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Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

Anarchist Emma Goldman, who dedicated her life to combatting inequality, repression and the exploitation of workers

At Long Last, an Exhibition Celebrates Centuries of Women at Work

A new show at New York’s Grolier Club features the collection of Lisa Unger Baskin, who sought to share the untold stories of women in the workforce

Marcus Gheeraerts II, Portrait of a Woman in Red, 1620

The Evolution of Pregnancy Portraits, From Tudor England to Beyoncé

A new show at the Foundling Museum in London highlights artists’ depictions of pregnant women over the past 500 years

After months of careful negotiations, the mayor of Gotha was able to secure the return of the long-missing paintings.

Cool Finds

Five Old Master Paintings Recovered 40 Years After German Heist

Authorities suspect the artworks were smuggled into West Germany during the 1980s

The contested 1889 self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh Self-Portrait, Painted During Bout of Psychosis, Confirmed as Authentic

A five-year research effort validates an 1889 painting completed during the artist’s stay at an asylum

Ninety-six sculptures from the Torlonia Collection will go on view in Rome later this year.

A Long-Hidden Collection of Ancient Sculpture Is Making Its Grand Debut

The statues are “surprising, rewarding and promising beyond belief,” says one expert of the private Torlonia Collection

The work vanished in February 1997, shortly after it was authenticated as a genuine Gustav Klimt portrait.

Cool Finds

Painting Found Inside Walls of Italian Gallery Authenticated as Stolen Klimt

“Portrait of a Lady” went missing from the Ricci Oddi Modern Art Gallery in February 1997

Untitled image from Restricted Residence

Nearly a Decade After Fukushima, Photos Capture Residents’ Bittersweet Return

A new photo series titled “Restricted Residence” features 42 thermal images of locals and their changed landscape

Christopher Tolkien at Keble College, Oxford, in 1992

Christopher Tolkien, Son of J.R.R. Tolkien and ‘First Scholar’ of Middle-Earth, Dies at 95

Following his father’s death in 1973, Christopher began editing and publishing the “Lord of the Rings” author’s unseen writings

John Duke Kisch collected the Separate Cinema Archive over 40 years.

George Lucas’ New Museum Acquires Major Archive of African American Film History

The Separate Cinema Archive contains more than 37,000 objects dating from 1904 to the present

The Pachacamac Idol, a 1200-year-old wooden carving that held spiritual significance to the Inca

This Inca Idol Survived the Spanish Conquest. 500 Years Later, Archaeologists Are Unveiling Its History

A new analysis suggests the Pachacamac Idol, once thought destroyed, is probably older—and less bloody—than once believed

This 404-year-old Geneva Bible was one of more than 300 artifacts stolen from Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Library over a two-decade period.

Ex-Librarian and Bookseller Plead Guilty to Stealing Rare Texts Worth $8 Million From Pennsylvania Library

Greg Priore and John Schulman stole and resold hundreds of rare texts over a 25-year period

Pierre de Coubertin first publicly proposed reviving the Olympic Games in 1892.

Speech That Inspired the Modern Olympics Is Now the Most Expensive Sports Memorabilia Ever Sold

An anonymous buyer purchased the manuscript, penned by French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin in 1892, for $8.8 million

Gustave Courbet's Young Ladies on the Banks of the Seine is one of some 100,000 artworks now freely available online.

Education During Coronavirus

You Can Now Download Images of 100,000 Artworks From Prominent Paris Museums’ Collections

Paris Musées, which manages 14 important institutions, has released a trove of images into the public domain

The top ten include To Kill a Mockingbird, The Hungry Caterpillar and The Cat in the Hat.

Trending Today

New York Public Library Announces Its Most Borrowed Books of All Time

The list, dominated by children’s literature, spans 125 years of reading

Layers of dirt accumulated over the centuries, hiding the painting under what is now the church's gift shop.

Cool Finds

Artwork Discovered in Vienna Cathedral’s Gift Shop May Be the Work of German Renaissance Master Albrecht Dürer

The find is particularly intriguing because it represents the first evidence that Dürer visited the Austrian city

The high-status 16th-century woman (right) appears to have suffered from leprosy, a disfiguring disease that likely left its mark on her skin, tissues and bone.

Artists Reconstruct Centuries-Old Faces of Early Edinburgh Residents

Skulls uncovered beneath St. Giles’ Cathedral gave faces to a 12th-century man and a 16th-century woman

This illustration of Venice accompanied a manuscript of one friar's journey from Venice to Egypt and Jerusalem.

Cool Finds

14th-Century Illustration of Venice Is the Oldest Found Yet

The drawing accompanied one friar’s first-person account of a trip from Venice to Jerusalem and Egypt

With the number of visitors projected to keep rising, the Netherlands tourist board has decided to shift its focus from promotion to crowd control.

Why the Dutch Government Wants You to Stop Referring to the Netherlands as ‘Holland’

In a push to redirect tourists to other parts of the country, officials are dropping “Holland” from promotional and marketing materials

Sweden's 1,200-year-old Rök stone is inscribed with more than 700 runes, some of which may discuss climate change.

New Research

Viking Runestone May Trace Its Roots to Fear of Extreme Weather

Sweden’s Rök stone, raised by a father commemorating his recently deceased son, may contain allusions to an impending period of catastrophic cold

“Becoming Jane: The Evolution of Dr. Jane Goodall” is a multimedia exhibition charting the life and career of the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees.

Immerse Yourself in Jane Goodall’s Wondrous, Chimpanzee-Filled Life

A new multimedia show includes the primatologist’s childhood possessions, a 3-D film and a “Chimp Chat” station

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