A dramatic depiction of Robert Stevenson’s engineering marvel, the Bell Rock Lighthouse, by Britain’s most celebrated artist Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851), will shine its light on the National Galleries of Scotland’s seasonal exhibition Turner in January, which opens at the Scottish National Gallery on New Year’s Day. In 2019, this much-loved annual exhibition is supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery for the seventh year. In a tradition that stretches back more than a century, every January the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) displays an outstanding collection of Turner’s radiant watercolours, bequeathed in 1900 by one of the greatest connoisseurs of his work, Henry Vaughan (1809-1899). Conscious that limited exposure would preserve the brilliant colour and exceptional condition of the works, Vaughan stipulated in his will that his Turners should only ever be shown

An Israeli woman walking near ancient ruins noticed a head sticking out of the ground, leading to the uncovering of two Roman-era busts, archaeologists said Sunday. The life-size sculptures, carved in limestone, were found in the northern city of Beit Shean earlier this month, with the Israel Antiquities Authority dating them to the late Roman period, some 1,700 years ago. The well-preserved busts are of men, one of them bearded, sculpted in the Oriental style that was becoming fashionable at the end of the Roman period, according to Eitan Klein, deputy head of the IAA’s theft prevention unit. The sculptures emerged north of Beit Shean’s national park, where the ruins of a Roman and Byzantine city lie, probably thanks to the recent rains. “Busts like these were usually placed near or in a burial cave, and they may have represented the image of the deceased along general lines,” Klein said in a statement. The IAA said the finder would receive a “certificate of appreciation” for her good

The magnificent collection of paintings, sculptures, furniture and curiosities created by Horace Walpole for his celebrated gothic villa at Strawberry Hill, which was later dispersed all over the world in the famous sale of the century of 1842, has been reassembled for the once-in-a-lifetime exhibition Lost Treasures of Strawberry Hill: Masterpieces from Horace Walpole’s Collection from 20 October 2018 – 24 February 2019. The exhibition provides a unique opportunity to see one of the most famous 18th century collections including masterpieces by Joshua Reynolds, Anthony Van Dyck and Hans Holbein, reunited in its original setting in the fine rooms at Strawberry Hill. For the public, this is the only opportunity to see Strawberry Hill as its owner intended. This is significant because Walpole is widely thought of as the most important British collector in the 18th century. He wrote the first book on British art history, Anecdotes of Painting, and Strawberry Hill, with its 6,00