An American artist has exposed her most private moments in a series of self-portraits that portray her eating behind closed doors.

Three important writers, all women over 65, were given separate standing ovations yesterday at the Auckland Writers Festival.

Lorne St doesn't really come alive until after midday. There are some coffee joints and a nail bar or two, and an art gallery.

I'm told I was in a world of my own, happily self-occupied, dreamy and contented in my own company.

A controversial photographic exhibition of gang members - including one accused of murder - has proved popular with the public.

"Kiwi philanthropist to get honorary doctorate." Was it Sir Stephen Tindall or Sir Owen Glenn? Or the arts' very own Sir James Wallace? No, all wrong, writes Janet McAllister.

Les Munro earned a place in history when he flew the famous Dambusters raid during World War 2. Now he will have his own place in London's Imperial War Museum.

NZ's art history is strewn with images of the indigenous barbaric, which were frequently used to accentuate the counterpoint to the civilised European, writes Paul Moon.

An Auckland art gallery owner will not back down on plans to display the photo of a Mongrel Mob member accused of murder, despite a strong reaction online.

Auckland Art Gallery plans to tour portraits of Maori painted 100 years ago by Gottfried Lindauer to exhibitions in Germany and the Czech Republic.

A month-long exhibition of portraits of Mongrel Mob members will start at an upmarket art gallery next week - and the photographer is expecting some negative reaction.

The rugged, scrub-covered hills are unmistakably those of Gallipoli's Anzac Cove. But who depicted them in an extremely rare, nearly century-old painting is a tantalising mystery that an Auckland art gallery director is battling to solve.

The life and work of William Shakespeare will be celebrated in a series of events taking place in 110 countries next year on the 400th anniversary of the writer's death.

"Memorials became increasingly ignored and forgotten objects, presences in the landscapes that were taken for granted and just passed by. It is this period of slow loss of community consciousness that Aberhart's photographs capture so superbly." - Jock Phillips, Anzac: Photographs by Laurence Aberhart