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Arts & Culture

Badger Clark in 1954.

Saddle Up With Badger Clark, America’s Forgotten Cowboy Poet

The unsung writer, known to many as “Anonymous,” led a life of indelible verse

This marks the first time the fossil has been back in America since 1847, when it made its way through Europe and ultimately ended up at The Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt in Germany.

Alexander von Humboldt

This Mastodon Is a Centerpiece of an Art Exhibition. Why?

Meet the hugely influential Alexander von Humboldt, who foretold of climate change and inspired artists, writers and presidents

The Virtual Online Museum of Art (VOMA) features art by global artists, including "Pinga," a powder-coated steel sculpture by Misha Milovanovich.

Education During Coronavirus

The World’s First Entirely Virtual Art Museum Is Open for Visitors

VOMA—the Virtual Online Museum of Art—is a free and fully immersive art experience

The courtyard at Mexico City's Museo Nacional de Antropología could be a good model for a socially distant lobby space in future museums.

Covid-19

How Will Covid-19 Change the Way Museums Are Built?

The global pandemic will have long-lasting effects on the form and function of future museums

Poultney Bigelow. Sketch by Poultney Bigelow for Edith Weir (detail), 1884 April 18. Weir family papers.

Smithsonian Voices

Important Hudson River School Archive Is Now Fully Digitized

Prominent artists like Edwin Austin Abbey, Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Eastman Johnson are featured in the Weir Family Papers

Letters are a key part of Jane Austen's novels

A New Edition of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ Crosses Its T’s and Dots Its I’s

Barbara Heller used period handwriting—and new material—to bring the novel’s colorful letters to life

Denzel Washington won an Oscar for his role as one of the soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts.

Based on a True Story

Why ‘Glory’ Still Resonates More Than Three Decades Later

Newly added to Netflix, the Civil War movie reminds the nation that black Americans fought for their own emancipation

Heian Period Cats

Japan’s Love-Hate Relationship With Cats

From shapeshifters to demonic corpse eaters, supernatural cats have roamed for centuries in the country’s folklore

Remains of the archaeological crypt of Ile de la Cité

The Notre-Dame Crypt Reopens for the First Time Since the Fire

To mark the occasion, a new exhibition in the area under the cathedral’s courtyard honors novelist Victor Hugo and architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc

The island of Smøla, Norway, is thought by many to be ultima Thule, first described by the Greek explorer Pytheas.

This Norwegian Island Claims to Be the Fabled Land of Thule

Residents of Smøla believe they live in the northernmost location mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman literature. Other contenders say not so fast.

Photograph of Chiura Obata teaching a children's art class at Tanforan Art School, 1942 / unidentified photographer.

Smithsonian Voices

The Papers of Artist Chiura Obata Chronicle Life Inside World War II Incarceration Camps

At the Smithsonian Archives of American Art, the artist’s story is one of resilience amidst the upheaval

This month's selections include A Traitor to His Species, The Tsarina's Lost Treasure and The Daughters of Yalta.

Books of the Month

Catherine the Great’s Lost Treasure, the Rise of Animal Rights and Other New Books to Read

These five September releases may have been lost in the news cycle

Beets can be used to dye fabric red or pink.

How to Make Clothing Dye With Excess Fruits and Vegetables From Your Garden

Here are step-by-step instructions for giving your clothes and food scraps a second life

The finish of the 2019 Kentucky Derby.

The Complicated Legacy of ‘My Old Kentucky Home’

Sung each year at the Kentucky Derby, the tune’s original meaning has long been lost to history

Mural of George Floyd on Israel’s illegal separation wall, seen in the Palestinian town of Bethlehem.

How the Death of George Floyd Sparked a Street Art Movement

A group of Minnesota faculty and students is documenting and archiving the phenomenon

Many Beverly Cleary fans don’t realize that the Ramona Quimby series has benefited from the efforts of more than one illustrator.

How Illustrators Brought the Spunky Ramona Quimby to Life

Five different artists have depicted the beloved character in Beverly Cleary’s books, making her relatable to generations of children

In an interview, the L.A. artist Sterling Ruby says his new sculpture addresses the duality of love loss and "celebrate light while motioning towards an expiration."

In Washington, D.C., Towering Candles Shine as a Beacon of Hope in Dark Times

Artist Sterling Ruby reflects on the recent installation of his sculpture Double Candle at the Hirshhorn

“Freeman's Hands"

The Remarkable Life and Work of Guitar Maker Freeman Vines

For nearly half a century, the North Carolina native has created instruments out of found wood—including some from a notorious hanging tree

In a live-streamed Smithsonian Associates program on September 23, Dr. Anthony Fauci and Alan Alda discuss the intricacies of the virus that has held the public in sway since March.

Smithsonian Voices

Anthony Fauci and Alan Alda Talk Science and 26 Other Smithsonian Programs Streaming in September

This month drop in on events about global climate justice, Picasso’s ‘Guernica,’ bird brains, the Supreme Court, William Faulkner, orchids and more

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