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Arts & Culture

$50,000 platinum grill worn by rapper Lil Jon

A New Photo Book Showcases the Absurd Extravagance of the World’s Wealthiest Citizens

Economic recession or not, there are few limits on the ways the mega-rich will flaunt their fortunes

In 2015, Misty Copeland became the first African-American woman to be promoted to principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre.

Ballerina Misty Copeland on Working With Prince, Her Must-See Dances, and Why She Wants to Bring “Ballet Across America”

Ahead of a performance in Washington, D.C., the prima ballerina talks about ballerina bodies and misconceptions about the art form

Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson Was Fiercer Than You Think

A new biopic shows the poet as more than a mysterious recluse

A Photographer Captures Papier-Mâché and Politics on Parade in Haiti’s Jacmel

Michael Magers photographs high art and cutting cultural critiques during the annual Kanaval celebration

Vessel (#2309) by June Schwarcz, 2006, electroplated copper foil and enamel, gold plated

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Artist June Schwarcz Electroplated and Sandblasted Her Way Into Art Museums and Galleries

The Renwick hosts a 60-year career retrospective for the innovative California enamelist

The 1973 Cadillac Eldorado convertible was driven on stage for the big superstar tribute concert for Chuck Berry in the 1987 film Hail! Hail!

The Wild Rock and Roller Chuck Berry Dies

In 2012, Berry donated his red Eldorado Cadillac to the Smithsonian

Ada Lovelace, “The world’s first computer programmer.” In the mid 1800s, she predicted that machines would compose music and forward scientific progress, based on her experiences programming Charles Babbage’s “Analytical Engine,” to calculate Bernoulli numbers.

Art Meets Science

These Bold Illustrations Celebrate the Incredible Contributions of Women in Science

A designer’s touch brings the achievements and faces of female pioneers to a wider audience

Beginning as a religious feast day, Saint Patrick's Day has become an international celebration of Irish heritage.

The Origins of Chicago’s Green River, Shamrock Shakes and Other Surprising Trivia About St. Patrick’s Day

From colonial patriots to mass-marketed milkshakes, the Irish religious holiday has morphed into a worldwide celebration

Postmodern Boa by David Gaussoin and Wayne Nez Gaussoin (Diné [Navajo]) and Picuris Pueblo, 2009, stainless steel, sterling silver, enamel paint and feathers

These Designs Showcase the Provocative World of Native Fashion

These contemporary designs by prominent or up-and-coming Native American designers are edgy and pulsing with relevance

The moral lessons of the story of “Beauty and the Beast” are the same as those found in many other folktales: virtue and hard work are rewarded; prodigal pride is punished; and marriage lasts happily ever after.

The Storied, International Folk History of Beauty and The Beast

Tales about a bride and her animal groom have circulated orally for centuries in Africa, Europe, India and Central Asia

Graceland mansion was home to Elvis Presley, and is located on a 13.8-acre estate in Memphis, Tennessee.

See Inside Graceland’s $137-million Expansion

A complex fit for a king

One Writer Used Statistics to Reveal the Secrets of What Makes Great Writing

In his new book, data journalist Ben Blatt takes a by-the-numbers look at literary classics and finds some fascinating patterns

The Beast must learn to love someone else and be loved before the last petal falls on the Enchanted Rose in the tale of the new Disney film, Beauty and the Beast

Ask Smithsonian 2017

The Beast’s Enchanted Rose Lasted a Decade. How Long Can a Real One Last?

A Smithsonian expert says the film’s was undoubtedly a hybrid tea rose

New "Don't mess with Texas" trash cans at the Texas capitol building in Austin.

The Trashy Beginnings of “Don’t Mess With Texas”

A true story of the defining phrase of the Lone Star state

Henry Peter Bosse Construction of Rock and Brush Dam, L.W., 1891 cyanotype

Photographs of America’s Eastern Treasures Finally Have Their Moment in the Limelight

A neglected period of American photographic history goes on display at the National Gallery of Art

The Featured Works display at the American Writers Museum in Chicago.

America’s First Writers Museum Is Slated to Open in May

A new home for celebrating American literary titans, titles and traditions takes root in Chicago

Pedestrians walking by the the Dwarfs of Wroclaw on Świdnicka Street, the main shopping street in the city.

Where to Hunt for the World’s Smallest Monuments

Don’t overlook these tiny statues in cities around the world

Frescoes inside the Brömserhof, the building where Siegfried's Mechanical Musical Instrument Museum is housed.

Europe

This Medieval Knight’s Manor Houses Over 350 Mechanical Musical Instruments

From tiny music boxes to the bus-sized Orchestrion, Siegfried’s Mechanical Music Cabinet in Germany’s Rhineland is the perfect musical detour

Patrick O'Brien, "Dinosaur and Volkswagen," Gigantic, 1998, oil on canvas - How big is “gigantic?” Patrick O'Brien shares his life-long fascination with the illustrations of prehistoric animals in children's books with a new generation of young readers. Other images in Gigantic compare dinosaurs with modern devices such as monster trucks, cherry pickers and tanks. O’Brien lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

Art Meets Science

A New Exhibition Explores the Science and Math in Children’s Book Illustrations

The 29 artworks on display capture the wonder in nature, engineering and discoveries

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