Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna shot her own mirror selfie in 1913. The picture,taken five years before she was killed, shows a young woman of 13 looking herself in the eye, stabilizing the camera on a chair in front of a mirror.

Take a Peep at This Gallery of Historic Selfies

People have been photographing themselves almost since the dawn of the technology

Tonedall Mills, once a large textile mill, is listed as an at-risk property in the 'Up My Street' catalogue.

UK Charity Calls On Developers to Save At-Risk Buildings

The ‘Up My Street’ catalogue profiles 100 historic properties in desperate need of repair

Andy Warhol, Self-Portrait, 1963-64 Acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas

Andy Warhol’s First Self-Portrait Is Headed to Auction

The artist transformed a photo booth image into a vibrant, turquoise print

Louie, having one last drink at the bar before heading home.

Trending Today

132-Year-Old Lobster Earns a Pardon from the Pot

Louie, a 22-pound crustacean born during the Cleveland administration, returned to the sea after 20 years living at Peter’s Clam Bar

The house where somebody murdered Lizzie Borden's father and stepmother in 1892. She was acquitted almost a year later.

Lizzie Borden Didn’t Kill Her Parents (Maybe)

Borden was acquitted of the crime on this day in 1893, but no one else was ever charged

Cheers!

Nobody Is Sure Why they Call It a ‘Martini’

Tastes just as good, though

Tasty Art Installation Lets Visitors Pick Their Own Fruit

At the Stoneview Nature Center in Los Angeles, fruit trees are arranged according to the colors of the rainbow

A family practicing the art of sauntering on a Sunday in 1942 in Greenbelt, Maryland.

On World Sauntering Day, Take a Walk

It’s good for you

Oregon Becomes First State to Issue Gender Non-Binary ID Cards

Those who do not identify as male or female will be able to select “X” for non-specified gender when applying for IDs

Traditional Polynesian Vessel to Complete Round-the-World Journey

The Hōkūleʻa’s crew did not use any modern navigational devices, instead relying on the stars, waves, and clouds to guide them

A statue "is the most efficient and courteous way yet discovered of ensuring a lasting oblivion of the deceased," Joyce said in 1907. Hardly the words of someone who wanted to be remembered long after his death.

Happy Bloomsday! Too Bad James Joyce Would Have Hated This

Joyce infamously disliked the idea of being memorialized

Soon, this island will become a cultural treasure.

Trending Today

San Francisco Is Creating Its Own Governors Island

Treasure Island will turn into a major cultural destination under new, multi-billion dollar plan

Ainu people wearing traditional clothes at the Ainu Museum, City of Shiraoi, Hokkaido, Japan.

Australia to Return Remains of Japan’s Indigenous Ainu People

In the early 20th century, an anthropologist excavated the remains and sent them overseas

Presumably laughing at a LOLcats meme.

Cool Finds

Why the Library of Congress Thinks Your Favorite Meme Is Worth Preserving

Webcomics and Web Cultures Archives are documenting online culture

The American Lobster, 'Homarus americanus,' found on the northern area of the Atlantic coast of America.

Climate Change, and Cod, Are Causing One Heck of a Lobster Boom in Maine

The complex relationships between humans, lobster, and cod are creating boom times—for now

This moving bowl will soon commemorate German reunification in Berlin.

Trending Today

Germany Moves Forward with Controversial Monument to Reunification

The German Memorial to Freedom and Unity has a fraught history

Library of Congress Names Tracy K. Smith As New Poet Laureate

Smith previously won a Pulitzer Prize for her work, which is by turns philosophical, fantastical and deeply personal

Trending Today

Art Installation Recreates the Smell of Cities Around the World

The Pollution Pod project emphasizes the unequal air quality divide between rich and poor cities

Thank Andrey Markov for your smartphone's predictive text feature—and also somewhat sillier uses.

Three Very Modern Uses For A Nineteenth-Century Text Generator

Andrey Markov was trying to understand poems with math when he created a whole new field of probability studies

Catalonia

First House Designed by Antoni Gaudí to Open as a Museum

The vibrant Casa Vicens was an early hallmark of Gaudí’s unique style

Page 192 of 286