Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Arts & Culture

After joining the Navy at age 17, Anthony D'Acquisto served aboard the U.S.S. Randolph, participating in the Battles of Okinawa and Iwo Jima.

See 12 Stunning Portraits of World War II Veterans

Photographer Zach Coco has spent the past five years documenting more than 100 men and women’s stories

Emilio Sanchez with children in Puerto Rico, 1964. Emilio Sanchez papers, 1922-2012.

Smithsonian Voices

How the Desolate Architectural Paintings of Emilio Sanchez Were Crafted From the Artist’s Travel Snapshots

In the Archives of American Art, a scholar pieces together the Cuban-born painter’s complex artistic practice

Kate Winslet plays Mary Anning in 'Ammonite'

Science in the Movies

‘Ammonite’ Is Historical Fan Fiction About the World’s First Great Fossil Hunter

A new trailer previews the period drama featuring Kate Winslet as pioneering paleontologist Mary Anning

A Brief History of the Mason Jar

Around since 1858, the home canning classic is a sought after item for pandemic gardeners this summer

Audrey Flack, Spitfire, 1973, acrylic on canvas, 73 x 110.5 inches, Gift of Stuart M. Speiser from the Stuart M. Speiser Photorealist Collection

Smithsonian Voices

Take a Deep Dive Into This Awesome Example of 1970s Photorealism

Smithsonian’s Carolyn Russo says to study this 1973 artwork by photorealist painter Audrey Flack is like looking at a plane spotting puzzle

The Norse system of thralldom was not always complete chattel slavery, but most of the enslaved had little agency.

The Little-Known Role of Slavery in Viking Society

A new book looks at the legendary Scandinavians through their own eyes

This mural from the collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture comprises 12 painted plywood panels. It was originally created and displayed in the Resurrection City encampment on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. during the summer of 1968. Resurrection City activists filled the boards of the 32-foot-long wall with slogans, quotes and art.

Taking a Closer Look at a Mural From 1968’s Resurrection City

A makeshift wall in Washington, D.C. speaks to a heroic struggle to overcome inequality

Chorus for Paul Mooney, 2017, made of antique quilt, assorted textiles, acrylic and spray paint. Most of the quilts used in Biggers’ works were donated or came from thrift stores.

Sanford Biggers’ Quilts Carry Secret Messages

Inspired by antique “freedom quilts,” the artist stitches encoded icons into his own textured pieces

"Halo 2600" game map.

Smithsonian Voices

How the Smithsonian Is Documenting and Preserving Video Games

At the Smithsonian American Art Museum, a researcher develops strategy for digital preservation

Fred Newton promotes his record-breaking journey.

The Man Who Swam the Full Length of the Mississippi River

How Fred Newton found himself neck-deep in history

The Mississippi Delta, seen from space in 2001.

America's Waterways: The Past, Present and Future

The 70 Million-Year-Old History of the Mississippi River

Dive into the secret past and uncertain future of the body of water that has defined a nation

Karen Orozco Gutierrez and Ann Banks returned to Alabama to visit the area where Banks' ancestors had enslaved people, including Orozco Gutierrez's ancestor Milton.

Two Women, Their Lives Connected by American Slavery, Tackle Their Shared History

One descended from an enslaver, the other from the people he enslaved. Together, they traveled to the Deep South to learn their families’ pasts

Meroe, 150 miles north of Khartoum, served as a necropolis for the kings and queens of Kush for close to 600 years.

Why Sudan’s Remarkable Ancient Civilization Has Been Overlooked by History

The African nation’s pyramids and other archaeological sites are only now emerging from the shadow of its more storied neighbor to the north

Catherine “Cat” Carnes, a registered nurse from Oklahoma, came to Brooklyn to volunteer after seeing “the news day after day and watching the nurses literally cry out for help in New York City.”

Covid-19

Sixteen Snapshots of Life in New York City Under Quarantine

An outdoor photography exhibition at the New-York Historical Society is helping New Yorkers process the Covid-19 pandemic

In the 1913 march for women's suffrage, Inez Milholland (right) led the procession on Pennsylvania Avenue, while black suffragists like the women of Delta Sigma Theta sorority were relegated to the back.

100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box

What 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage Looks Like Through the Eyes of 100 Women Artists

A new book fills its pages with an illustrated, intersectional exploration of the past century

More than $8 million worth of books from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh were stolen or destroyed.

The Inside Story of the 25-Year, $8 Million Heist From the Carnegie Library

Precious maps, books and artworks vanished from the Pittsburgh archive, and the caper’s final chapter was just written

The new artworks unveiled in the garden, including We Come in Peace by Huma Bhabha, 2018, offers visitors the opportunity to "engage with timely issues through art," says the museum's director Melissa Chiu.

Two Monumental Sculptures Welcome Visitors Back to the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden

Both artworks evoke peace in the time of pandemic

A Diné child begins her much-anticipated school year online in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Smithsonian Voices

Here’s What Going Back to School Looks Like in Indian Country During the Pandemic

Native students, teachers, parents and school administrators share their concerns

Fannie Farmer oversees one of her students, Martha Hayes Ludden, at the Boston Cooking School in 1900.

How 12 Female Cookbook Authors Changed the Way We Eat

A new book examines the recipes of a dozen cooks who made groundbreaking contributions across the food industry

The little red car with the yellow roof that is propelled by foot power has been a hit with young children since its creation in 1979.

A Brief History of the Cozy Coupe

Invented by a former auto designer, the foot-powered kids toy still outsells engine-powered cars

Page 70 of 369