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Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

Christo and Jeanne-Claude, pictured in 2005 near their installation The Gates in New York's Central Park. Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Trending Today

Christo, Artist Who Wrapped Landmarks and Coastlines in Fabric, Dies at 84

With collaborator and wife Jeanne-Claude, he created enormous, ephemeral art installations

The author is quick to point out that The Ickabog is separate from the Harry Potter series.

Education During Coronavirus

Read J.K. Rowling’s New Children’s Book Online for Free

The “Harry Potter” author is also asking young readers to submit illustrations of “The Ickabog”

"Project Pride," a virtual concert and “time capsule,” will celebrate LGBTQ history, heritage and culture through musical performances, conversations and highlights from the Smithsonian Institution’s collections.

How to Watch the Smithsonian Pride Alliance’s Free Virtual Concert

Catch “Project Pride,” featuring performances by Tig Notaro, Rufus Wainwright and Big Freedia, on YouTube this Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern time

Larry Kramer by Robert Giard, gelatin silver print, 1989

Playwright and AIDS Activist Larry Kramer Dies at 84

The American writer and public health advocate was “a lionhearted force,” says Smithsonian curator Katherine Ott

Archaeologists found the well-preserved tiles while conducting excavations at a commune near Verona, Italy.

Cool Finds

Ancient Roman Mosaic Floor Unearthed Beneath Italian Vineyard

The intricate, multi-colored tiles likely date to the third century A.D.

Discovered at the Yilbilinji rock shelter in northern Australia's Limmen National Park, the drawings are between 400 and 500 years old.

Cool Finds

Rare Form of Miniature Stenciled Rock Art Found in Australia

New research suggests the small-scale illustrations may have been made with beeswax

The earliest evidence of mice making themselves at home alongside human settlements comes from 14,500-year-old bones found among the Natufians.

The House Mouse First Invaded Europe 6,500 Years Ago

New research suggests the rodents arrived on the continent some 2,500 years earlier than previously thought

Filippo Brunelleschi designed Florence Cathedral's famed red-brick dome.

How Renaissance Architects Designed Italy’s Imposing Domes

A new study offers key insights into how engineers built the rounded structures without using supports

Filmmaker Taika Waititi will lead celebrities in a virtual reading of Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach to raise funds for the fight against COVID-19.

Education During Coronavirus

Join Meryl Streep, Taika Waititi for Roald Dahl Charity Read-Along

Mindy Kaling, Liam and Chris Hemsworth, and Benedict Cumberbatch are among the celebrities collaborating to raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts

In early March, a blockbuster exhibition marking 500 years since Raphael's death shuttered just three days after opening. In June, visitors returned—with restrictions.

Covid-19

Italy’s Museums Reopen With Vibrating Social-Distancing Necklaces, Limited Admission

A guard will “chaperone” groups of six through the Scuderie del Quirinale’s blockbuster Raphael exhibition

Shakespeare's Globe is a meticulous replica of the Elizabethan theater where the Bard's plays were once performed.

Covid-19

COVID-19 Shutdown Threatens the Future of Shakespeare’s Globe

The London theater—a replica of the original 16th-century venue—relies on proceeds from live events now on hold due to the pandemic

Installation view of the British Museum's "Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum" exhibition

Trending Today

Take a Free Video Tour of Blockbuster Pompeii and Herculaneum Exhibition

Available to stream on YouTube and Facebook, the 82-minute film revisits the British Museum’s popular 2013 show

Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero displays historical objects recovered from the Arlington National Cemetery time capsule.

Arlington National Cemetery Opens Its 105-Year-Old Time Capsule

The trove of artifacts, hidden in a cornerstone in 1915, is now available to explore online

A Bar Kokhba revolt coin inscribed with the word "Jerusalem" and a picture of a date palm

Cool Finds

This 2,000-Year-Old Coin Commemorates a Jewish Rebellion Against Rome

Of more than 22,000 coins found in Jerusalem to date, just four are from the time of the Bar Kokhba revolt

Concept art for the drive-in Vincent van Gogh exhibition in Toronto

Covid-19

In Toronto, a Drive-In Exhibition Immerses Visitors in Vincent van Gogh’s Art

The 35-minute sound-and-light installation will take place in a 4,000-square-foot warehouse

New research suggests that humidity is making the painting's yellow cadmium sulfide degrade into white.

Art Meets Science

Humidity Is a Nightmare for ‘The Scream’

Moisture in the air—not light—has made the yellow pigments in Edvard Munch’s masterpiece degrade

The author's cat, Theodosia, envisioned in the style of Vincent van Gogh's The Starry Night (left) and Jacob van Hulsdonck's Still Life with Lemons, Oranges and a Pomegranate (right)

Art Meets Science

Transform Your Selfies, Pet Portraits Into Famous Artworks

A new tool from Google Arts & Culture allows users to apply artists’ signature styles to their own photographs

Olafur Eliasson's Wunderkammer collection brings the Northern Lights, a rain cloud, the sun, flowers and other AR objects into your home.

Virtual Travel

This AR App Brings the Northern Lights and Other Natural Phenomena Into Your Living Room

Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson has released nine virtual experiences for audiences to explore during quarantine

Although the painting is dubbed The Night Watch, research suggests that it was originally a daylight scene.

Art Meets Science

Explore a Hyper-Resolution Rendering of Rembrandt’s ‘The Night Watch’ Online

More than 500 individual photographs make up the new image of the Dutch artist’s 17th-century masterpiece

Martha Graham and Erick Hawkins in Appalachian Spring

New York Public Library Acquires Archive of Modern Dance Pioneer Martha Graham

The trove includes photographs, scripts, recordings and correspondence

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