Melanie McDonagh

ABOUT

Melanie McDonagh is a columnist, arts critic and feature writer. She covers art exhibitions and also does some leader writing, interviews and occasional beauty/fragrance features.... MORE

ABOUT
VIEW

Melanie McDonagh is a columnist, arts critic and feature writer. She covers art exhibitions and also does some leader writing, interviews and occasional beauty/fragrance features.

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Food + Drink

Feeling festive? These six seasonal afternoon teas are London's best

Break up the slog of Christmas shopping with a slice of cake (and civility)

21 Dec 2023
Gardening

Best plants for pots to suit your outdoor space

Planting inspiration no matter the size of your garden

22 May 2023
<p>Elaborate headdress, 1800–1900, China </p>
Exhibitions

China’s Hidden Century at the British Museum: messy, but so’s history

Hidden from us, not them, this packed 100 years tells a complex story of profound and rapid change

17 May 2023
Lifestyle

Fragrance fit for the king: top royal perfumers

Ahead of the King’s coronation this weekend, Melanie McDonagh sniffs out the chief purveyors of fragrance to the royal households

5 May 2023
TV

Tom Jones on ITVX review: Hannah Waddingham is on triumphant form

This is a welcome adaptation of the 18th century novel dubbed ‘the mother of all romcoms’

5 May 2023
<p>Saint Francis in Meditation, 1635-9, by Francisco de Zurbarán</p>
Exhibitions

Saint Francis of Assisi at the National Gallery review – remarkable

An excellent exploration of representations of the saint by artists from Caravaggio to Antony Gormley

4 May 2023
<p>Panagyurishte Treasure, Ram Head</p>
Exhibitions

Luxury and Power at the British Museum - makes our world look shabby

This gorgeous exhibition shows that even if the Greeks thought the Persians were effete decadents, they shared a taste for the finer things in life

3 May 2023
Exhibitions

The Rossettis at Tate Britain review: sensuousness and big hair

There’s poetry on the walls in this fascinating examination of these mainstays of the Pre-Raphaelite movement

4 Apr 2023
<p>Detail of At the Ball, by Berthe Morisot, 1875</p>
Exhibitions

Berthe Morisot at the Dulwich Picture Gallery review: phenomenal

The painter, who helped shape Impressionism, was at the centre of the Paris art world at its most exciting

29 Mar 2023
<p>Dog of the Hanava Breed by Jean-Jacques Bachelier, 1768</p>
Exhibitions

Portraits of Dogs at the Wallace Collection: a doggie treat

This exhibition of art featuring man’s best friend spans centuries, from a second century sculpture to David Hockney and Lucian Freud

28 Mar 2023