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Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

A re-engraving of the best-known picture of Jane Austen, the "memoir portrait," based on a drawing by her sister Cassandra.

Researchers Float (Unlikely) Theory That Jane Austen Died of Arsenic Poisoning

A contested hypothesis says the author’s glasses may offer new insight into her death

A reproduction of the "Tower of Blue Horses," which hasn't been spotted since the late 1940s.

Cool Finds

Two New Exhibitions Celebrate a Long-Lost Painting

The “Tower of the Blue Horses” is gone, but not forgotten

Chris Bertish at his finishing line in Antigua

Trending Today

Man Crosses the Atlantic On a Stand-Up Paddleboard

South African surfer Chris Bertish spent 93 days paddling 4,050 miles between Morocco and Antigua

No word on cats, though.

“Pink Noise” May Improve Sleep and Memory in Older Adults

A new study has found that sound stimulation at night can lull people into a deep sleep

Sylvia Townsend Warner, the author whose first book was chosen as the first Book of the Month selection in 1926, was openly involved in relationships with both men and women, a fact that scandalized readers.

Don’t Judge the Book-of-the-Month Club By Its Cover

Although today you might associate its name with staid offerings, the club’s first book was by an openly queer author

Mildred and Richard Loving, subjects of the documentary The Loving Story and the feature-film Loving. Their story will be a topic of discussion at the History Film Forum.

Trending Today

History Film Forum Hashes Out Truth and Myth in Hollywood

The four-day Forum looks into time travel, black America, Poe and other depictions of history in the media

California’s Bunny Museum Hops to a New Home

The previous location could not contain the museum’s 33,000 “artifacts”

A portrait of Fanny Mendelssohn, by her husband Wilhelm Hensel.

Sonata by Fanny Mendelssohn, Mistakenly Attributed to Her Brother, Premieres Under Her Name

The Royal College of London performed the Easter Sonata in honor of International Women’s Day

The beach at Naples, Florida.

Is This the Happiest Place in America?

For the second time in a row, Gallup-Healthways ranked this Florida city first for overall well-being

Trending Today

What Killed More Than Half a Dozen of the Bahamas’ Swimming Pigs?

Drought and sand-tainted snacks might be the reason for the recent deaths

Abigail and John Adams's letters to each other show a rare marriage of equals, historians say.

The Letters of Abigail and John Adams Show Their Mutual Respect

We still have 1,160 of their letters, written across the years of their marriage

Grey Gardens in East Hampton, NY

Grey Gardens Estate Is on the Market for $20 Million

All feline tenants have been evicted

The Nights of Zayandeh-Rood

Censored Iranian Film Gets First Public Release, 27 Years After Its Debut

A mysterious plan to steal The Nights of Zayandeh-rood from government archives helped bring the film to a London theater

Cool Finds

Five-Year Photo Project Captures the Sistine Chapel in High-Res Detail

Released in a new set of books, the 1:1 photos will be used by restorers to restore and assess damage to Michaelangelo’s masterpieces

Trending Today

George W. Bush Displays Portraits of Military Veterans

The former president honors 66 members of the armed services in the show “Portraits of Courage,” which just opened at the George W. Bush Center

The bronze mirror found in the tomb of the Marquis of Haihun.

Oldest-Known Image of Confucius Found in Tomb of Disgraced Emperor

A hand-painted mirror, decorated with a painting of the philosopher, was discovered in the tomb of short-lived ruler Liu He

Lou Reed graffiti in France is a reminder of the rock star's international infuence.

Trending Today

Lou Reed’s Papers Have Found a Home

The vicious Velvet Underground frontman will live on at the New York Public Library

First page of the Kempe manuscript

New Research

Researchers Decipher Recipe Believed to Treat Medieval Mystic

The find came to light thanks to a multi-spectral analysis on the manuscript of Margery Kempe’s autobiography

Theodor Seuss Geisel and Helen Palmer Geisel, his first wife, were both children's book authors, but they never had children.

Dr. Seuss Had an Imaginary Daughter Named Chrysanthemum-Pearl

Theodor Seuss Geisel created the character with his first wife, Helen Palmer Geisel

Egon Schiele’s “Woman Hiding Her Face” (1912)

Heirs of Holocaust Victim Invoke New Law in Suit Over Two Schiele Drawings

The family of Fritz Grunbaum claims the works were stolen by Nazis

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