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Arts & Culture

The Mercer Botanic Gardens in Houston, Texas, has its own Shakespeare garden.

Shakespeare Gardens Around the World Honor the Playwright—and Hold Their Own Storied History

The curated plots of flowers, herbs and trees serve as windows into Shakespeare’s work and life

Roo Satay, a dish at Attica, in Melbourne, featuring a skewer of grilled red kangaroo and rice studded with native fruits and wattleseeds, which were traditionally ground into flour for bread.

How Australian Chefs and Farmers Are Rediscovering the Ingredients That Have Been There All Along

From kangaroo grass to Kakadu plums, native foods are redefining diners’ taste buds and deepening their connection to the land

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‘The Queen of the Ghetto’ Gave New York’s Immigrant Community a Voice. A Century Later, It’s Re-emerging

Anzia Yezierska wrote from experience then worked hard to make sure her work found an audience. Then a new audience found her

The first episode of "Lucy Worsley Investigates: The American Revolution" premieres on April 7, with the second installment following on April 14. Note: The upside-down Union Jack as seen here was in the original publicity photograph provided by PBS.

America's 250th Anniversary

In a New Documentary, One of Britain’s Most Famous Historians Reframes the American Revolution as a ‘Messy Divorce’

Lucy Worsley’s PBS series highlights the emotional fallout of the conflict, with a focus on the British perspective

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See the Spectacular Winners of Smithsonian Magazine’s 23rd Annual Photography Contest

This year’s best photos command attention by capturing intimate moments and bold colors

Rotorelief no. 1. This 1935 lithograph, printed on a 7 7⁄8-inch cardboard disc, could spin on a record player to create a hypnotic illusion of three dimensions. 

MoMA Plans a Retrospective for Marcel Duchamp, the Dada Artist Who Was Unimpressed With His Own Masterpieces

The French-American avant garde artist said painting and sculpture exhibitions made him sick. But the collection of 200 of his works may tell the story of art in the 20th century

Original hand-carved hubs for the Purple Heart and Silver Star rest in the jeweler’s toolbox of legendary Providence-based hub carver Elio “Duke” Lossini.

This Massive Collection of More Than a Million Tools Tells the Striking History of Jewelry Making in America

Before computers and A.I., beautiful trinkets were formed with a combination of hubs, dies, finesse and force. Kevin Potter has perhaps the world’s largest assemblage of them

In this “Doonesbury” strip from January 17, 2004, Trudeau makes gentle fun of his own legendary political obsessions.

With ‘Doonesbury,’ Garry Trudeau Found a Way to Inform and Entertain a Generation of Newspaper Readers, One Panel at a Time

A new biography chronicles the history and evolution of the reserved artist who has always let his pen do the talking

Gertrude Lawrence as Anna Leonowens and Yul Brynner as Mongkut in the 1951 Broadway production of The King and I. The musical turns 75 on March 29.

Based on a True Story

‘The King and I’ Spotlights an English Governess Who Modernized Siamese Society. The Real Anna Leonowens Exaggerated Her Influence and Lied About Her Origins

The beloved musical is loosely based on a Eurasian schoolteacher’s accounts of her time at King Mongkut’s court. These memoirs masked her mixed-race status and unfairly portrayed the monarch as a tyrant

A young living root bridge, barely a decade old, is seen from the deck of a much older root bridge on the same riverbed. Five months after I shot this photograph, monsoon rains triggered a landslide that sent boulders crashing into the younger bridge. It absorbed the impact and shielded the older bridge downstream.

In One of the Wettest Places on the Planet, Indigenous People Build Bridges and Ladders Out of Living Tree Roots

For hundreds of years, Khasi and Jaintia people in Meghalaya, India, have woven the roots of Indian rubber trees into structures that help them navigate flooded areas

A Nepali woman prepares momo.

A History of Momo, the Dumpling That Defines Nepali Cuisine

Though its exact origins are unknown, the staple is widely traced back to trade with Tibet

An equestrian portrait of General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, father of the novelist Alexandre Dumas

Based on a True Story

The Real Count of Monte Cristo Was Alexandre Dumas’s Father, a Trailblazing Black General

Ahead of the March 22 premiere of a new TV adaptation, learn about the life of Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, the French Army officer who inspired the beloved novel

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View 60 Captivating Finalists From the 23rd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest. Then, Vote for Your Favorite!

This year’s finalists carry us across landscapes and cultures, into moments with people and wildlife. Now, you too can select the one you deem most deserving of the Readers’ Choice award.

A view of Mei Lanfang performing in 1930

Mei Lanfang Was Famous for His Masterful Performances as Female Leads. In the 1930s, He Introduced American Audiences to the World of Chinese Opera

He is considered one of China’s greatest 20th-century opera performers, and his influence on the art form is still felt today

This 1804 depiction of Jane McCrea's death cemented a dramatized version of her killing in the public imagination.

America's 250th Anniversary

A Native Soldier Allied With the British Killed a Young White Woman in 1777. Propaganda Transformed Her Into a Martyr of the American Revolution

The patriots weaponized Jane McCrea’s death to demonize their enemies and paint Indigenous people as uniquely violent

Manuel Díaz Cárdenas harvests the tender tips of his Salicornia plants.

As the Planet Warms, a Humble Sea Bean Is Proving to Be a Promising Superfood

Known as samphire, sea beans, glasswort or pickleweed, Salicornia thrives in high-saline environments, like coastal marshes, and has a lot of nutritional and medicinal properties

These recently discovered portrait miniatures by Nicholas Hilliard are believed to depict Elizabeth Knollys, Lady Leighton, and Henry Wriothesley, Third Earl of Southampton.

Cool Finds

Tudor Courtiers Exchanged Portrait Miniatures as Love Tokens. Centuries Later, New Research Is Unlocking the Secrets of These Intimate Artworks

Over the past few years, art historians have identified several previously unknown paintings by Elizabeth I’s favorite artist, Nicholas Hilliard

Smithsonian magazine's picks for the best books to complement this year's Oscar-nominated films include Sing, Unburied, Sing, Frankenstein and The Vegetarian.

The Ten Best Books to Complement Your Viewing of This Year’s Oscar-Nominated Movies

Ahead of the 2026 Academy Awards, take a look at the titles that have been adapted into some of the recognized films, and books that perfectly accompany others

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Rooted in the American West: Food, History and Culture

Rooted in the American West: Food, History and Culture

This series will trace how the American West’s identity has been shaped by its people, landscapes and legacies

Jessie Buckley in The Bride! (left) and Elsa Lanchester in Bride of Frankenstein (right)

In ‘Bride of Frankenstein,’ the Monster’s Wife Never Speaks. Now, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s ‘The Bride!’ Gives the Iconic Character a Voice

Directed by James Whale, the 1935 movie and its prequel, a 1931 adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic novel, laid the groundwork for the modern horror genre

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