Other livesIllustrationObituaryMichael Leonard obituaryMy friend Michael Leonard, who has died aged 90, joined the agency Artist Partners as a jobbing illustrator in the 1950s and was constantly in demand until he decided to become a full-time painter in the early 1970s.
Michael was a superb technician and produced memorable work, including covers for the Sunday Times magazine with portraits of, among others, Paul Getty and Mick Jagger. The magazine also commissioned him to imagine how celebrities might look as they aged, with results that were often uncannily accurate in their predictions.
In the Darkest Hour There May be Light - Works from Damien Hirst's Murderme collection Some of the contents of Damien Hirst's personal art collection will go on show to the public for the first time at the Serpentine Gallery later this month. Valued in excess of £100m, it places works by Warhol, Bacon and Jeff Koons alongside younger artists such as Jim Lambie and Laurence Owen. 'A lot of the things that I collect deal with death,' says Hirst.
Readers recommendMusicThis week’s reader-curated playlist includes songs from the Beach Boys, Esperanza Spalding, the Shamen and Seth Lakeman
Here is this week’s playlist – songs picked by a reader from hundreds of suggestions on last week’s callout. Thanks for taking part. Read more about how our weekly series works at the end of the piece.
Since time immemorial trees have provided people with shelter, food, lumber and even medicine. They hold important places in mythology, and are sometimes even worshipped.
A surgeon in texas reportedly offers a ‘Melania makeover’. Photograph: Guardian Design TeamA surgeon in texas reportedly offers a ‘Melania makeover’. Photograph: Guardian Design TeamShortcutsCosmetic surgeryThe US election brought with it a new facial aesthetic – that of both the first lady and Ivanka Trump. But what is so desirable about their features?
Every time has a face or two that come to represent what we are supposed to find most beautiful (usually: white and thin).
Forced marriage This article is more than 5 years oldUK Somali teenagers taken 'on holiday' and forced into marriageThis article is more than 5 years oldFigures show 100% year-on-year rise in forced marriages involving Somali children
British Somali teenagers are being taken back to their parents’ homeland under the pretence of a holiday and then kept in detention centres before being forced into marriages.
Under the practice of dhaqan celis, loosely translated as “the rehabilitation community”, Somali children and teenagers are routinely taken to the country, where they are often sent to “rehabilitation” centres.
JapanIn a country where more than 40% get less than six hours’ sleep a night and millions nap at work, new ways to grab forty winks are big business
For many of us, it is a daily ritual. The eyelids grow heavy as the after-effects of lunch kick in. The head slumps forwards, only to recoil, ideally before anyone in the office has noticed. Energy levels are at rock bottom. The afternoon dip is here.
Memphis GrizzliesGrizzlies star Ja Morant to undergo season-ending shoulder surgeryMorant, 24, to undergo season-ending surgery for labral tealMemphis star missed first 25 games of season for suspensionJa Morant’s season is over, with the Memphis Grizzlies announcing Monday night that their star guard needs surgery to repair a tear in his right shoulder.
Morant got hurt in practice on Saturday, the Grizzlies said. The two-time All-Star was in a sling for the Grizzlies’ game against Phoenix on Sunday, and then the news came a day later about how serious the issue us.
Bike blogSwedenGustaf Håkansson – the 'steel grandpa' who won a 1,000-mile bicycle raceIn 1951, a 66-year-old Swede crossed the winning line on a rusty old roadster with a flat tyre – and became a cycling legendOne hundred years from now, this story will be the sort we'll tell our kids when they're tucked up under the duvet and we've given into telling them, for the 47th time, about the long-bearded grandpa who won a 1,000-mile bicycle race.
The G2 interviewFilmThe legendary actor reflects on her riches-to-rags childhood, confronting depression and alcoholism – and dancing with Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire
Leslie Caron and her companion, Jack, greet me at the front of their apartment. They make a well-matched couple – slight, chic, immaculately coiffured. Caron, the legendary dancer and actor, is 90 in two weeks’ time. Jack, her beloved shih tzu, is about nine.
Caron heads off to make the tea, with Sidney Bechet’s summery jazz playing in the background.
12 Years A Slave This article is more than 10 years oldItalian posters for 12 Years a Slave herald Brad Pitt over Chiwetel EjioforThis article is more than 10 years oldLionsgate withdraws 'rogue' publicity that promotes film's white co-stars over black lead EjioforHollywood studio Lionsgate is embroiled in an embarrassing row over Italian posters for the Oscar-tipped race drama 12 Years a Slave which herald the small role of Brad Pitt ahead of the film's main star Chiwetel Ejiofor.