Painting

An experimental replica of shell beads with Natufian red organic colorant made from the roots of Rubiaceae plants

Archaeologists Find the First Red Paint Made From Plants

Hunter-gatherers cooked up the alluring pigment in the Eastern Mediterranean 15,000 years ago

Originally built in the 1500s, the grand Palazzo Priuli Manfrin in Venice, with its elaborate architecture and ornate frescoes, will eventually house Anish Kapoor’s foundation.

An Inside Look at Anish Kapoor's Next Act

The famed sculptor brings his incendiary style—and fiery palette—to the canvas in a new studio in Venice

Arthur Brand, dubbed the "Indiana Jones" of the art world, has helped recover six stolen historical Dutch artworks from the comfort of his Amsterdam flat.

Mysterious Man Returns Six Stolen Paintings to Art Detective's Doorstep

The puzzling incident comes just weeks after an anonymous tipster delivered a stolen van Gogh to Arthur Brand's flat in Amsterdam

William Matthew Prior, a white abolitionist, painted both Nancy Lawson and her husband, William, as well as a few other African Americans. “Skin may differ, but affection dwells in white and black just the same,” he wrote.

These Portraits Made a Bold Statement in 19th-Century America

A new exhibition exploring artistic representation of Black subjects includes a work that subverted cultural expectations

Children Wading (1918), painted by Scottish artist Robert Gemmell Hutchison, was recovered thanks to the Art Loss Register's database.

A Painting Stolen in a Heist 30 Years Ago Has Returned to Glasgow

After vanishing without a trace in 1989, "Children Wading" appeared at an auction house in England

Merchandise inside Banksy's London pop-up, Gross Domestic Product, which the artist created in an attempt to hold onto his trademark during ongoing legal battles with the greeting card company Full Colour Black.

Could This Lawsuit Expose Banksy’s Identity?

The legal battle between the street artist and a greeting card company has been unfolding for several years

Close examination of drill marks on the sculpture shows how carvers created surfaces to evoke the textures of the represented elements, such as skin, wool or linen.

Vibrant Paint Once Decorated the 2,500-Year-Old Parthenon Marbles

New research has revealed that ancient artists used color to create highly detailed designs

Painted by Leonardo da Vinci sometime between 1503 and 1519, the Mona Lisa is on display at the Louvre.

Scientists Are Still Unraveling the Secrets of the 'Mona Lisa'

A new chemical analysis sheds new light on how Leonardo da Vinci painted the iconic portrait

Experts used X-ray and infrared imaging to determine that Rembrandt painted The Adoration of the Kings (circa 1628).

A Painting Originally Valued at $15,000 Turned Out to Be a Rembrandt. Now, It Could Sell for Millions

The hand behind the brush can make or break a painting's worth—especially when that hand belongs to a legendary Dutch master

"The Master's Pupil" is a hand-painted video game that takes place inside Claude Monet's eyeball.

This New Hand-Painted Video Game Takes Place Inside Claude Monet's Eyeball

Australian designer and developer Pat Naoum spent seven years creating "The Master's Pupil"

Pikachu takes van Gogh's place in this recreation of Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat (1887)

Pokémon Takes Over the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam

The franchise and the 19th-century Dutch master both took inspiration from Japanese art

Nam June Paik’s 1995 Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii—a pulsing map of the 50 states lined with 575 feet of multicolored neon tubing, with each state defined by flickering video from 336 televisions and 50 DVD players—is one of the museum’s most popular pieces.

With Renovated Galleries, the Smithsonian Expands Its Approach to Contemporary American Art

The historic hall in the American Art Museum where President Abraham Lincoln held his second inaugural ball welcomes more diverse voices and visions

Alma Thomas, Autumn Leaves Fluttering in the Breeze, 1973, acrylic on canvas, 40 x 50 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of the artist, 1980.36.9

Alma Thomas' Signature Style Is Full of Color and Tiled Brushstrokes

After a career as a schoolteacher, the Washington, D.C.-based painter flourished, creating vibrant patterns inspired by nature, the cosmos and music

Conservator Adelaide Izat works on Susanna and the Elders, a painting newly reattributed to Artemisia Gentileschi.

Lost Artemisia Gentileschi Painting Discovered in English Palace's Storeroom

"Susanna and the Elders" was misattributed for some 200 years, first to a male artist and then to the "French School"

Bob Ross' signature in the corner of A Walk in the Woods (1983)

Bob Ross' Very First On-Air Painting Is for Sale

Priced at nearly $10 million, "A Walk in the Woods" was the subject of the artist's 1983 television premiere

Édouard Manet's Olympia will soon make its United States debut in a new exhibition.

Manet's 'Olympia' Comes to America for the Very First Time

The painting scandalized 19th-century viewers and heralded the dawn of modern art

One of the archaeologists examines a partially flooded chamber of the cave that holds many of the drawings.

Archaeologists Discover More Than 100 Ancient Drawings in a Spanish Cave

Many of the works, estimated to be at least 24,000 years old, employ a rare clay painting technique

Arthur Brand poses with The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring, painted by Vincent van Gogh in 1884.

Stolen van Gogh Painting Worth Millions Returned in an Ikea Bag

Arthur Brand, the "Indiana Jones of the art world," negotiated the recovery of an 1884 canvas taken from a Dutch museum in March 2020

A visitor examines Pablo Picasso's Guernica during the partial reopening of the Reina Sofía Museum in June 2020, which followed several months of pandemic closures.

Museum Drops Ban on Photographing Picasso's 'Guernica'

After enforcing the rule for three decades, officials say that lifting it will prevent overcrowding and attract younger audiences

Installation view of Jessica Diamond: Wheel Of Life at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, 2023. Acrylic and latex paint on wall.

The Painted Poetry of Jessica Diamond

The Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum hosts the artist’s largest installation yet

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