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Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

Tête de femme, Pablo Picasso, 1941

Have $117 to Spend? You Could Win a Picasso Painting Worth More Than $1 Million

A moody 1941 portrait of a woman by the Spanish artist will be given to the winner of a charity raffle that’s being staged to fund Alzheimer’s research

Merriam-Webster's word of 2025 is "slop," which first appeared in the 1700s.

Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year for 2025 Is ‘Slop,’ the A.I.-Generated Junk That Fills Our Social Media Feeds

The word describes the onslaught of “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence”

An exterior view of the famous window and balcony that robbers entered in October

Louvre Robbers Escaped With Less Than a Minute to Spare Due to Major Security Fumbles

An investigation ordered by France’s culture ministry highlighted a number of security failures that made October’s brazen heist possible

The statue, created for Rocky III, has been moved around to various locations throughout the city in recent decades. Since 2006, it has been located at the base of the steps leading to the Philadelphia Art Museum.

The Iconic ‘Rocky’ Statue at the Philadelphia Art Museum Steps Is Still Stirring Up Strong Feelings

Actor Sylvester Stallone initially told officials he wanted the sculpture back—but after public outcry, he changed his mind and agreed to let the city keep it

Cerro Pedernal, the flat-topped mountain pictured here, was a frequent subject of O'Keeffe's landscapes.

This Landscape Inspired Some of Georgia O’Keeffe’s Best-Known Works. Now, It’s Receiving New Protections

A conservation plan will help preserve 6,000 acres of land in northern New Mexico, a region that frequently appears in the 20th-century artist’s paintings

The exhibition displays full-size models of Claire Tabouret's stained-glass window designs for Notre-Dame Cathedral.

Notre-Dame Cathedral’s Controversial New Stained-Glass Window Designs Go on Display

The windows, commissioned by the French Ministry of Culture after the devastating 2019 fire, have sparked a debate about historical preservation

Owners and their golden retrievers gather in an attempt to break the world record in the Bosques de Palermo in Buenos Aires on December 8, 2025.

More Than 2,000 Golden Retrievers Gather in an Argentina Park in an Attempt to Break a World Record

The previous informal record had been set during an event in Vancouver last year, which brought together 1,685 goldens

The half-sheet illustration was revealed weeks before the premiere of Star Wars in 1977. (The movie was later retitled Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope.)

This Painting Introduced the World to ‘Star Wars.’ It Just Became the Most Expensive Item Connected to the Franchise Ever Sold at Auction

The artwork by illustrator Tom Jung, which brought in $3.9 million, features Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and other characters in scenes from the 1977 film

The watch by F.P. Journe that sold for almost $11 million, including fees

Francis Ford Coppola Sells Luxury Watches for Millions Following Losses From ‘Megalopolis’

The filmmaker’s custom F.P. Journe watch, which he helped design in 2014, brought in nearly $11 million at auction

Spotted lanternflies have spread to nearly 20 states since 2014.

Bees Are Turning the Sticky-Sweet Secretions of Spotted Lanternflies Into Honey—and Some People Love the Smoky-Smelling Stuff

The invasive insects have been spreading across the United States for over a decade, leaving behind poop that bees are transforming into a less sweet, sometimes savory, honey

Panel one of the Ketton mosaic, which was discovered in 2020 by a farmer's son

New Research

Historians Say This Rare Mosaic Found on a British Farm Depicts Scenes From a Long-Lost Account of the Trojan War

New research suggests that the illustrations may have been based on “Phrygians,” a tragedy by the Athenian playwright Aeschylus, rather than the “Iliad”

Sales of the MetroCard will end December 31.

The Era of the New York City MetroCard Is Almost Over. Say Goodbye to the Iconic Yellow Passes With a New Exhibition

As the Metropolitan Transit Authority moves to a contactless, tap-and-go payment system, “FAREwell, MetroCard” allows visitors to learn more about the history of the long-running fare card

Brazilian police presence in front of the Mário de Andrade Library, where several engravings were stolen in downtown São Paulo on Sunday

Two Armed Thieves Stole Eight Matisse Prints From a São Paulo Library

A robbery at Brazil’s Mário de Andrade Library is the latest daytime heist to shake the art world

Hans Eworth's 1562 portrait of Thomas Howard, Fourth Duke of Norfolk, fetched $4.2 million at auction.

This Painting of a Doomed Duke Just Became the Priciest Elizabethan Portrait Ever Auctioned, Selling for $4.2 Million

The 1562 likeness of Thomas Howard, Fourth Duke of Norfolk, was created by Hans Eworth, a Flemish artist whose Tudor-era portraiture is second only to Hans Holbein’s

Experts spent two days trying to save the whale, which weighed roughly 20,000 pounds.

When a Humpback Whale Got Stranded in Oregon, a Native Community Turned the Tragedy Into a Revival of a Traditional Practice

Members of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians salvaged a beached whale’s remains, a practice that hadn’t been performed in generations

Visitors look at Library of Us, an installation by British artist Es Devlin, during Miami Art Week.

This Artist Put 2,500 of Her Favorite Books in a Massive Rotating Library on Miami Beach

The 20-foot-tall installation, titled “Library of Us,” featured titles that hold personal meaning for British artist Es Devlin—who invited visitors to sit on nearby benches and read

Cloud Dancer is the first shade of white ever selected as Pantone's color of the year.

Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2026 Is a ‘Blank Canvas’ Called Cloud Dancer—or, in Other Words, White

The hue is the first shade of white to receive the title. Officials at the Pantone Color Institute say it’s “a symbol of calming influence in a frenetic society rediscovering the value of measured consideration and quiet reflection”

Tourists take pictures of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa during the Louvre's reopening following a daylight jewel heist in October.

Weeks After a Brazen Heist, the Louvre Increases Ticket Prices for Non-E.U. Visitors by 45 Percent

Officials say the fee hike will help fund a much-needed overhaul of the museum’s security systems and infrastructure

The Winter Egg was designed by Alma Pihl, one of the few female designers at the House of Fabergé. Czar Nicholas II gifted it to his mother, Maria Feodorovna, in 1913.

Fabergé Egg Gifted by Russia’s Last Czar Breaks World Record, Selling for $30.2 Million at Auction

For the third time in its history, the Winter Egg is now the most valuable Fabergé item ever sold

This photo by Julius Shulman became a symbol of Los Angeles.

This Historic Mid-Century Modern Home Overlooking Los Angeles Is on the Market for the Very First Time

Buck and Carlotta Stahl built their home in the Hollywood Hills in 1960. Soon after the structure’s completion, it was captured in an era-defining photograph

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