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Christian Thorsberg

Daily Correspondent

Christian Thorsberg

Christian Thorsberg is a daily correspondent for Smithsonian magazine who covers new research, culture and art history. His work, which has appeared in publications across the country, contextualizes humanities and environmental news.

Highlights

  • Contributor to Smithsonian magazine, Sierra magazine, the Progressive, Prism and Grid News
  • Reporter for Circle of Blue, covering freshwater stories and Great Lakes policy in features and twice-weekly newsletters Fresh and The Stream
  • Communicated new science, climate change and Indigenous ways of knowing as a storyteller with the International Arctic Research Center

Education

Master’s and bachelor’s degrees in journalism from Northwestern University

Stories from Christian Thorsberg

The museum's restoration includes necessary updates to conservation workshops and archive spaces.

Madrid’s Renewed and Expanded Sorolla Museum Lets the Paintings of the Spanish ‘Master of Light’ Re-emerge Into Public View

Dedicated to the works of Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida, the museum is centered around his historic home and studio. The first phase of its yearslong renovation is complete, featuring expanded exhibition spaces

Large sits on Île Seguin, the former home of the original Renault factory.

On an Island Outside Paris, a Sprawling Contemporary Arts Center Aptly Called ‘Large’ Prepares to Open Its Doors

The landmark institution’s first exhibition pays homage to a historic Renault automobile plant that once operated on the Île Seguin in the Seine River. “The project called for a great deal of perseverance,” one official says

Châtaigniers en fleurs, or Chestnut Trees in Blossom, on display in Hong Kong

This Vincent van Gogh Painting Has Not Been Seen in Public for Over 60 Years. It Is Now Poised to Set a Record at an Upcoming Auction

The Dutch Post-Impressionist painted “Chestnut Trees in Blossom” during the highly productive yet tragic final months of his life. It is heading to auction as part of a “legendary” private collection which also includes works from Cézanne and Renoir

Archaeologists excavating near the crash site

After an American Bomber Crashed Into an English Moor During World War II, a Corporal Was Declared Missing in Action. Archaeologists Have Now Revived the Search for His Remains

Corporal Clarence Watson was among 10 American airmen aboard a B-24H Liberator when it crashed under foggy conditions. The crew was training for Operation Carpetbagger, a top-secret effort to fly deep into Nazi-occupied Europe

An exhibition of the kinetic art of Argentinian artist Julio Le Parc at Tate Modern, London

With the Help of Family Wealth and Instagram, Gen Z Is Spending Big in the Art Market

According to a new survey, high-net-worth 20-somethings are emerging as the most active members of the global art trade, outspending other generations by wide margins. Their habits are changing how the art world works

Jakob Kudsk Steensen's Berl-Berl installation, which goes on view at New York City's MoMA on October 12, brings a digital, immersive swamp to life.

A Digital Swamp Coming to New York City’s MoMA Is ‘Made to Envelop You’ in Nature With the Help of Cutting-Edge Technology

“Wetland” is the latest installation of a high-tech traveling exhibition designed by Danish artist Jakob Kudsk Steensen. It recreates the overlooked ecosystem with the help of folklore, soundscapes and video game software

In this 1956 photo, Salvador Dalí works on the book's cover, which is made of bronze and bejeweled with gems, pearls, forks and shells. 

Thieves Pulled Off Another Shocking Art Heist in France. This Time, They Took a 330-Pound Bronze Book Cover Designed by Salvador Dalí

The volume, “Livre de l’Apocalypse,” was a “masterpiece” collaboration of 14 artists and writers. It is one of the heaviest and most expensive books ever made

Twenty coins discovered in Rome may be the first physical evidence of a "Little England" enclave.

What Are Medieval English Coins Doing in Rome? They Could Be Rare Evidence of a ‘Little England’ Enclave That Received Special Papal Privileges

Researchers argue that the tenth-century coins provide new evidence of a bustling English community located next to the Vatican that was permitted to use its own currency

A portrait sculpture of the emperor Tiberius, whose toga was originally painted pink, is the new exhibition's thematic centerpiece.

A New Exhibition Reveals How Hot Pink Togas and Floral Perfumes Conveyed Power in the Roman Empire

The show in Copenhagen explores the relationship between fashion and influence in ancient Rome

Jill Garrett's Head in the Clouds won second place in the studio portrait category.

