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Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

A rare edition of Shakespeare's First Folio sold at auction for $10 million.

Shakespeare’s First Folio Is the Most Expensive Work of Literature Ever Auctioned

A rare edition of the 1623 volume of plays sold at Christie’s for nearly $10 million

A digital reconstruction of the newly unearthed Norse godhouse

Cool Finds

Ruins of Eighth-Century Pagan Temple Found in Norway

The structure—built to honor Norse gods like Thor and Odin—is the first of its kind discovered in the country

Cindy Sherman, Untitled 584, 2017-2018

Why Photographer Cindy Sherman Is Still the Queen of Reinvention

A retrospective at Fondation Louis Vuitton highlights the artist’s manipulation of femininity and identity

Peter Paul Rubens' sketch of The Battle of Anghiari, c. 1603

Does Leonardo da Vinci’s Missing Masterpiece Actually Exist?

New research suggests the artist completed preparatory work for “The Battle of Anghiari” but failed to finish the painting

The statue, which stands across from the New York County Criminal Courthouse, inverts the myth of Perseus slaying Medusa.

Why a New Statue of Medusa Is So Controversial

The gorgon, seen holding Perseus’ severed head, stands across from the court where Harvey Weinstein was tried

The stolen items' owner estimates their value at around $645 million.

A Stolen Mao Zedong Scroll Was Found Cut in Half

Prior to the defacement, the nine-foot-long calligraphy work was valued at an estimated $300 million

The house that served as Buffalo Bill's lair in Silence of the Lambs is on sale for $298,500.

You Could Own the House of Horrors From ‘Silence of the Lambs’

The property appeared as serial killer Buffalo Bill’s lair in the classic 1991 film

Louise Glück, an esteemed American poet and teacher, won this year's Nobel Prize in Literature.

American Poet Louise Glück Wins Nobel Prize in Literature

The esteemed writer and teacher previously won the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry

Sarah Forbes Bonetta, as seen in 1856 (left) and 1862 (right). Hannah Uzor's new portrait is based on the 1862 photograph.

The Little-Known Story of Queen Victoria’s Black Goddaughter

A newly commissioned portrait of Sarah Forbes Bonetta is now on view at the monarch’s seaside house, Osbourne

A replica statue of Atlas at the Temple of Zeus in Agrigento, Sicily

A Colossal Statue of Atlas Will Rise Again

Sicily’s Temple of Zeus once featured 38 giant likenesses of the mythological Titan. Now, a reassembled version is set to go on view

U.S. Representative Deb Haaland offered to stand in for the missing and deceased.

Portrait Project Memorializes Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

A new exhibition available to view online features 94 photographs, as well as original artwork

Green-Wood Cemetery's Gothic Revival entrance

Historic Brooklyn Cemetery Appoints Its First Artist-in-Residence

Green-Wood is the final resting place of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Louis Comfort Tiffany, among others

This Maliwawa Figure shows a kangaroo or similar animal.

New Research

Newly Documented Aboriginal Rock Art Is ‘Unlike Anything Seen Before’

The ancient paintings depict close relationships between humans and animals

Ella Fitzgerald performs in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1961.

Cool Finds

Listen to a Lost Ella Fitzgerald Recording

In 1962, the singer returned to Berlin to reprise a famous 1960 concert. The tapes were forgotten—until now

Self-Portrait as St. Catherine of Alexandria, Artemisia Gentileschi, circa 1615-1617

Why a Long-Awaited Artemisia Gentileschi Exhibition Is So Significant

The Baroque painter is the subject of the London National Gallery’s first major show dedicated to a female artist

This 2016 image shows one of the instruments included in Amnon Weinstein's Violins of Hope collection, which features pre-World War II violins once owned by Jewish musicians and music lovers.

Pandemic Temporarily Silences Violins That Survived the Holocaust

Organizers found ways to make the instruments’ voices heard after the cancellation of planned concerts in California

Parliament's halls are lined with art.

How the U.K. Parliament’s Art Collection Is Linked to Slavery

An initial review identified 189 works depicting individuals associated with the slave trade

Bruce Crane, A Winter Sunset c.1880s (top) and Edward Hopper, Old Ice Pond at Nyack, c.1897 (bottom)

Some of Edward Hopper’s Earliest Paintings Are Copies of Other Artists’ Work

Curator Kim Conaty says a new study “cuts straight through the widely held perception of Hopper as an American original”

The museum is located in Copenhagen's historic center.

The World’s First Happiness Museum Opens in Denmark

The Nordic country is consistently ranked among the planet’s happiest

A still from "Curious Alice," which features original artwork by Kristjana S. Williams

Virtual Travel

Venture Down a VR Rabbit Hole With This Free ‘Alice in Wonderland’ Tour

The Victoria and Albert Museum will host a free, Lewis Carroll-inspired virtual reality experience on October 22

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