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Two related images from The Book of Ishness, a sketchbook of abstract paintings that Tolkien began while he was an undergraduate at Exeter College, Oxford. The images date from early 1914 when Tolkien was in his third year.

Europe

Unseen Illustrations by J.R.R. Tolkien Are Coming to Oxford

“Tolkien: Maker of Middle Earth,” opening at the Bodleian libraries this summer, will include manuscripts, letters, maps and artwork

Cool Finds

Centuries-Old Shipwreck Washes Up in Florida

The 48-foot section of ship's hull was found last week at South Ponte Vedra Beach

Trending Today

North Dakota Makes a Push for a Teddy Roosevelt Presidential Library

The towns of Dickinson and Medora are raising money in hopes of establishing a library and museum to the 26th president who once ranched in the area

An original drawing of 'The Palace of the Sun' by Charles Le Brun, designed to be painted on the ceiling of the Grand salon of Vaux-le-Vicomte.

Europe

Never Realized 17th-Century Fresco Will Be Digitally Recreated at French Château

The masterpiece was originally planned by the great French painter Charles Le Brun

CARNE y ARENA, 2017. A user in the experience.

Future of Art

VR Installation of Crossing U.S.-Mexico Border Comes to Nation's Capital

"Carne y Arena," by Academy Award-winning Mexican filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu, will run in D.C. through August

Roger Williams University in Nashville, Tennessee, was a historically black college founded in 1866.

First Museum Committed to Sharing the Stories of Historically Black Colleges Opens

The HBCU Museum in Washington, D.C., launched March 9 and has plans to expand to a second location in Atlanta

William Still and a recent street view image of the row house where conservationists believe he and his wife Letitia once lived.

Underground Railroad Safe House Discovered in Philadelphia

Preservationists say they have identified the home of famed black abolitionist William Still, who offered refuge to hundreds of freedom seekers

Cool Finds

Wreck of U.S.S. Juneau Discovered in the Solomon Islands

The ship was known as the grave of the five Sullivan Brothers who died aboard it during the Battle of Guadalcanal

In this 12th century illuminated manuscript Mary Magdalene announces the resurrection to the apostles.

Cool Finds

New Exhibition Unfolds the "Bizarre" Stories Behind Centuries-Old Pigments

Cow urine is one of many strange ingredients included in the University of Manchester's new show exploring the history and chemistry of artists' palettes

Landmark Exhibition Takes You Inside the Exuberant, Diverse World of the Fatimid Dynasty

Toronto’s Aga Khan Museum brings together 87 pieces from collections across the globe

Trending Today

Artifacts Stolen in Massive Archaeological Theft Recovered in Canterbury

Police have recovered most of the 2,000 coins, bones, beads and other items lifted from the Canterbury Archaeological Trust in January

Stalin, Leningrad, USSR, 1978

Found: 30,000 Photographs by the ‘Russian Vivian Maier’

The photographer’s daughter stumbled upon the photo-films in the family attic

Cool Finds

Nearly 9-Hour Rainbow in Taiwan Sets New Guinness Record

Last November, researchers recorded more than 10,000 photos and videos documenting the long-lasting weather phenomenon

See Classic Sculptures Reimagined With Prosthetic Limbs

The aid organization Handicap International outfitted statues in France with prosthetic limbs to raise awareness about the global need for prostheses

Europe

Casanova Is Getting a Museum

The womanizer and Enlightenment polymath will be memorialized with an interactive museum in Venice opening April 2

A sunny day in Finland, the world's happiest country in 2018 according to new UN report.

Europe

UN Report Finds Finland Is the Happiest Country in the World

In the 2018 World Happiness Report, Finland scored high on six key variables

The artist’s impression of "Self-Conscious Gene."

Europe

Sculpture of ‘Zombie Boy’ Fleshes Out London's Science Museum

A giant sculpture of artist and model Rick Genest, who has covered himself in tattoos of the inside of his body, will debut in its new Medicine Galleries

A beach in Naples.

For the Third Year in a Row, This City Was Tapped as America’s Happiest

The area’s success may be due, in part, to the fact that it is home to a large number of older Americans

Two Antarctic Penguins Took an Adorable ‘Selfie’

They were investigating a camera belonging to an expeditioner with the Australian Antarctic Division

The ‘Mona Lisa’ May Leave the Louvre for the First Time in 44 Years

France’s culture minister said she is ‘seriously considering’ sending da Vinci’s masterpiece on a tour of the country

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