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Arts & Culture

A gun manufacturer in Birmingham in the 19th century.

How British Gun Manufacturers Changed the Industrial World Lock, Stock and Barrel

In ‘Empire of Guns,’ historian Priya Satia explores the microcosm of firearm manufacturing through an unlikely subject—a Quaker family

This advertisement from San Francisco-based electronic cigarette company JUUL calls back the tobacco advertisements from the mid-20th century.

Ads for E-Cigarettes Today Hearken Back to the Banned Tricks of Big Tobacco

A new ‘Joe Camel’-esque phenomenon may be igniting as the new fad takes a 21st-century page out of an old playbook

An illustration from the 1820 edition of The Governess, a popular work of children's literature written by Sarah Fielding.

Women Who Shaped History

The First Novel for Children Taught Girls the Power of Reading

Nearly three centuries before heroines like Katniss and Meg Murray, Sarah Fielding published a book on the values of female education

Djassi Johnson (left) and Kevin Boseman (right) perform the dance choreographed by Johnson.

Exclusive: Watch a Dynamic Reinterpretation of Joan Baez’s “Civil War”

Part of a visual album accompanying the folk icon’s new release, this choreographed performance takes a lyrical look at the American conflict

"Do Ho Suh: Almost Home" at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2018

Future of Art

How This Globetrotting Artist Redefines Home and Hearth

An ethereal 3D installation by the Korean-born Do Ho Suh combines places the artist has lived in the past

Lucy gets tossed in with the other accused witches in Salem.

'Timeless' Recapped

Welcome to Salem, Witches: “Timeless” Season 2, Episode 4, Recapped

Rescuing a very important American figure takes just a little tweaking of the historical record

“Tattooed Whale, 2016” by Tim Pitsiulak. Screen-print on Arches Cover Black.

Why Scientists Are Starting to Care About Cultures That Talk to Whales

Arctic people have been communicating with cetaceans for centuries. The rest of the world is finally listening in

Musician and actor Nive Nielsen portrays Lady Silence, the most prominent Inuk character in 'The Terror.'

Tales of the Doomed Franklin Expedition Long Ignored the Inuit Side, But “The Terror” Flips the Script

The new AMC television show succeeds in being inclusive of indigenous culture

"Deep Pool That Never Dries" nabbed first prize.

Future of Art

These Contest-Winning ‘Fairy Tales’ Might Be Bleak, But They Are Topical

Blank Space’s fifth-annual competition plays with everything from fake news to gravity

Sam and his true love Suzy navigate the wilds of New Penzance in Moonrise Kingdom (2012).

Wes Anderson’s Fastidious Whimsy Has Delighted Moviegoers for Decades

A Smithsonian retrospective breathes fresh life into Anderson’s kaleidoscopic filmography

Dorothy Parker at a typewriter in 1941

Women Who Shaped History

Writing in the Public Eye, These Women Brought the 20th Century Into Focus

Michelle Dean’s new book looks at the intellects who cut through the male-dominated public conversation

Artist Titus Kaphar says that his 2014 Columbus Day Painting—which greets "Unseen" visitors in the first gallery—was inspired by his young son’s conflicted and confusing study of the putative discoverer of America.

Future of Art

Two Artists in Search of Missing History

A new exhibition makes a powerful statement about the oversights of American history and America’s art history

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900–1944). Drawing of the little prince on the edge of a cliff. New York, 1942 or 1943. Pen and brown ink on onionskin paper. From Joseph Cornell’s Saint-Exupéry dossier.

The Beloved Classic Novel “The Little Prince” Turns 75 Years Old

Written in wartime New York City, the children’s book brings out the small explorer in everyone

Senator Edward Kennedy, pictured here on July 22, 1969 after the Chappaquiddick accident that resulted in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne. The new film "Chappaquiddick" recounts the events of that week.

Why the True Story of ‘Chappaquiddick’ Is Impossible to Tell

In 1969, Senator Ted Kennedy careened a car off a bridge, killing passenger Mary Jo Kopechne, but the story of the night’s events remain muddled today

Armenia

Yerevan’s Mirzoyan Library Combines Cutting Edge Photography with Hypnotic Beats

Shrumen Lumen by FoldHaus, 2018

Future of Art

How One Museum Curator Is Bringing Burning Man Out of the Desert

The outré scene of unrestrained revelry and cutting-edge art in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert comes to the Renwick Gallery

From left to right: Jennifer Woodul, Meg Christian (in glasses), Ginny Berson (whose hand is on Meg's leg), Kate Winter (above) and Judy Dlugacz (far right).

Women Who Shaped History

How Should We Archive the Soundtrack to 1970s Feminism?

It’s time to talk about the lasting legacy of Olivia Records, a leading voice of the women’s music movement, whose history is ready to come out of storage

The Imperial Tsesarevich Easter Egg currently on display at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Where to See the Fabled Fabergé Imperial Easter Eggs

Remnants of a vanished past, Fabergé Easter eggs live on in museums and collections across the world

How a $10 Billion Experimental City Nearly Got Built in Rural Minnesota

A new documentary explores the “city of the future” that was meant to provide a blueprint for urban centers across America

U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev exchange pens during the signing ceremony for the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in the White House East Room on December 8, 1987.

Why “The Americans” Is Taking a Big Leap Forward to 1987

The beginning of the end of the Soviet Union provides great drama for the show’s final season

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