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Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

Edith Wharton circa 1900. Her play "The Shadow of a Doubt" didn't make it to the stage in 1901—but has finally been rediscovered by scholars.

Cool Finds

Scholars Rediscover Forgotten Edith Wharton Play

“The Shadow of a Doubt” had been overshadowed by over 100 years of history

Protestors stand in front of the Walker Sculpture Garden's construction fence on Saturday, May 27, 2017.

Amid Controversy, Minneapolis Museum Removes Sculpture Based on Execution of 38 Dakota Men

Members of the Dakota community say that the sculpture trivializes a painful chapter of their history

"Oh, hello. I didn't see you there. I was just catching up on my latest diary entry."

Samuel Pepys Was England’s First Blogger

The famed blogger—okay, diarist—told historians so much about 17th-century daily life in England, but he could have told us so much more

A cyanotype photogram from "Photographs of British Algae."

How the First Female Photographer Changed the Way the World Sees Algae

The groundbreaking photo book by Anna Atkins, a 19th-century British botanist, is going on display in the Netherlands

This library will no longer charge late fees for books.

Trending Today

Late Fees No Longer Exist at Salt Lake City Libraries

If you kept a book longer than you should have, you’re in luck

Each pole is 20 feet high and weighs over 2,000 pounds.

Cool Finds

The Powerful Story Behind Glacier Bay National Park’s New Totem Poles

They’re 20-foot-tall symbols of a slowly healing rift

The doge's barge, called the Bucentaur, returning to Venice after the "wedding" ceremony. This painting is by eighteenth-century Venetian artist Giovanni Antonio Canal, known as Canaletto.

Venice Has Been Married to the Sea for Over a Thousand Years

Happy anniversary, you crazy kids

The Maillard Reaction's best-known application is in tasty, tasty food.

Why Food Smells So Good When It’s Browning

A complex chemical reaction called the Maillard Reaction is responsible

Vermeer's "The Concert" was stolen by thieves in the 1990 heist. It is one of just 36 paintings by the artist in existence.

Gardner Museum Offers $10 Million for Information About 1990 Heist

The museum believes that somebody, somewhere can shed light on the whereabouts of 13 missing masterpieces

Bill Robinson as photographed by George Hurrell in 1935.

Three Ways Bill “Bojangles” Robinson Changed Dance Forever

Robinson worked throughout his career to make life better for black performers

Donna Mahan's "Safeguarding" was made with a castoff window from the residence.

Cool Finds

This Art Was Made from JFK’s Cape Cod Home

The Hyannis Port house was the stuff of family legend. Now it’s the source of new art

You'll have a tail to tell after visiting this North Carolina museum.

American South

North Carolina Has a House Cat Museum

You’ll want to paws for this roadside attraction

Lizard image produced by light-sensitive bacteria

New Research

Researchers Create Color Images With Bacteria

The art is done by inserting 18 genes into E. coli

According to Mary Sawyer's account, the lamb was a female. Sarah Hale's poem says it was a male. Sawyer is probably the source with reason to know.

‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ Is Based on a True Story

As a child, Mary Sawyer rescued a lamb. Then it followed her to school one day

Joel Arthur Rosenthal's dazzling menorah

Blinged-Out Menorah Debuts at Pioneering Exhibit in Rome

The piece, which is encrusted with precious jewels, was gifted to the Jewish Museum in Rome by the artist Joel Arthur Rosenthal

Italy is hoping to draw tourists to less-frequented parts of the country, like sites along the Appian Way, pictured here.

Italy Is Giving Away 103 Historic Buildings, Free of Charge

But potential owners are required to transform the properties into tourist-friendly sites

Cool Finds

Indonesian Village Turns Into a Rainbow to Attract Tourists

Every house and business in Kampung Pelangi is painted in bright rainbow colors

Basquiat Painting Becomes Most Expensive American Work Ever Sold

A Japanese billionaire bought the piece for $110.5 million

Can you tell which it is?

The 1870s Dairy Lobby Turned Margarine Pink So People Would Buy Butter

Margarine or butter? The question has deep roots, and you shouldn’t even ask it in Wisconsin

Sprawling Contemporary Art Museum to Open in Bangladesh

The space will include a 100-acre sculpture park and a vast gallery devoted to South Asian art

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