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Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

"Reverie" by Roy Lichtenstein (1965)

The Roy Lichtenstein Foundation Will Give Away Its Trove of Artworks and Archives

The Whitney Museum has been gifted 400 works by the famed pop artist, while the Smithsonian Archives of American Art will receive half a million documents

Mary Quant and models at the Quant Afoot footwear collection launch, 1967

The V&A Wants Your Help Locating Vintage Mary Quant Designs

The Welsh fashion designer pioneered high street fashion, popularizing bright patterns, miniskirts and hot pants

Top contenders include King Ahab of Israel, King Hazael of Aram-Damascus and King Ethbaal of Tyre

Could This Sculpted Head Depict a Little-Known Biblical King?

Archaeologists uncovered the enigmatic two-inch head at Abel Beth Maacah, site of an ancient crossroads

The app opens a 'portal' that allows users to step into a series of immersive AR experiences

Virtual Travel

Step Into Scotland With Immersive AR App

Portal AR allows users to traverse Britain’s highest peak, roam the halls of Edinburgh Castle and enjoy whiskey at Highlands distillery

Harold Washington, the first black mayor of Chicago chats to Congressional candidate Charles Hayes. The woman on Washington's right, who was cropped out of the photo, is Carol Moseley Braun; she would go on to become the first African-American woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate.

The Archives of Historic Black Newspapers Are Going Digital

The Obsidian Collection is collaborating with Google Arts & Culture to ensure the journalism is preserved for many years to come

Future of Art

High-Tech Scanning Shows Picasso’s Blue Period Evolution

A new study of “La Soupe” reveals it underwent as many as 13 layers of revision

Cool Finds

“Lost” John Coltrane Album to Be Released

Both Directions At Once was recorded in 1963 by the classic quartet and reveals Coltrane’s journey from melodic standards to avant-garde jazz

A 2010 picture of the statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest, which was removed from Health Sciences Park (formerly Nathan Bedford Forrest Park) in downtown Memphis last December.

At Least 110 Confederate Monuments and Symbols Have Been Removed Since 2015

But more than 1700 remain, including 772 monuments, more than 300 of which are located in Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia

Mmm.

Sink Your Teeth Into Chicago’s New Hot Dog Museum

The Vienna Beef company is celebrating its 125th anniversary with a meaty display of memorabilia

Westminster Abbey's hidden “attic”

Europe

“Hidden” Attic in Westminster Abbey Is Opening as a Museum

Visitors can view more than 300 relics from the Abbey’s 1,000-year history and peer out at one of the best views in Europe

Inmates at Downview Prison co-created six banners for the upcoming Processions march

Europe

What to Know About This Weekend’s Centennial British Suffrage March

About 45,000 women are expected to participate in four-city procession—projected to be one of the largest collective art events in British history

Jacob Epstein, Torso in Metal from "The Rock Drill," 1913-14

Europe

Tate Britain Confronts the Aftershocks of World War I

The museum’s newest exhibition explores how British, German and French artists struggle to comprehend bloody conflict

The official photo of the first Miss America winner, Margaret Gorman.

Miss America Is Ditching Its Swimsuit Competition

The pageant was founded as a ‘bathing beauty’ contest. But even in its earlier days, contestants did not always conform to the swimsuit portion happily

Theories on the painting's fate include destruction by fire, earthquake, and gnawing rats in an abandoned barn

New Clues Emerge in Search for Stolen Caravaggio

The nativity scene taken from Sicilian chapel in 1969 may have ended up in Switzerland

The champion cheese chaser, brie-umphant.

Europe

Holey Swiss: Man Breaks Record in British Downhill Cheese Race

Fromage fiends have been participating in this unusual tradition for centuries

This Is America’s Fastest-Growing City

Census data reveals the cities in the United States experiencing population booms

Frida Kahlo, by Guillermo Kahlo, 1932

Expert Says He’s Found New Clues Into Location of Long-Lost Frida Kahlo Painting

‘La Mesa Herida’ was last seen in Poland in 1955

An obsidian flake tool found at Eastland Port in Gisborne, New Zealand, is one of several artifacts discovered at the site of a 14th century Maori village.

Remains of 14th-Century Village in New Zealand Tells Tales of Māori History

The excavation, which unearthed moa bones and stone tools, helps fill a gap for researchers

Some of Van Gogh's most iconic floral artworks, painted in 1888 and 1889, are facing the test of time.

New Research

X-Rays Show That Van Gogh’s Sunflowers Will One Day Wilt

A new analysis shows that half of the canvas held in Amsterdam is painted with pigments that darken with exposure to UV light

The first phase of San Pedro Culture Park, dubbed "Latino High Line," opened earlier this month.

The First Phase of San Antonio’s ‘Latino High Line’ Is Now Open

San Pedro Creek became a physical and metaphorical barrier between the city’s white and Latino residents. This project is looking to change that

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