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Arts & Culture

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Don’t Know Your Own Taste in Wine? Take a Test

U.S. Marine Band on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Inauguration History

After an Inauguration, the Stars Come out to Play

Ever since George Washington danced after his inauguration, the ceremony has brought big names in the arts to the capital city

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Brits Take Up Skillets in War Against Squirrels

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A Field Guide to Sugars

The Devil's Food Dictionary

Book Worth a Look: The Devil’s Food Dictionary

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Cochineal Coloring: Is That a Bug in Your Food?

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Should Sugar Be a Controlled Substance?

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Food News and Trends to Expect in 2009

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Beyond the Photos with Neal Slavin

Photographer Neal Slavin discusses his group portraits and his career as a whole

Van Gogh painted his iconic The Starry Night in 1889, while in an asylum in Saint-Rémy. "One of the most beautiful things by the painters of this century," he had written to Theo in April 1885, "has been the painting of Darkness that is still COLOR."

Van Gogh’s Night Visions

For Vincent Van Gogh, fantasy and reality merged after dark in some of his most enduring paintings, as a new exhibition reminds us

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Letters

Readers Respond to the November Issue

"Some halls of fame are admittedly just a nice way for industries to give loyal timeservers a pat on the back."

Your Name Here

If you’re not yet a Hall of Famer, maybe you’re just not trying

"Very seldom do a bunch of Santas get together," says Jerry Clarke, the right-most Santa, who manages apartments by day.

The More the Merrier

Photographer Neal Slavin captures the night some Santas bent the rules

Fluid Dynamics by Tina York.

What’s Up

Dorothy's Ruby Red Slippers from The Wizard of Oz are back on display at the National Museum of American History.

For Those Ruby Red Slippers, There’s No Place Like Home

The newly reopened Smithsonian National Museum of American History boasts a rare pair of Judy Garland’s legendary ruby slippers

Pulitzer Prize-winning author N. Scott Momaday operates the Buffalo Trust, a nonprofit organization working to preserve Native cultures.

N. Scott Momaday and the Buffalo Trust

Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Kiowa Indian N. Scott Momaday runs a nonprofit organization working to preserve Native cultures

President Roosevelt shaking hands with Vice President Truman during his fourth inauguration.

Jukebox: Hail to the Chief

Franklin Roosevelt’s fourth inaugural, which was less than 600 words long, focused on the perils of isolationism

Charles Harrison, who created a more affordable View-Master and the first plastic trash can, designed 8 to 12 Sears sewing machines ever year for 12 years.

Intelligent Designer

Charles Harrison, former industrial designer at Sears, Roebuck and Company, created practical innovations that touched many lives

Ceremonial palanquin that was a form of transport favored by warlords in 19th-century Japan.

Easy Rider

In Spain people eat 12 grapes at the strike of midnight.

New Year’s Foods for Luck and Money

Why traditional New Year’s Day meals tend to be humble.

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