See the Impressive Winning Images of Adorable, Somber and Commanding Canines From the 2026 Dog Photography Awards

Posing pit bulls, stoic galgos and frisbee-chasing Aussies feature among the annual competition’s prize winners

Dozens of Victorian-era “hairworks” from Leila’s Hair Museum, which closed for good last year, are now on display at the Morbid Anatomy Library in Brooklyn.

Dozens of Curious Artworks Created With Woven Strands of Human Hair Come to New York’s Morbid Anatomy Library

So-called hairworks were popularized during the Victorian era as a means of grieving the deceased

Mountains and Clouds (1976) photographed in 2020, when the clouds had been removed from the atrium

After a 12-Year Absence, Alexander Calder’s Mammoth Last Sculpture Finally Returns in Full to Capitol Hill

Calder’s final work, “Mountains and Clouds,” was removed from the Hart Senate Office Building in 2014 over fears about its structural integrity

Art historians believe the rediscovered red-chalk sketch may have been a character study for the young girl who appears in the Manet’s The Old Musician (1862). 

An Enigmatic Chalk Drawing, Rediscovered in a Private Italian Collection, Has Been Identified as the Long-Lost Work of Édouard Manet

The sketch of a young girl, in the red chalk characteristic of Manet’s 1860s life studies, is thought to be linked to several of the artist’s paintings

Built in the mid-16th century, the Villa Silvestri Rivaldi sat abandoned for decades just a short walk from Rome’s Colisseum. A new improvement project is revitalizing the complex and bringing its interior artworks to light. 

In One of Rome’s Most Famed and Neglected Villas, Centuries-Old Risqué Frescoes, Painted Over by Nuns, Have Reappeared

Nearly a year into a $40 million restoration of the Villa Silvestri Rivaldi, conservators are rediscovering and reviving 16th-century art

Hitler and his half-niece Geli Raubald photographed in 1930

Hitler Had an Intense, Mysterious Relationship With His Half-Niece. New Research Suggests His Alibi for Her Murder Might Not Hold Up

Recently uncovered documents about the timing of Geli Raubal’s death cast new doubt on the Nazi leader’s alibi, which had been considered reasonably sound for nearly a century

The 3,000-year-old skeleton of an Egyptian horse, believed to have been used in battle, was unearthed from an archaeological site in the Nile River Delta.

A 3,000-Year-Old Warhorse Burial and a Ramses II Tablet, Among Other Relics, Have Been Discovered in an Ancient Egyptian Fortress

New excavations in the Nile Delta offer eye-opening clues about military and residential life in the New Kingdom era

Jean Metzinger’s Woman With a Fan (1913) was gifted to the Art Insitute of Chicago by Mr. and Mrs. Sigmund Kunstadter.

This Cubist Painting With a Mysterious Provenance Hung in the Art Institute of Chicago for Decades. Now, the Museum Will Return It to Its Rightful Jewish Heirs

Infrared imaging links the 20th-century Jean Metzinger work to a collector whose pieces were forcibly auctioned under Nazi orders during World War II

At least 800,000 bees were stolen from several properties in far north Queensland, Australia. The theft coincides with the recent spread of a bee-killing parasite throughout the region. 

More Than 800,000 Bees, Worth Tens of Thousands of Dollars, Have Been Stolen in ‘Sophisticated’ Heists Across Northern Australia

The recent spread of a bee-killing parasite has contributed to an uptick in brazen thefts, experts theorize

On display in Mexico City’s National Museum of Anthropology, the pictorial manuscript is opened to a folio that depicts eight Indigenous communities preparing for their voyage to Tenochtitlan, the eventual Aztec capital.

A Rare Aztec Codex Detailing the Rise and Fall of Tenochtitlan Returns to Mexico for the First Time in Nearly Two Centuries

The artifact, among the most prized visual accounts of Aztec history, will be on display in Mexico City for three months

Each bison is controlled by three puppeteers, who spent days learning choreographed movements and commands. 

A Herd of 40 Life-Size Bison Puppets Will Stampede Through New York This Weekend to Honor Indigenous History and Resilience

The massive bovines, each maneuvered by three puppeteers, will roam through Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn

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