The new hall at the Natural History Museum explains our ancestral tree.

From the Castle: Becoming Us

Homo heidelbergensis—one of five sculptures crafted for the new exhibition hall at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History—takes shape at a Baltimore foundry.

Sculpting Evolution

A series of statues by sculptor John Gurche brings us face to face with our early ancestors

Renoir's home in Cagnes-sur-Mer, in the South of France, was a source of inspiration (The Farm at Les Collettes, 1914).

Renoir’s Controversial Second Act

Late in life, the French impressionist’s career took an unexpected turn. A new exhibition showcases his radical move toward tradition

None

Letters

Readers Respond to the December Issue

Through May 31, the American Indian Museum explores the lives of people (the Foxx family) who share African-American and Native American ancestry.

What’s Up

None

SI in the City

John Gerrard uses a combination of photography, 3-D modeling and gaming software for his landscape images.

Q and A: Irish Artist John Gerrard

Artist John Gerrard uses 360-degree photography and 3-D gaming software to create a virtual reality

Dinosaurs near Washington, D.C. (long-necked Astrodon johnstoni) left behind a trove of fossils overseen by Matthew Carrano.

A Dinosaur Graveyard in the Smithsonian’s Backyard

At a new dinosaur park in Maryland, children and paleontologists alike have found fossils for a new Smithsonian exhibit

None

Letters

Readers Respond to the November Issue

Artist Yinka Shonibare's Headless Man Trying to Drink sculpture alludes to the growing shortage of potable water worldwide.

What’s Up

The Lunar Electric Rover is a prototype for the vehicle that NASA hopes to send with astronauts to the moon by 2020.

NASA’s New Lunar Rover

The Smithsonian Institution pitches in to help NASA prepare for its next lunar mission with a new “home on wheels”

Photographer Martin Schoeller's work was recently on display at the National Portrait Gallery.

Martin Schoeller’s Signature Style

Known for his photographs of celebrities and politicians, the artist doesn’t put his portrait subjects on a pedestal

Almira Buffalo Bone Jackson (in 1994) once said that she would "dream the colors [of quilts] at night."

A Spectacular Collection of Native American Quilts

Tribes from the Great Plains used quilts as both a practical replacement of buffalo robes and a storytelling device

In 1972, with assistance from an art teacher, 11 men formed a cooperative called Papunya Tula Artists. By 1974 the group had grown to 40.

Contemporary Aboriginal Art

Rare artworks from an unsurpassed collection evoke the inner lives and secret rites of Australia’s indigenous people

None

Letters

Norman Rockwell recruited Stockbridge neighbors, including state trooper Richard Clemens and 8-year-old Eddie Locke, to model for The Runaway.

Norman Rockwell’s Neighborhood

A new book offers a revealing look at how the artist created his homey illustrations for The Saturday Evening Post

The iconic Graflex Speed Graphic was used by photojournalists from the 1930s to the late 1950s.

What’s Up

"Bittersweet Harvest," a Smithsonian exhibit about braceros (California, 1956), fits neatly into the new strategy.

Our Plan

A retrospective of artist William T. Wiley's work is on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Q and A: William Wiley

For over 50 years, the artist has approached serious topics with wit and a sense of the absurd

The cards and letters aboard the Graf Zeppelin bore a distinctive mark on their envelopes: a small image stamped in ink.

Holiday Delivery From the Graf Zeppelin

In 1934, a zeppelin originating in Germany and bound for Brazil carried a cargo of Christmas cheer

Page 71 of 111