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Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

Kehinde Wiley, Go, 2020

See the Stunning Art Set to Welcome Travelers Back to Penn Station

Opening on January 1, the Moynihan Train Hall features contemporary art and majestic architectural features

This small oil-on-panel work by Rembrandt, Abraham and the Angels (1646), is expected to sell for upward of $20 million.

Rare Rembrandt Biblical Scene Could Fetch $30 Million at Auction

In this intimate scene from Genesis, the artist depicts the moment that Abraham’s wife Sarah learns she will bear a son

The statue, which dates back to around 1348, likely depicts John de Belton, a priest who died of the Black Death.

Medieval Effigy Found Hidden Beneath English Church’s Pipe Organ

The newly restored carving is the oldest alabaster effigy of a priest discovered in the U.K. to date

“We look forward to building two world-class museums to further amplify these stories and help our country learn more about the impact that women and Latinos have had on the fabric of our nation,” says a Smithsonian spokesperson.

Congress Approves Smithsonian Museums Honoring Women and Latino Americans

The legislative body’s year-end spending bill authorized the creation of two much-anticipated museums

As of Monday morning, a statue of Confederate commander Robert E. Lee no longer stands in the U.S. Capitol's Crypt.

Statue of Civil Rights Activist Barbara Rose Johns Will Replace U.S. Capitol’s Likeness of Robert E. Lee

Johns, whose efforts helped desegregate public schools, is set to represent Virginia in place of the Confederate general

A "crazy quilt"—a chaotic style without repeating features—by an unidentified 19th-century artist incorporates politicians' campaign banner portraits.

The Surprisingly Radical History of Quilting

Works on display in an Ohio exhibition highlight political art by marginalized people

“He is setting a fine example for the youth of the country,” said a public health official after the King of Rock 'n' Roll received a vaccine on the set of “The Ed Sullivan Show” in October 1956.

Covid-19

How Elvis Helped America Eliminate Polio

The rock star’s much-publicized vaccination inspired reluctant U.S. teens to get inoculated

Encounters with the giant oarfish—the world's largest bony fish—may have inspired sailors to tell tales about fantastical sea serpents.

Virtual Travel

Meet the Real Animals Behind Mermaids, Dragons and Other Mythical Creatures

You can now take a virtual tour of a “Harry Potter”–inspired exhibition exploring the origins of fantastical beings

This summer, activists in Richmond transformed a monument to Robert E. Lee (right) into a work of protest art (left).

Virginia Museum Will Lead Efforts to Reimagine Richmond Avenue Once Lined With Confederate Monuments

Governor Ralph Northam’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal year earmarks $11 million for the project

A previous iteration of the museum focused on preserving memories of small-town Southern Jewish life as many Jews moved to larger cities. The new center will expand to cover the broader Southern Jewish experience.

Planned Museum Will Spotlight Jewish Communities in the American South

Set to open in New Orleans next year, the cultural institution will showcase stories spanning 300 years and 13 states

Regina Valkenborgh's photograph features 2,953 arcs of light streaking across the sky, recording the sun’s rising and setting over eight years.

A Cider-Can ‘Camera’ Captured Eight Years in a Single Photograph

The ethereal snapshot, recorded by a drink can left in an observatory for almost a decade, may be the longest-exposure image ever taken

German investigators found the 20th-century painting in a trash container at the Düsseldorf Airport.

Cool Finds

$340,000 Surrealist Painting Found in Recycling Bin at German Airport

Authorities managed to recover the Yves Tanguy work—left behind by a businessman bound for Tel Aviv—before it was destroyed

The Lord of the Rings author lived at 20 Northmoor Road on the outskirts of Oxford, England, between 1930 and 1947.

Controversial Crowdfunding Campaign Hopes to Turn J.R.R. Tolkien’s House Into a Center for Creativity

The Tolkien Society has raised concerns about Project Northmoor, which is trying to raise $6 million by next March

Notre-Dame's Grand Organ, as seen before the April 2019 fire

Inside the Monumental Effort to Restore Notre-Dame’s Grand Organ

Workers spent four months painstakingly dismantling the musical instrument, which is only set to sound again in 2024

Submissions will be included in an online exhibition, “Reclamation: Recipes, Remedies, and Ritual,” set to open in January 2021.

Your Cherished Family Recipes Could Be Featured in a Museum Exhibition

The National Museum of Women in the Arts is asking the public to share recipes that document unique family histories

Experts have identified the painting as the earliest known version of Jacob Jordaens' The Holy Family (1617–18).

Cool Finds

A 400-Year-Old Flemish Masterpiece Spent Decades Hiding in Plain Sight

Officials previously thought that the Jacob Jordaens painting, which hung in a Brussels town hall for 60 years, was a copy

Rosa Bonheur, Ploughing in the Nivernais, 1849

Rosa Bonheur’s Hyper-Realistic Animal Scenes Transfixed 19th-Century Europe

The Musée d’Orsay recently announced plans to dedicate a fall 2022 exhibition to the trailblazing French artist

The Temperance Society objected to the card's inclusion of a child sipping wine.

The First Commercially Printed Christmas Card Scandalized Victorian England

Two rare copies of the 1843 greeting card, which depicts a child sipping from a glass of wine, are now up for auction

Installation view of Tate Britain's Lynette Yiadom-Boakye retrospective

Stunning Paintings of Fictitious Black Figures Subvert Traditional Portraiture

Riffing on the genre’s long history, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s innovative works raise questions about black identity and representation

Russian physicist and engineer Lev Sergeyevich Termen—who later came to be widely known as Léon Theremin—invented his namesake instrument around 1920. Here, he's pictured in 1928.

Art Meets Science

The Soviet Spy Who Invented the First Major Electronic Instrument

Created by a Russian engineer, the theremin has delighted and confounded audiences since 1920

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