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Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

Banksy's latest mural, which depicts two pelicans eating fish, on August 9.

New Banksy Murals Appeared in London Every Day This Week. What Do They Mean?

The street artist has unveiled five animal-themed artworks, sparking debate about their intended message

American sprinter Noah Lyles rang the Paris 2024 bell after winning the men's 100-meter final.

The Paris Olympics

These Olympic Gold Medalists Get to Ring a Bell Bound for Notre-Dame

The bell was built for the Games, but it will soon get a second life in one of Paris’ most beloved landmarks

Philipe Petit walks between the twin towers on August 7, 1974.

Philippe Petit Marks the 50th Anniversary of His World Trade Center Walk With a New High Wire Act

The 74-year-old French artist reflected on his stunt and balanced on a tightrope at two performances in Manhattan

As evidenced by Gordon Parks' A Woman and Her Dog in the Harlem Section (1943), New York pets had evolved from hunting assistants to companions by the 20th century.

See Images of New Yorkers and Their Pets Across Three Centuries

An upcoming exhibition will trace the history of the city’s domesticated dogs, cats, horses and other animals

The Three Graces, Raphael, circa 1517-18

See Rare Italian Renaissance Drawings at Buckingham Palace

An upcoming exhibition will feature 160 sketches by Italian masters such as Leonardo da Vinci and Titian

The elephants are spending the summer in Newport, Rhode Island, before making their way to the Meatpacking District in New York City this fall.

Art Meets Science

A Herd of Life-Size Elephant Sculptures Is Marching Across America

Created by artists in India, the artworks are part of a larger effort to promote coexistence between humans and animals

Banksy announced this mural featuring a goat on a ledge on August 5.

Banksy Unveils Two New Animal Murals in Two Days

One piece features a goat perched on a ledge, while the other shows two elephants in windows

A rendering of Iván Argote's giant pigeon statue perched on top of the High Line

This 16-Foot-Tall Pigeon Sculpture Is Coming to New York City’s High Line

Artist Iván Argote hopes the artwork, titled “Dinosaur,” will inspire “attraction, seduction and fear”

Johnny Cash was born in Kingsland, Arkansas, in 1932.

A Statue of Johnny Cash Is Coming to the U.S. Capitol

Standing alongside civil rights leader Daisy Bates, the singer-songwriter will represent the state of Arkansas in Statuary Hall

After delays and months of uncertainty, triathletes finally took the plunge into the Seine River in Paris.

The Paris Olympics

Olympians Finally Got to Swim in the Seine River

After months of uncertainty, the women’s and men’s triathlon events kicked off with a dip in the long-polluted waterway that runs through the heart of Paris

Performance artist Abraham Poincheval stands inside a giant glass bottle on the Canal Saint-Denis.

The Paris Olympics

French Performance Artist Seals Himself in a Giant Bottle for Ten Days Outside Paris’ Olympic Stadium

Abraham Poincheval has become a living message in a bottle, exploring themes of privacy and public space

Rembrandt van Rijn completed The Night Watch, a group portrait of Amsterdam's local militia, in 1642.

New Research

What Is the Secret Ingredient Behind Rembrandt’s Golden Glow?

Scientists found arsenic sulfide pigments in “The Night Watch,” arguably the artist’s most famous painting

This bronze helmet found near Corinaldo, Italy, belongs to the Piceni civilization.

Cool Finds

Aristocratic Tomb Discovered in Italy Offers Clues to a Mysterious Pre-Roman Civilization

The burial site, rife with Iron Age artifacts like a chariot and a helmet, likely belonged to a Piceni prince

Tomasz Stachura, one of the divers who found the wreck, saw bubbles inside some of the Champagne bottles.

Cool Finds

Divers Find Crates of Unopened Champagne in 19th-Century Shipwreck

Discovered near Sweden, the vessel was loaded with bottles of sparkling wine, mineral water and porcelain

The costume that sold at auction was not the one that made it into the final version of the film, but rather an earlier iteration that Fisher wore on set for screen testing.

Is Princess Leia’s ‘Star Wars’ Bikini the Most Controversial Costume in Sci-Fi History?

A version of the gold outfit worn by Carrie Fisher on the set of “Return of the Jedi” fetched $175,000 at auction

This portrait of Henry VIII was one of 22 in a set commissioned by Ralph Sheldon in the late 16th century.

Cool Finds

Art Historian Discovers Long-Lost Portrait of Henry VIII in Background of Social Media Post

Commissioned by a wealthy tapestry maker in the 1590s, the Tudor king’s likeness features a distinctive frame with a rounded top

Brazilian Olympic surfer Gabriel Medina pops up after riding a barrel wave at Teahupo'o during the Summer Games on Monday. The photo by Jérôme Brouillet has gone viral.

Trending Today

The Story Behind This Breathtaking Viral Photo of an Olympic Surfer

Jérôme Brouillet, a photojournalist with the Agence France-Presse (AFP), captured an iconic moment when Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina celebrated after setting an Olympic record

The Dolphin Hotel is a historic structure dating in Southampton, England.

Inside the Controversial Plan to Turn a Hotel Where Jane Austen Attended Balls Into Student Dorms

Devoted readers are worried about the fate of the historic Dolphin Hotel in southern England

Fish swim by an ancient Roman mosaic once part of a wealthy villa in the city of Baiae.

Cool Finds

Divers Discover Mesmerizing Roman Mosaic Beneath the Sea

Found near Naples, the marble slabs once adorned a villa in a city known as the Las Vegas of the Roman Empire

A still from Andy Warhol's Empire

Watch Andy Warhol’s Eight-Hour Film About the Empire State Building on the Skyscraper’s 80th Floor

Released in 1964, the divisive experimental film is being screened in honor of its 60th anniversary

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