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Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

The dollhouse belonging to Petronella Oortman

Take a Virtual Tour of This Lavish Dollhouse, the Centerpiece of a New Exhibition on Everyday Life in the 17th Century

Helena Bonham Carter provides an English-language tour of the Rijksmuseum’s miniature masterpiece, which stands at about six and a half feet tall

The gala honoring Misty Copeland included speeches and performances at Lincoln Center. The American Ballet Theater also livestreamed the event to audiences at a nearby venue.

Trailblazing Dancer Misty Copeland Performs One Last Time Before Retiring From the American Ballet Theater

The ballerina has advocated for dancers of color on and off stage. In a farewell gala this week, she celebrated her accomplishments—and discussed what comes next

This 14th- or 15th-century aquamanile, a vessel for pouring water in domestic and religious settings, shows a sexual depiction of the legend of Aristotle and Phyllis.

See How These Medieval Artists Explored the Many Meanings of Love and Desire in a New Exhibition at the Met Cloisters

The show features more than 50 paintings, manuscripts, textiles and other artworks created in Western Europe between the 13th and 15th centuries

Harper Lee's best-known work, To Kill A Mockingbird, has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide.

You Can Now Read Eight Previously Unseen Short Stories by Harper Lee, the Famed Author of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’

Released this week, “The Land of Sweet Forever” includes stories the author wrote in the years before her debut novel became an instant classic in 1960

One of the finalists, titled "I Just Can't Wait to be King," captures lions appearing to sing.

See This Year’s Hilarious Finalists From the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards, From Gossiping Leopards to Breakdancing Foxes

The 40 shortlisted photographs pair talented nature photography with humorous captures that often rely on clicking the shutter at just the right moment

The Kalil House, one of seven Usonian Automatic residences by Frank Lloyd Wright in the country

One of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Rare Usonian Automatic Homes Achieves Landmark Status

The Kalil House, located in Manchester, New Hampshire, is one of only seven Usonian Automatics in the country

Sheet of Studies, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, circa 1885-86

See Renoir’s Rare Drawings on Display in the First Exhibition of Its Kind Since 1921

Around 100 of the French Impressionist painter’s lesser-known paper works are now on view at New York City’s Morgan Library and Museum

The Sleeping Gypsy, Henri Rousseau, 1897

Meet Henri Rousseau, the Untrained Artist Who Wouldn’t Quit Painting—Despite the Ridicule He Received From Critics

A new retrospective at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia examines the career of the 19th- and 20th-century French painter, who toiled in obscurity for most of his life

One of David Hockney's drawings from The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, created on an iPad

David Hockney’s iPad Drawings of Winter’s Transformation Into Spring Blow Past Estimates at Auction

Seventeen works from the artist’s 2011 series went for more than $8 million at a Sotheby’s sale on October 17

French police officers stand by the ladder that robbers used to enter the Louvre on October 19.

Burglars Just Broke Into the Louvre and Stole Historic Crown Jewels in a Daring Daylight Heist

In a matter of minutes, thieves climbed a ladder and smashed display cases before fleeing the scene with eight valuable artifacts. The jewels had been housed just 270 yards from the “Mona Lisa”

The Fabergé Winter Egg was designed by Alma Pihl.

This Rare Fabergé Egg Might Set a World Record at Auction for the Third Time in Its History

Commissioned by the Russian emperor Nicholas II, the diamond-covered Winter Egg is expected to fetch $27 million when it goes under the hammer in London on December 2

Pablo Picasso painted Still Life With Guitar in 1919.

This Tiny Picasso Painting Went Missing While Traveling to an Exhibition in Spain

A few days before “Still Life With Guitar” was supposed to go on display in Granada, staffers discovered the piece had vanished from a group of artworks that had recently arrived by truck

An open-air art gallery at Dublin's Merrion Square park in 2021

Ireland Makes a Program Offering Basic Income for Artists Permanent

After a successful three-year pilot, the country will continue to provide 2,000 artists with $1,500 per month

Zora Neale Hurston posing outside of a cabin in Belle Glade, Florida, circa 1935

Zora Neale Hurston’s Forgotten Play Premieres on Stage for the First Time

Based on the author’s short story and ethnographic fieldwork, “Spunk” languished in Library of Congress’ archives for decades

The Vaillancourt Fountain at Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco

Can This Controversial Brutalist Fountain in San Francisco Be Saved From Demolition?

Critics have called the Vaillancourt Fountain an “eyesore,” while supporters say it’s an important chapter in the city’s history

A close-up of a gum leaf skeletonizer caterpillar, also known as a "Mad Hatterpillar" because of its distinctive stacked head capsules, left behind with every molt. The photo won the invertebrate behavior category.

See 15 Wondrous Winning Images From the 2025 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards

The eye-catching wildlife photos highlight both the beauty and the harsh realities of nature

Installation view of "Divine Egypt," now open at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through January 2026

Meet 25 of the Ancient Egyptians’ Most Significant Gods and Goddesses, From the Falcon-Headed Horus to the Sky Deity Hathor

“Divine Egypt,” a new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, features nearly 250 artifacts representing the rich pantheon of Egyptian deities

The Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, Claude Monet, oil on canvas, 1908

Claude Monet’s Beautiful Paintings of Venice Are Headlining an Exhibition for the First Time in More Than a Century

The paintings came from the French Impressionist’s time in Italy with his wife, Alice, in 1908

Maria Corina Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, has spent much of the last year in hiding and has not been seen publicly since January.

María Corina Machado, Venezuela’s ‘Iron Lady,’ Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Machado, who leads the Vente Venezuela opposition party against President Nicolás Maduro, was lauded for her “tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela”

"Nigerian Modernism" will run through May 10, 2026, at the Tate Modern. 

Nigeria’s Independence From England Brought Artistic Revolution. For the First Time, England Is Showcasing It

“Nigerian Modernism,” a new exhibition at the Tate Modern, celebrates 50-plus artists spanning half a century

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