Connections between the natural world, the divine and the erotic were a favorite theme for Colquhoun, who described Earth Process, 1940, as an “image from a half-conscious experience.”

A New Exhibition Brings Fresh Recognition to a Groundbreaking But Largely Forgotten Surrealist

At London’s Tate Britain, a major retrospective takes a long look at the work of Ithell Colquhoun

A jar made by H. Wilson & Company in Capote, Texas. Right, the muddy banks of Salt Creek, a tributary of the Guadalupe River about 50 miles northeast of San Antonio, where Wilson’s pottery company sourced its fine red clay. 

Three Formerly Enslaved Artists Created Beautiful Pottery 150 Years Ago, and Now Their Wares Are Coveted Around the World

The stunning vessels from the H. Wilson & Company were forgotten for generations, only to gain new appreciation for the craftsmanship that went into them

Left: Af Klint’s 1907 painting known as Group IV, The Ten Largest, No. 2, Childhood, from a series charting life’s four main stages—the others being Youth, Adulthood and Old Age. Right, a digital collage with a photograph of af Klint c. 1901. Right: Portrait photograph of Hilma af Klint c. 1901. Portrait is collaged with a tree image created by the photographer.

Women Who Shaped History

A Swirl of Intrigue Surrounds Swedish Painter Hilma af Klint’s Newfound Status as an Icon of Abstract Art

Long overlooked, the artist made pioneering works in the early 20th century. Today she’s a global star—but some scholars insist she should be sharing the spotlight

Photographer Wayne Martin Belger created these striking platinum palladium prints by exposing the negative onto a paper coated with platinum and palladium salts, producing a special sharpness and subtlety. Belger built this vintage-style view camera specifically for this story, crafting the body from local Arizona mesquite and juniper and installing a late-19th-century French landscape lens in front, to give the prints a timeless feel. Belger calls it his “Tséyi” camera.  

How Canyon de Chelly Brought a Photographer Back to Life

Wayne Martin Belger set out to make indelible photos of a mystical site on the Navajo Nation. First he needed to relearn how to walk

This suit of armor bears the crest of the powerful Ikeda family. The helmet dates to the 14th century, and the suit—including the bear-fur shoes—dates to the 18th.

A Blockbuster Exhibition on Samurai Reveals How the Warriors Dressed the Part

The display of exquisite samurai armor in Oklahoma highlights the importance of aesthetics to Japan’s famed fighters

In Still Life With Brioche, c. 1890, Victoria Dubourg Fantin-Latour captures the buttery crust of a signature pastry. Known for her tablescapes, she met her artist husband Henri when both were copying the same painting at the Louvre.

Feast Your Eyes on These Paintings From the Impressionist Era

A new exhibition at the Frist Art Museum in Nashville will bring the food world of the late 19th century to its gallery walls

The Original Vienna Snow Globe Factory produces roughly 300,000 snow globes per year.

How an Experiment to Amplify Light in Hospital Operating Rooms Led to the Accidental Invention of the Snow Globe

The origins of the decoration lie in Vienna’s 17th district, where the inventor’s descendants are still making them for collectors around the world

Iznik tile, 16th  to 17th century, Syria or Turkey.  

An Astonishing, Rarely Seen Islamic Art Collection Goes on Display

At the oldest public art museum in the United States, miniatures, glassware and other intricately created works transport visitors around the world

A selection of the bounty from Isabella Dalla Ragione’s orchard, including apples, pears, plums, almonds, hazelnuts and grapes.

Meet the Italian ‘Fruit Detective’ Who Investigates Centuries-Old Paintings for Clues About Produce That Has Disappeared From the Kitchen Table

Renaissance paintings, medieval archives, cloistered orchards—how one Italian scientist is uncovering secrets that could help combat a growing agricultural crisis

An 1851 ink-and-watercolor gift drawing titled A Type of Mother Hannah’s Pocket Handkerchief by Polly Jane Reed, a Shaker in New Lebanon, New York.

These Colorful Drawings Defy Expectations of Shaker Art

Colorful, intricate drawings on view at the American Folk Art Museum are anything but simple

Bridge Over the Water Lily Pond, 1905. In earlier works, Monet painted the footbridge in a crisp, distinct arc. Here, its faint, shadowy curves blend into greenery of the natural surroundings.

Later in Life, Claude Monet Obsessed Over Water Lilies. His Paintings of Them Were Some of His Greatest Masterpieces

Completed more than a century ago, these artworks reveal the Impressionist’s triumphs—and struggles

Artist Tyrus Wong, with kites of his own design, at California's Santa Monica Beach

How Tyrus Wong Spent 106 Years Making the World More Beautiful

The Chinese American artist left a breathtaking legacy that ranged from fine art to Disney movies to Christmas cards

Vice President Kamala Harris greets members of the sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha after speaking at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center on July 10, 2024 in Dallas, Texas

Discover the Special Meaning Behind Kamala Harris’ Pearls

The vice president, who will give a speech at the Democratic National Convention to accept the presidential nomination Thursday night, often wears jewelry connected to her historically Black sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha

A fire dancer lights a fire beneath Zozobra during the 99th Annual Burning of Zozobra at Fort Marcy Park on September 1, 2023 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

For 100 Years, Santa Feans Have Burned New Mexico’s Boogeyman in a ‘Sacred Rite of Purification, Laughter and Rebirth’

The original “burning man” was the brainchild of a local artist and involves volunteers constructing a 50-foot-tall villain

“Titian made art into his late 80s and I’m now past that. I always wanted to paint like an old master, or rather an old mistress,” says the photorealist painter and sculptor Audrey Flack. “A radical contemporary old mistress.”

Women Who Shaped History

The Remarkable Legacy of Artist and Feminist Audrey Flack, Dead at 93

Even in the final years of her life, the renowned photorealist created searing works of art that further established her among the giants of her field

The First Knot (with heart-shaped shield), Albrecht Dürer, woodcut, 1506-1507.

The Knotty Art of Printmaking

The ornate series of woodcuts that transformed an art form

Portrait of Adèle Papin Playing the Harp, oil on canvas, c. 1799. The 17-year-old sitter, the famously beautiful daughter of a prominent family, was later rumored to be Napoleon's mistress. 

How This Caribbean-Born Artist Became the Toast of 18th-Century France

A new exhibition in Massachusetts illuminates the success of Guillaume Lethière

American video artist Brian Fridge created a five-billboard series in Dallas called View Finder that portrayed a solar eclipse.

The Long History of Art Inspired by Solar Eclipses

For centuries, curious artists have been trying to make sense of the celestial event

The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly, James Hampton's strange and transporting magnum opus.       

In His Garage, an Untrained Artist Created a Work of Sublime Divinity

How deep faith created one of the loveliest—and most curious—sacred objects in the Smithsonian collections

Tiger, oil on canvas, 1912. The artist’s vibrant animal paintings were based on careful study, including hours spent observing big cats at the Berlin Zoo. 

This Artist Turned to Painting Animals in a Turbulent Historical Moment

The German Expressionist painter Franz Marc found a subject worth celebrating in the early 20th century

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