Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

New Research

Sorry, the Mona Lisa Is Not Looking at You

A new study suggests the famous painting’s eyes don’t follow viewers around the room but are looking off to their right instead

January 9, 2019

London’s Feminist Library Lives

A successful crowdfunding campaign saved the institution from closure and is financing its move to a new space

January 7, 2019

Cool Finds

Found: Sailboat From Teen’s Abandoned Round-the-World Attempt

Abby Sunderland’s boat was dismasted in the Indian Ocean in 2010 during her controversial bid to become the youngest to circumnavigate the world solo

January 7, 2019

Cool Finds

Basquiat Painting Has Hidden Black-Light Images

An art conservator found the arrows on an untitled 1981 work and believes there may be more “secret” imagery hidden away on other works

January 4, 2019

Trending Today

‘Dry January’ Has Benefits All Year Long

Research suggests the alcohol-free challenge reduces consumption for months afterward

January 3, 2019

Two Women Make History by Entering One of India’s Holiest Sites

This is the first time that women have been able to enter the Sabarimala temple since India’s Supreme Court overturned a ban that denied them access

January 3, 2019

These New Beetle Species Are Named After the ‘Game of Thrones’ Dragons

Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons—Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion—provided the inspiration for these three beetles’ new names

December 31, 2018

Digital Trove of Typographical Artifacts Set to Launch in 2019

The Letterform Archive’s online database features book jackets, posters, brochures and miscellaneous ephemera dating between 1844 and 2016

December 28, 2018

Remembering Sister Wendy Beckett, Beloved Nun Who Made Art Accessible

A surprising rise to fame catapulted her into television stardom, where she used her platform to share artistic masterpieces with the public

December 28, 2018

Trending Today

Adventurer Completes First Solo, Human-Powered Trek Across Antarctica

It took Colin O’Brady 53 days to drag a sled 921 miles from the Ronne to the Ross Ice Shelf

December 27, 2018

Highly Anticipated Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Announces Its Coming Attractions

The long-delayed museum dedicated to filmmaking teases its inaugural exhibitions

December 27, 2018

Google Virtual Tour Preserves Collections Destroyed in Brazil Museum Fire

Back in 2016, the tech giant had begun working to digitize the museum’s collections

December 26, 2018

Tate Britain’s Female-Led Exhibition Is a Hopeful Sign of What’s to Come

Will 2019 be the year more women artists get shown in art museums?

December 26, 2018

Trending Today

The Titles of These AI-Generated Christmas Carols Are Pure Cinnamon Hollybells

🎶 We wish you a Merry Jinglelog 🎶

December 21, 2018

All Hail the Renaissance of Artemisia Gentileschi

The London National Gallery unveiled a restored portrait of the Baroque painter and announced a 2020 retrospective dedicated to the artist

December 21, 2018

Trending Today

When Do Children Give Up on Santa?

A preview of a new international study explores when kids stop believing and how, after the jig is up, it impacted them psychologically

December 19, 2018

Christmas Card Addressed to Bletchley Codebreakers Discovered

The lost holiday message features the only known photograph of operatives’ September 1938 meeting, the enigmatic “Captain Ridley’s shooting party”

December 19, 2018

Found: The Earliest Cinematic Depiction of a Black Couple Kissing

The recently surfaced 19th-century nitrate print has been inducted into the Library of Congress

December 19, 2018

Man Convicted of Poaching Ordered to Watch ‘Bambi’ Monthly While in Jail

David Berry Jr. of Missouri was implicated in a multi-year hunting operation that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of deer

December 19, 2018

Trending Today

Looks From ‘The Favourite’ Go on Display in Queen Anne’s Home

See the elaborate dresses and outfits inspired by the monarch’s 18th-century court at Kensington Palace

December 18, 2018