America

To the Dutchman commercial art was just as fulfilling as something more purely creative – and it came with a wage

Our editor-at-large’s rundown of the pick of the week’s theatre, books and cinema

A Frank Capra picture always embodied what Abraham Lincoln appealed to in US citizens: “The better angels of our nature”

This election is only the latest chapter in a saga that, unfortunately, is only just beginning

The president’s state of the union speech was a spirited attack on Donald Trump

New York courts now look like the best chance of stopping Donald Trump’s return to the White House

If Trump walks away from Nato, it will realistically be Starmer who decides what’s next for Britain

The Face is the real storyteller in vintage, and the close-up its greatest tool

The US media seemingly cannot resist even the most obvious of bait when it is delivered by the Republicans

Red sauce Italian restaurants are fortifying examples of immigration, a sign that people moving from one country to another brings intrigue and joy

Are the trolls finally deserting Trump?

Tucker Carlson’s interview with Putin did nothing but inflate the dictator’s ego and advertise his own version of history

Robert Rossen’s classic is a reminder to Americans that dictators don’t work for the people – they use them as a tool

The stakes in this election could scarcely be higher. Is Biden up to the challenge?

A century old, Rhapsody in Blue blends rhythms from the Black jazz age and from the Europe that George Gershwin left behind

Once the toast of New York society, the mystery of why she did what she did remains

There is no question in my mind that Grant is the greatest film actor of all time

Spurred on by fear of her endorsing Biden, the US right is turning on the singer and her gridiron star boyfriend. Bad move

The state of Europe’s fighting forces was too controversial a topic for the Davos agenda

A Russian author is declared a ‘terrorist’ for opposing Putin. American writers are banned in right-wing states. Where will this end?

If US politics gets any stranger, it's going to be hard to explain it any other way

The Beatles gave young Americans gold standard permission to be different from their parents

The role of Rico in Little Caesar proved as career-defining for Robinson as Frankenstein’s monster was for Boris Karloff or Dracula for Bela Lugosi

Despite facing 91 felony charges, Trump is going to be the Republican presidential nominee. He is a dictator-in-waiting

The Florida governor’s big ideas included a map of human faeces as he burned his way through $150m

Low-quality AIs are already serving up fake information to searchers. If this grey goo multiplies, we’re in trouble

Robert Redford portrayal in Three days of the Condor is eerily similar to Trump's contemporary success

Bringing RFK Jr on board could swing the White House race against Biden

While she became one of the most highly respected names in the history of US theatre, Hagen brought a European sensibility to Broadway