixie Chicks, Natalie Maines returns from a seven-year sabbatical in fiery fashion. Maines has voiced her disenchantment with the Nashville way, and she lets her anger burn on a set of rock-based songs. Mixing originals and covers, she rocks out on Trained, though the highlights are her ballads — the swirling Pink Floyd title track and Jeff Buckley’s languid Lover You Should Have Come Over.
★★✩✩✩
Violin Concerto etc
THIS is an outstanding performance of one of the most challenging concertos in the violin repertoire. Georgian violinist Lisa Batiashvili adopts decent tempi, instead of the sluggish speeds so many of her rivals favour. The work glows as a result. The only downside is the CD is 47:31 long.
★★★✩✩
English Electric (100%)
As Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, they were among the leading lights of Eighties synth-pop, and this second album since a 2007 reunion finds the Merseyside duo on familiar ground. Their tuneful computer-pop nods to New Order and Kraftwerk. And, while electronic sounds dominate, their strength remains a bittersweet, human touch.
★★★★✩
I Awake (Dramatico)
Australian torch singer Blasko’s fourth solo album is a dark, yet compelling affair. From the Portishead-like blues of God Fearing to the rolling kettle drums of the jazzy title track, it’s a record of deceptively simple songs that are high on raw emotion. The Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra adds colour to Blasko’s smoky vocals.
★★★✩✩
Delta Machine (Columbia)
Depeche Mode return to their bluesy synth-rock sound after 2009’s surprisingly upbeat album. Singer Dave Gahan and co-writer Martin Gore harmonise brilliantly on Welcome To My World while My Little Universe is a lo-fi techno stomp.
★★★★✩
The Day In Pictures
The best pictures from around the world today
REVIEWS
IN BOOKS TODAY
- Only the rich can afford to be truly middle class now: BROKE: WHO KILLED THE MIDDLE CLASSES? BY DAVID BOYLE
- Think all our rulers are smug posh boys?: A MEMOIR OF A CHILDHOOD BY ALAN JOHNSON
- Eat, drink and be merry as the Bard: THE FOOD OF LOVE: THE TASTE OF SHAKESPEARE IN FOUR SEASONS BY ALAN DEEGAN AND ALYCIA SMITH-HOWARD
- What big teeth you have...: THE HIDDEN LIFE OF WOLVES BY JIM AND JAMIE DUTCHER
MUSIC REVIEWS AND FEATURES
THEATRE
- Merrily We Roll Along: Stephen Sondheim's revival is a good, splashy, showbizzy romp You can’t fault this plucky production
- Travels With My Aunt review: Feels like a pair of comfy old slippers - not the great adventure it could be There is no Maggie Smith as elderly Aunt Augusta
- Flying high with the kites of Kabul: Play adaptation is worthy of Hosseini's bestseller Virtual brothers divided by envy and war in Kabul
- QUENTIN LETTS: Tempest? More like a chilly breeze... intrusion of city life becomes a fatal distraction to Shakespeare
- QUENTIN LETTS: The Pajamas are all right on the nightie Adler and Ross’s The Pajama Game is, plotwise, full of political hokum