Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

"Untitled, 1969" and other works by artist and activist Howardena Pindell are the focus of a new show at the Modern Contemporary Art Chicago.

Howardena Pindell Gets Her First Major Museum Survey

The multidisciplinary artist and activist reshaped what art could be

"Les Choristes"

Cool Finds

Stolen Degas Found in Luggage Compartment of French Bus

No one claimed the suitcase containing “Les Choristes” stolen from a Marseille Museum in 2009

‘Frankenstein’ Manuscript Shows the Evolution of Mary Shelley’s Monster

A British publisher is releasing 1,000 facsimiles of the two notebooks in which Shelly scrawled her iconic novel

Musicians from the Yanada Shinko perform at Misawa Air Base, Japan, April 6, 2013.

Cool Finds

Why Music Is Not a Universal Language

Physics and culture shape music, but as a recent video essay breaks it down, the results are more varied that most people think

Books!

Cool Finds

Turkish Garbage Collectors Curate Their Own Library

The sanitation workers have already amassed a collection of more than 6,000 books

The Aluminaire House was designed in 1931 by architects Albert Frey and A. Lawrence Kocher.

First American Project by Desert Modernism Architect to be Rebuilt in Palm Springs

It will join the rest of Albert Frey’s work

Roman mosaics date back to the Bronze Age, and a new one has just been discovered at the Roman Baths in Bath, England.

Oldest Mosaic at Roman Baths Found During Excavations

Mosaics have a long history, but this is considered the oldest at the site

Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park gives a view of Neníisótoyóú’u (Longs Peak) in Colorado, left of center.

Cool Finds

This Account is Reclaiming the Indigenous Names for Mountains One Geotag at a Time

A Navajo climber is leading a social media campaign to spread awareness of the indigenous names of peaks

Art Meets Science

The Touching Story Behind This Award-Winning Wildlife Image

Taken by Jo-Anne McArthur, the photo shows a rescued baby gorilla hugging her caretaker

Billy Graham, Jr. James Pease Blair 1958 (printed later) Gelatin silver print

Billy Graham, the Evangelical Pastor Who Preached to Millions, Has Died at 99

He distinguished himself from other charismatic preachers with his ambition, technological savvy and message of inclusivity

Markus Brunetti, Wells Cathedral Church of St. Andrews, 2015-2016 Archival Pigment Print

Thousands of Photographs Created These Hyper-Real Portraits of Historic Buildings

German artist Markus Brunetti brings a high-tech approach to capturing centuries-old cathedrals

The team's work with flavobacterium could lead to the creation of biodegradable, non-toxic paints in all the colors of nature

Art Meets Science

This Vibrant Bacteria Could Be Used to “Grow” Paint

Researchers genetically manipulated bacteria to produce the iridescent colors seen in peacock feathers, butterfly wings

Researchers used non-invasive analysis to trace the origins of Picasso's bronze sculptures

Art Meets Science

Metal Blends Offer Clues to Picasso Sculptures’ History

Analysis of bronze and sheet metal sculptures reveals how, when and where works were cast

"Scenes From the Collection" emphasizes modern and contemporary art in its exploration of Jewish identity

The Evolution of Jewish Identity Takes Center Stage at Revamped Jewish Museum Exhibition

The redesigned permanent exhibition highlights a rotating selection of artifacts spanning 4,000 years of history

Fragments of Famed ‘UFO’ Discovered in Archives of London Museum

Though experts deemed it a hoax, the ‘Silpho Saucer’ created a sensation when it was discovered in the 1950s

In 2018, researchers at the Art Gallery of Ontario released X-ray scans of this hidden painting beneath Picasso's The Crouching Beggar. The artist used the mountains in the painted-over landscape to shape the curves of his subject's back.

Researchers Uncover Hidden Details Beneath Picasso Painting

Using new imaging techniques, researchers reveal the secrets of the 1902 work “La Miséreuse Accroupie” (“The Crouching Beggar”)

The exhibition features a pair of 18th-century stork scissors, heavy tailors’ shears and calligraphy scissors

Exhibition Cuts Into the Fascinating History of Scissors

Fashion and Textile Museum traces scissors’ role in life and death, fairy tales, crime and punk

The scholar, educator, and political activist Angela Davis was the nation’s most iconic revolutionary for a generation.

Angela Davis’ Archive Comes to Harvard

The papers illuminate her rise from philosophy professor to global icon and activist

Gustav Klimt, Two Reclining Female Nudes, about 1916/17

‘Lost’ Klimt Drawing Found in Cupboard of Museum Personal Assistant

The recovered work is now on view at Austria’s Lentos Museum in a show marking the centenary of the deaths of Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and ​Koloman Moser

Portrait of the unknown judge.

Can You Identify the Judge in This Courthouse Portrait?

Officials of the John Adams Courthouse in Boston are asking the public for help in uncovering the identity of the anonymous jurist

Page 166 of 286