Culture

In 1999, an artwork of a dishevelled divan strewn with condoms and lager cans sparked a media frenzy and turned artist Tracey Emin into a celebrity. Why? And what happened next?

The most-watched Academy Awards ceremony ever was a lavish affair in which Titanic won 11 Oscars. Since then, viewing figures have plummeted. But why?

In 1957, the painter showed the BBC how he built up his pictures of industrial urban life from his imagination, and described the loneliness that informed them.

As the 2026 Winter Olympics close, the BBC rounds up some of the most stunning photos captured from the Games, and compares them to historic works of art.

The largest privately owned home in the US, Biltmore House was an "American chateau built on the scale of a European palace". It reveals much about the dreams of the US's one per cent.

Beryl Cook's paintings were loved by the public but derided by the art establishment. One century after her birth, a new exhibition argues for a reassessment of her work.

Shergar was the world's most famous stallion. When armed men seized him from an Irish stud farm on 8 February 1983, the BBC reported on a sensational true crime saga.

In a BBC archive clip, archaeologist Howard Carter describes the moment on 12 February 1924 when he and his team became the first people in 3,300 years to meet the Egyptian boy king.

Frank Serpico was shot on 3 February 1971, after exposing corruption in the NYPD. The following year, the BBC reported on the "widespread" rot in the Big Apple's police force.

For years, UK politician Jeremy Thorpe's affair was a secret – but when his former lover Norman Scott blurted out the truth, an astounding story emerged.

A Norwegian rocket launched on 25 January 1995 in order to study the Northern Lights, was mistaken by Russia for an incoming nuclear missile on a direct course to Moscow.

Her murder mysteries have captivated audiences for more than a century, but, 50 years after her death, she remains an enigma. A BBC profile from 1955 reveals some of her secrets.