For Jacques Torres, the Highest Art Is a Piece of Cake

Sugar in all forms seduces our sweet tooth from the first taste, but in the hands of a premiere pastry chef it becomes magical

Joseph the Carpenter, 1642, Louvre

From Darkness Into Light: Rediscovering Georges De La Tour

Long forgotten after his death in 1652, he is now embraced by the French as an icon; an exhibition touring this country shows why

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Our Old Reliables, Still Rolling On Scross the Years

Whether they are yet hauling hay and Little Leaguers, or have been retired from duty, vintage pickups have won America’s heart

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Transforming the Beauty of Skeletons Into Architecture

Inspired by nature in motion, Spanish-born Santiago Calatrava will create his first U.S. project for the Milwaukee Art Museum

Dancers, 1900, Princeton University Art Museum

Edgar Degas’s Last Years—Making Art That Danced

An exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago proves that, contrary to popular wisdom, the Impressionist master just kept getting better

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The Object at Hand

Edmonia Lewis’ masterwork, a portrayal of Cleopatra at the moment of death, included stints in a Chicago saloon and as a grave marker for a racehorse

The Artrain in 2006

An Art Museum That Can Go Wherever the Railroads Run

It started in 1971 in Michigan; now, Artrain is on a three-year nationwide tour, bringing an exhibition from the Smithsonian to 100 towns

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When Cubism Met the Decorative Arts in France

From side tables to the dazzling dress designs of Sonia Delaunay, a new exhibition at the Portland Museum in Maine surveys the scene

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The Refined Art of Picturing Natural History

An exhibition showcasing works by members of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators opens at the Smithsonian’s Ripley Center

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I Owe Them a Lot; They Taught Me the Love of Work

From boilermaking to fixing up an angel’s wing, Les Compagnons hone marketable skills in a medieval brotherhood brought up to date

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These People Belong In An Institution!

The Smithsonian Institution, of course. A search of the archives has produced these lighter looks at life behind the scenes

Eadweard Muybridge, Boys Playing Leapfrog

A Curator Hunts Down the American Photography Collection of Her Dreams

A curator hunts down the American photography collection of her dreams

Hanging scroll

For These Precious Scrolls, Aged Glue and ‘Damage Maps’

Not to mention patience, as 40 of them go from the Freer Gallery to six workshops in Japan to undergo a complete overhaul

National Museum of the American Indian

A New Vision for a Museum on the Mall

Architect Douglas Cardinal hopes to realize his plan for making the National Museum of the American Indian into a Washington landmark

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Tools as Art

Welcome to the Hechinger Collection, where hammers are brittle, saws never get old and wrenches mimic baby birds

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Package Design: the Art of Selling, All Wrapped Up

When competition for customers’ attention gets ferocious, that bottle, carton or can is a lot more than just another pretty face

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Around the Mall & Beyond

Protecting museum treasures - paintings by the masters, the delicate wings of a tropical beetle - requires the strictest climate control, right?

Fabergé Winter-Egg

Fabergé’s Labor of Love: A Case of Cherchez la Femme

After a spectacular collection was given to a Paris museum, the story emerged of how a princess kept the flame of love burning

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