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Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

The copper prototype dates to 1794, the year that the U.S. Mint first struck its famed "Flowing Hair" silver dollars.

One of the First Dollar Coins Struck at the U.S. Mint Sells for $840,000

The 1794 copper coin served as a prototype for the famed “Flowing Hair” silver dollar

Archaeologists say the mosaic was probably part of a grand Byzantine-era home.

Cool Finds

Colorful, 1,600-Year-Old Mosaic Adorned With Geometric Patterns Found in Israel

The fourth- or fifth-century artwork was probably part of a large mansion near an industrial zone

Researchers created this 3- by 2-centimeter version of The Starry Night in just four minutes.

Art Meets Science

Scientists Use Laser Paintbrush to Craft Mini Version of van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’

The colorful “brushstrokes” are “reversible, rewritable [and] erasable,” says scholar Galina Odintsova

Samuel Ntiro's Chopping Wood (circa 1967) is one of 12 newly attributed African Modernist artworks set to go on view in Scotland next month.

Cool Finds

Trove of African Modernist Masterpieces Spent Decades Hidden in Rural Scotland

A two-year research project identified 12 overlooked paintings, drawings and prints by pioneering 20th-century artists

A close-up view of Picasso's Seated Man (1917) shows the deep cracks running along its surface.

Art Meets Science

Why Did This Picasso Painting Deteriorate Faster Than Its Peers?

Study examines how animal glue, canvases, layers of paint and chemicals interacted to produce cracks in one work but not in others

Firefighters work to extinguish a blaze at the University of Cape Town's Jagger Reading Room on April 18.

Why the Cape Town Fire Is a Devastating Loss for South African Cultural Heritage

The inferno destroyed much of the University of Cape Town’s special collections, including rare books, films, photographs and records

The boba shortage is expected to affect the entire bubble tea industry in the U.S., especially businesses on the West coast.

West Coast Bubble Tea Shops Brace for Boba Shortage as Cargo Ships Jam Los Angeles Ports

The popular sweet drink might not be available in some locations for awhile due to shipping delays

The trove of smuggled artifacts included stone arrowheads, knives and other tools.

U.S. Authorities Return 523 Smuggled Pre-Hispanic Artifacts to Mexico

Investigators seized the cache of illegally imported objects in 2016

Currently, tourists can only view the archaeological site from street level.

Site of Julius Caesar’s Assassination Will Be Transformed Into Open-Air Museum

Rome’s “Area Sacra,” a sunken square home to the ruins of four ancient temples, doubles as a sanctuary for stray cats

The letters used in the ancient alphabet bear a distinct resemblance to Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Cool Finds

Pottery Shard May Be ‘Missing Link’ in the Alphabet’s Development

An inscription found on a 3,500-year-old vessel suggests that a standardized script arrived in Canaan earlier than previously thought

Grace Hartigan, Masquerade, 1954

Sweeping Survey Unites Works by 100 Women Artists of the Past Century

An ongoing exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, features 200 paintings, sculptures, ceramics and more

Amy Sherald's posthumous portrait of Breonna Taylor serves as the Louisville show's focal point.

How an Art Exhibition in Breonna Taylor’s Hometown Honors Her Life and Impact

The Louisville show is organized around three overarching themes proposed by Taylor’s mother: promise, witness and remembrance

The Miaz Brothers' hazy portraits challenge viewers' perceptions, inviting the audience to complete the artworks' narrative.

These Out-of-Focus Paintings Put a Contemporary Spin on Traditional Portraiture

A new exhibition in London showcases the Miaz Brothers’ radical subversion of Old Master classics

Researchers used A.I. to reconstruct the likely colors and brushstrokes of this landscape, which Pablo Picasso painted over to create a 1902 portrait.

Art Meets Science

Scientists Used A.I. to Recreate a Landscape Hidden Beneath a Picasso Painting

Physical reconstructions of the early 20th-century depiction of Barcelona are now on sale for $11,111.11 each

Scholars are set to undertake a "thorough technical and scientific study" of the painting, which was previously attributed to the circle of Spanish artist José de Ribera.

Baroque Painting Almost Sold for €1,500 May Be a Caravaggio Worth Millions

Spanish authorities halted the sale after identifying “sufficient stylistic and documentary evidence” linking the work to the Old Master

Lily Renée helped develop the Señorita Rio comic strip as one of the early woman creators in the industry.

Drawing on Their Escapes From the Nazis, These Artists Became Celebrated Cartoonists

A groundbreaking female comic book artist, a MAD magazine star and a counterfeiter-turned-illustrator share the floor in an exhibit in New York City

A new Netflix documentary, "This Is a Robbery," delves into the mystery of a 1990 art heist.

Based on a True Story

Five Things to Know About the Gardner Museum Heist—the Biggest Art Theft in Modern History

In 1990, two thieves made off with a $500 million cache of art by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas and more. Three decades later, the works remain missing

Officials are unsure when the damage occurred but suspect that it took place several months ago.

Vandals Deface ‘Irreplaceable’ Native American Rock Carvings in Georgia

The unknown criminals painted the 1,000-year-old petroglyphs in bright colors and scratched their surfaces beyond recognition

A virtual reconstruction featured in Baalbek Reborn

Virtual Travel

Virtual Tour Restores Baalbek’s Stunning Roman Temples to Their Former Glory

The free online experience allows users to toggle between views of the ancient Lebanese city today and as it appeared in 215 A.D.

A previously unknown Thomas Gainsborough portrait of composer Antonín Kammel

Cool Finds

Newly Discovered Gainsborough Portrait Reveals Likeness of Overlooked Composer

The acclaimed British artist’s painting of Czech musician Antonín Kammel may be worth upward of $1.3 million

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