An encounter with John Richardson, Picasso's biographer who has died at 95

AN ENCOUNTER WITH JOHN RICHARDSON Picasso's biographer died this week aged 95

Picasso's definitive biographer recalls the artist he knew

When I interviewed John Richardson, who has died at the age of 95, he was edging through his definitive four-tome life of the minuscule giant of Cubism. Of the various breaks he took from the business of research and writing, one yielded The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, a gossipy, elegant account of his own friendship with Picasso in the 1950s, when he lived in Provençal splendour with Douglas Cooper, then the owner of the finest collection of Cubist art in the world.

Fiona MacCarthy: Walter Gropius review - a master of modernism

★★★★ FIONA MACCARTHY: WALTER GROPIUS As the Bauhaus marks its centenary, a revelatory biography of its founder  

As the Bauhaus marks its centenary, a revelatory biography of its founder

The centenary of the founding of the Bauhaus (literally, “Building House”) art school is on us, prompting publications and exhibitions worldwide.

Richard J Evans: Eric Hobsbawm - A Life in History review - mesmerisingly readable

★★★★ RICHARD J EVANS: ERIC HOBSBAWM - A LIFE IN HISTORY A huge, highly detailed biography of the controversial Marxist historian

Life in full: a huge, highly detailed biography of the controversial Marxist historian

This is an astonishing book: in its breadth, depth and detail and also in its almost palpable, and sometimes unpalatable, admiration of its subject, the controversial, long-lived Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm (1917-2012).

theartsdesk Q&A: Matthew Heineman on directing 'A Private War'

THEARTSDESK Q&A: MATTHEW HEINEMAN How he directed 'A Private War', the story of Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin

Getting inside the mind of Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin

The release of Matthew Heineman’s film A Private War, about the tumultuous life and 2012 death of renowned Sunday Times war correspondent Marie Colvin, has gained an added edge of newsworthiness from this week’s verdict by Washington DC’s US District Court for the District of Columbia.

Springsteen on Broadway, Netflix review - one-man band becomes one-man show

★★★★ SPRINGSTEEN ON BROADWAY, NETFLIX The Boss hits the Great White Way

An emotional trip into the mind of New Jersey's patron saint

When Bruce Springsteen’s one-man show opened at the Walter Kerr Theatre on New York’s West 48th Street in October last year it was only supposed to run for six weeks. This being Springsteen, however, demand proved almost limitless, so the season was extended twice, and the Boss (as he doesn't like being called) takes his last bow on 15 December.

Poet in da Corner, Royal Court review - mind-blowing energy plus plus plus

★★★★ POET IN DA CORNER, ROYAL COURT Mind-blowing energy plus plus plus

Semi-autobiographical coming of age story jumps to the sounds of grime

There was once a time when grime music was very angry, and very threatening, but that seems a long time ago now. Today, Dizzee Rascal is less a herald of riot and revolt, and more of a national treasure, exuding charm from every pore, even if his music has become increasing predictable and safe. But, as wordsmith and dancer Debris Stevenson proves in her debut play, Poet in da Corner, Dizzee Rascal still can change minds and influence people.

The King review - the myth behind the man

★★★★ THE KING The myth behind the man

New documentary uses Elvis as a metaphor for the state of the nation

The most famous face in musical history, and perhaps the instigator of modern culture as we know it; he truly was the King. But for a documentary focused on such an icon, The King touches very little on Elvis Presley the man.

The King and I, London Palladium review - classic musical reborn with modern sensibilities

★★★★ THE KING AND I, LONDON PALLADIUM Classical musical reborn with modern sensibilities

A golden production helmed by the incomparable Kelli O'Hara

Shall we dodge? (One, two, three) No, the brilliance of Bartlett Sher’s Tony-winning Lincoln Center revival – first on Broadway in 2015, now gracing the West End, with its original leads – is that it faces the problematic elements of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1951 musical head on.

Adrift review - lost at sea

★★★★★ ADRIFT Oceanic epic of love, storms and survival

Oceanic epic of love, storms and survival

There is something irresistibly haunting about tales of epic sea voyages and the perils they entail. Recently we’ve had two versions of the tragic saga of lone yachtsman Donald Crowhurst (not to mention the excellent documentary Deep Water from 2006), and you could lob into the mix the Robert Redford vehicle All Is Lost, Kon-Tiki, White Squall and… er… many more.