A Stitch in Time

Historian Amber Butchart travels across England to explore the historical significance of the clothing in Van Eyck's enigmatic Arnolfini portrait.

Amber Butchart journeys to Broughton Castle to see a portrait of an 18th century hedge cutter; a rare example of a worker being immortalized on canvas.

Amber Butchart studies the clothing in the portrait of Dido Elizabeth Belle - daughter of a British naval captain and an enslaved African woman. What does the portrait reveal?

Over 600 years ago the eldest son of King Edward III - the so called 'Black Prince' - decreed that his heraldic surcoat was to be displayed in Canterbury Cathedral.

An exploration of Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun's portrait of Marie Antoinette--considered so scandalous that the artist later reproduced the pose in a more conventional mode of dress.