Arts & Culture

A Fresh Look at Diane Arbus

A new retrospective featuring an unprecedented number of the troubled photographer's images makes the case for her innovative artistry

"A picturesque subject indeed!" Sarony said before making the photograph, Oscar Wilde, No. 18, that figured in a historic lawsuit.

Supremely Wilde

How an 1882 portrait of the flamboyant man of letters reached the highest court in the land and changed U.S. law forever

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Panorama Mama

In Los Angeles, bulldozers are circling Sara Velas' mural in the round

Back Story

You may beat out a bunt, but there's no running away from the past

Northworth and Von Tilzer's song was recorded some 100 times by artists such as Frank Sinatra and today's Dr. John.

Baseball’s Anthem for All Ages

In 1908, an improbable pair of music men hit a tuneful home run without ever having seen a game

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Saving the Music Tree

Artists and instrument makers have banded together to rescue Brazil's imperiled pernambuco, the source of bows for violins, violas and cellos

Monty Python’s Flying Circus

And Now For Something Completely Different

"Monty Python's Flying Circus" went on to conquer America

Art photographer Terry Evans' 2001 colorful homage to museum collections, titled Fields Museum, Drawer of Cardinals, Various Dates.

Photos for All Time

A new book, At First Sight, draws on all the Smithsonian's vast archives to chart photograph's profound place in history

"These places contain the residue of the many souls that have passed through over the years," says Solis of such locales as Rochester's abandoned Court Street subway station.

Tunnel Visionary

Intrepid explorer Julia Solis finds beauty in the ruins of derelict urban structures

Alfred Hitchcock

Colossal Ode

Without Emma Lazarus' timeless poem, Lady Liberty would be just another statue

The "Turkish Room" was created from pieces of the interior of a 19th-century Damascus mansion.

Doris Duke's Islamic Art Retreat

The Honolulu hideaway built by "the richest girl in the world" is now a museum showcasing her unique collection of Islamic art

Bubley (c. 1960) made wartime photos in Washington, D.C. (1943) on her own.

Private Eye

Noted for her sensitive photojournalism in postwar magazines, Esther Bubley is back in vogue

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Magic Wand

Clarinetist Artie Shaw's recordings recall the nostalgic power of the big-band sound

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Return of a Giant

A fully restored Vulcan—Birmingham, Alabama's 100-year-old statue— resumes it's rightful place in town

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No Chive Left Behind

Not since the launch of Sputnik has U.S. education seemed so ripe for reform

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Romare Bearden: Man of Many Parts

A new exhibition showcases Bearden's innovative collages and stakes a claim for him in the pantheon of 20th-century American artists

Vendors hawking books and magazines say they now openly offer once-banned literature, including religious texts and posters and political tracts.

Baghdad Beyond the Headlines

From gleeful schoolkids to a literary scholar who loves Humphrey Bogart, a photographer captures a reawakening but still wary city

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The Mad Potter of Biloxi

George E. Ohr's wild, wonderful pots gathered dust in a garage for half a century. Now architect Frank Gehry is designing a museum dedicated to the artist

The stars aligned: Cassius Clay (not yet Muhammad Ali) and the Beatles (in Miami Beach in 1964) would soon ride a tsunami of fame.

Winner by a Decision

When Sonny Liston decided not to meet the Beatles 40 years ago, photographer Harry Benson pulled a switcheroo

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Riding the Steppes

A 1,000-mile odyssey across Mongolia on horseback

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