Alan Fern, director of the National Portrait Gallery, offers his insights on the art of reading a portrait
The Strange and Inscrutable Case of Ezra Pound
The expatriate American poet returned home in ignominy, and the postwar world watched as a literary giant was charged with treason
Itchiku Kubota’s Fascination With an Ancient Textile Art
The Japanese master has devoted his life to reviving a long-lost technique of fabric design and to creating handcrafted kimonos of lasting beauty
Time Stands Still in the Harmonious World of Vermeer
It’s a must-see show at the National Gallery of Art; not since 1696 have so many of his paintings been brought together in one place
Now Playing in Academe: the King of Rock’n’Roll
At the University of Mississippi, the first annual International Conference on Elvis Presley brought together fans and scholars
Winslow Homer, the Quintessential American Artist
He would chronicle it all the Civil War, the schoolyard games, the raging coast of Maine yet the man remained a mystery to the end
Steam Locomotives Steal the Spotlight
Photographer O. Winston Link documented the final days of steam engines on the Norfolk and Western Railway, the last main line to use them
Making a Dent in the Trafficking of Stolen Art
From their modest Manhattan digs, Constance Lowenthal and her staff do their best to foil the criminals who swipe treasures for a living
The Really Big Art of Claes Oldenburg
By turning the ordinary flashlight, spoon or clothespin into a colossal monument, this artist chisels away at society’s solemnity
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A Vibrant New Heart For the Art in San Francisco
A short walk from the uphill end of the Fisherman’s Wharf trolley line is a former working-class neighborhood that is the city’s new home for the arts
Mondrian and the Eternal Rectangle
In search of the transcendent, the Dutch painter created grids of red, blue and yellow that are very much with us
Gag writers and cartoonists are good pen pals as long as they can get a laugh in seven seconds (tick, tick …)
Sofonisba Anguissola: Renaissance Painter Extraordinaire
At the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., a ground-breaking exhibition has retrieved a life of true genius
The Fiery Nadar Took Paris’ Pulse
A self-styled bohemian of the mid-19th century, the young photographer captured the spirit of the time in portraits now on exhibit at the Met
The Wolcott Children’s Ballet: In the Backwoods, Dancing Their Hearts Out
It’s a story grounded in a real labor of love sore muscles, hand-stitched costumes, and dreams of grace and aspirations fulfilled
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All Right, Troops Fan Out and Find Every Last Artwork
With the aid of volunteers throughout the country, Save Outdoor Sculpture! is helping us to rediscover our monumental heritage
The Freer’s art is indeed stunning, but the quiet elegance of its new glass cases catches the eye of this visitor
No Two of a Kind In This Show of Cards
A group of talented art quilters reveal their hands in a stacked deck of unique ‘cards’ soon to be exhibited at the Renwick Gallery
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