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Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

John Michael Wright's portrait of King Charles II, in the Royal Collection

How Charles II Used Art to Bolster Britain’s Struggling Monarchy

A new exhibit at the Queen’s Gallery in London features more than 200 items from the collection of the “Merry Monarch”

Muppet characters Zeerak, left, and Zari, right, appear in an Afghan version of "Sesame Street."

‘Sesame Street’ to Create a Show for Syrian Refugee Children

A $100 million MacArthur grant will fund the important project, which will feature characters and narratives developed specifically for its unique audience

Pictured (from left to right): Torso E1912; the Bull’s Head; and the Calf Bearer.

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Manhattan DA Launches First Antiquities Trafficking Unit

The unit will investigate the uptick in looted artifacts flooding the antiquities market

Turing standing next to the Mark I

Cool Finds

Listen to Alan Turing’s First Computer-Generated Christmas Carols

In 1951, the BBC played two carols from Turing’s computer, which have now been recreated by New Zealand researchers

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.

Memphis Removes Two Confederate Statues

One was dedicated to Jefferson Davis, the other to Nathan Bedford Forrest

President Lincoln depicted on a Christmas card from the 1920s. Christmas wasn't as important of a holiday in Lincoln's time, but his personal Christmas story is worth telling.

President Lincoln’s Last Christmas

The character of American Christmas changed as a result of the Civil War

Zora Neale Hurston’s Study of the Last Known U.S. Slave to Be Published in 2018

Cudjo Lewis was captured and transported to the U.S. in 1860. After regaining his freedom five years later, he went on to help establish African Town

The frontispiece of Wheatley's poetry collection describes her as a "Negro servant" rather than a slave, though she wasn't freed until after the book's publication.

The Most Notorious Poet in 18th Century America Was An Enslaved Teenager You’ve Never Heard Of

Phyllis Wheatley was a prodigy, but her ultimate fate reflects the gross racial disparities of 1700s America

Stay cozy!

Marshmallow-Topped Hot Chocolate Will Keep You Warm This Long Solstice Night

Marshmallows and hot chocolate each have a long history, but their union only dates back about a century

'It's a Wonderful Life' protagonist George Bailey with his family, Mary Hatch Bailey and Little Mary Hatch, at the end of the film.

The Weird Story of the FBI and ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’

The film supposedly had Communistic tendencies

Two early Rose Marie Reid designs.

How Swimsuits Became Fashion Items

Rose Marie Reid’s vision for beachwear helped shape the modern swimsuit

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First Center for Empathy and Art Launched in Minneapolis

The center will bring together researchers, artists, historians and philosophers to learn how art museums can promote empathy and understanding

Members of Isuma (Left to right: Norman Cohn, Pauloosie Qulitalik, Lizzie Qulitalik, Mary Qulitalik, Rachel Uyarashuk, Jonah Uyarashuk, Zacharias Kunuk) on the set of "Nunaqpa (Going Inland)," 1990.

For the First Time, Inuit Artists Will Represent Canada at the Venice Biennale

The Isuma collective is a video production company run by Indigenous artists of the Canadian Arctic

A much older Samuel Clemens, perhaps pondering his next invention.

How Mark Twain’s Hatred of Suspenders Drove Him to Invent

Under his given name, Samuel Clemens, Twain held several patents

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Federal Court Strikes Down Ban on ‘Scandalous’ Trademarks

The game-changing case centered on a clothing brand with a cheek

'The Nutcracker' is performed across North America each Christmas season.

How 1950s America Shaped ‘The Nutcracker’

It took the marketing insight of a Russian choreographer to make it all happen

Partridges, turtledoves, geese... you know the drill.

12 Facts About ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’

Amaze and astound your loved ones with these pieces of carol trivia

Salvatore Dali with ocelot friend at St Regis / World Telegram & Sun photo by Roger Higgins.

Dive Through More Than 1,000 Dalí Paintings Online

Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation’s complete catalogue raisonné, which spans from 1910 to 1983, is sheer surrealist eye candy

The Cinema Museum, Housed in the Workhouse Where Charlie Chaplin Spent His Formative Years, Is Under Threat

The property will go up for sale in 2018

Monir in her studio in 1975

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Inside the First Museum in Iran Devoted to a Female Artist

The new museum houses 50 works by the acclaimed artist Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian

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