Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Arts & Culture

Reynolda House Museum of American Art

These Five Museums Put the “Culture” in “Agriculture”

It’s a lot more than just “tractor art”

Sarah Vaughan by Herman Leonard, 1949

Jazz Has Never Looked Cooler Than It Does in This New Exhibition

These evocative images by photographer Herman Leonard call to mind a bygone era

“Enneagon” features repeating crystalline-like shapes. “You think you understand a pattern, but if you zoom out or change your perspective, it changes,” Shlian says. Created in 2015, measures 48 x 48 inches.

Art Meets Science

These Mesmerizing Paper Sculptures Explore Nature’s Mirrored Structures

Artist Matt Shlian folds, cuts and glues paper to create faceted and curved works of art

Christian Puglisi, restaurateur, standing on his Farm of Ideas in Abbetved, Denmark on July 28, 2016.

Acclaimed Chef Christian Puglisi’s New “Farm of Ideas” Might Be the Next Big Foodie Destination

The Danish restaurateur is creating a place for food producers, chefs and foodies from around the world to gather and learn

Jackie Joyner-Kersee by Gregory Heisler, 1988

Commentary

Why We Have to Play Catch-up Collecting the Portraits of Female Athletes

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery is setting its sights on the future

Scenes from the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.

The Paris Olympics

The Rise of the Modern Sportswoman

Women have long fought against the assumption that they are weaker than men, and the battle isn’t over yet

Gastromotiva student Luis Freire (right) preps plums at Refettorio Gastromotiva, with the dining room in the background.

This Rio Restaurant Is Using Surplus Food From the Olympic Village to Feed the Homeless

At Refettorio Gastromotiva, top chefs from around the world are cooking five-star cuisine for the poor

The portrait in question, by Dutch painter Barend Graat

Is This a Portrait of One of the World’s Most Influential Philosophers?

One Dutch art dealer is convinced that he owns the only portrait that Baruch Spinoza sat for

"Pick, Pan, Shovel," Ed Ruscha, 1980

The History of the American West Gets a Much-Needed Rewrite

Artists, historians and filmmakers alike have been guilty of creating a mythologized version of the U.S. expansion to the west

The farm at Coastal Roots Farm, a more traditional community garden. Coastal Roots Farm recently added an eight-acre forest garden to its offerings.

Age of Humans

Move Over, Community Gardens: Edible Forests Are Sprouting Up Across America

These new urban forests let you pick your own produce. But will the concept take root?

From unsavory beginnings to a refreshing treat, pink lemonade has remained a summer staple.

The Unusual Origins of Pink Lemonade

It’s a pretty scary story. It does involve clowns, after all

Robert Motherwell writing at his desk in Amagansett, New York, June 1944

These Letters Written by Famous Artists Reveal the Lost Intimacy of Putting Pen to Paper

Many of the letters included in a new book provide snapshots of especially poignant moments in the lives of American artists

Babe Ruth by Nat Fein, 1948

Babe Ruth Hit a Home Run With Celebrity Product Endorsements

The Great Bambino was one of the first athletes to be famous enough to require a publicity agent to handle his affairs

Gymnast Dominique Dawes competes on the balance beam during the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

Summer Olympics

Dominique Dawes’ Guide to Watching Gymnastics

The former gold medalist offers a cheat sheet on her sport’s rules, maneuvers and slang

A 3D printed dish made with the lab's printer

3D Print Your Own Breakfast

A team of researchers at Columbia University has developed a 3D food printer capable of printing and cooking multiple ingredients at one time

Charlie Chaplin eats his shoe in The Gold Rush (1925).

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Alaska

Charlie Chaplin’s Gold Rush

Two decades after the Klondike Gold Rush, Chaplin recast the hardships of prospectors as comedy

"The Hive" is on display at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, in London, England, through the end of 2017.

Art Meets Science

This Sculpture Is Controlled by Live Honeybees

Artist Wolfgang Buttress collaborated with a multidisciplinary team to create a giant, metallic hive

The lone Lorax tree in Scripps Park, La Jolla.

Visit the Original Lorax Tree in Dr. Seuss’s San Diego

Check out these Seuss-related sites in Theodore Geisel’s adopted hometown

Sample of Niku Udon.

Japan’s Most Mouthwatering Dishes Are Made of Plastic

Discover sampuru, the art of mind-blowingly realistic fake food

What Does a Beer Historian Do?

The American History museum’s latest job opening made headlines. But what does the job actually entail?

Page 144 of 368