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Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

Foundry workers disassembled Charlottesville's Robert E. Lee statue before melting it down.

Foundry Workers Melt Down Charlottesville’s Divisive Robert E. Lee Statue

Eventually, an artist will be chosen to transform the bronze bars into a public art installation

A print of a work by South African photographer Zanele Muholi hangs above the museum's staircase.

Museum of Censored Art Opens in Barcelona

The new Museu de l’Art Prohibit serves as a monument to freedom of expression

Prince Harry (played by Fflyn Edwards), Princess Diana (played by Elizabeth Debicki) and Prince William (played by Rufus Kampa) in season six of "The Crown"

Watch the New Trailer for the Final Season of ‘The Crown’

Part one of the new season will follow Princess Diana through the final weeks of her life in 1997

Steiner's comic is the most reprinted New Yorker cartoon of all time.

‘New Yorker’ Cartoon About a Dog on the Internet Breaks Auction Records

The iconic 1993 image by Peter Steiner just became the most valuable single-panel comic ever sold

Vienna-born artist Johann Franz Nepomuk Lauterer, who lived between 1700 and 1733, created Landscape of Italian Character along with a companion painting.

Painting Stolen by American Soldier During World War II Returned to Germany

FBI agents and art recovery lawyers helped retrieve the piece by Austrian artist Johann Franz Nepomuk Lauterer

Preparation for Bobby Baker's 1976 An Edible Family in a Mobile Home, which is being restaged by Tate Britain next month

You Can Eat These Sculptures at Tate Britain

“An Edible Family in a Mobile Home” features life-size figures sculpted from cookies and cake

Costumed kids hit the streets each year in search of candy.

The History of Trick-or-Treating Goes Back Centuries

From the ancient Celts to medieval English, the Halloween tradition precedes the costumed children who will soon swarm your block

The city of Calais commissioned French sculptor Auguste Rodin to create Les Bourgeois de Calais in 1884.

Rodin Sculpture Has Been Missing From Scottish Museum Collection for Nearly 75 Years

The piece is a plaster version of one of the figures from the French sculptor’s “Les Bourgeois de Calais”

Arthur Brand, dubbed the "Indiana Jones" of the art world, has helped recover six stolen historical Dutch artworks from the comfort of his Amsterdam flat.

Cool Finds

Mysterious Man Returns Six Stolen Paintings to Art Detective’s Doorstep

The puzzling incident comes just weeks after an anonymous tipster delivered a stolen van Gogh to Arthur Brand’s flat in Amsterdam

Of the nearly 2,000 items missing from Welsh museums, more than half are from St. Fagans in Cardiff, Wales.

Nearly 2,000 Items Are Missing From Welsh Museums

Museum officials say that many of the objects will likely be recovered as documentation work progresses

Children Wading (1918), painted by Scottish artist Robert Gemmell Hutchison, was recovered thanks to the Art Loss Register's database.

A Painting Stolen in a Heist 30 Years Ago Has Returned to Glasgow

After vanishing without a trace in 1989, “Children Wading” appeared at an auction house in England

Signage at Netflix's campus in Hollywood, California

Netflix Plans to Open Brick-and-Mortar Stores in 2025

Visitors will dine at themed restaurants and participate in immersive experiences

Merchandise inside Banksy's London pop-up, Gross Domestic Product, which the artist created in an attempt to hold onto his trademark during ongoing legal battles with the greeting card company Full Colour Black.

Could This Lawsuit Expose Banksy’s Identity?

The legal battle between the street artist and a greeting card company has been unfolding for several years

Painted by Leonardo da Vinci sometime between 1503 and 1519, the Mona Lisa is on display at the Louvre.

Art Meets Science

Scientists Are Still Unraveling the Secrets of the ‘Mona Lisa’

A new chemical analysis sheds new light on how Leonardo da Vinci painted the iconic portrait

Eric Clapton's guitar, called the "Fool," features a bright, psychedelic design.

You Can Own Guitars Played by Eric Clapton and Kurt Cobain

Both instruments are expected to sell for between $1 million and $2 million at auction next month

A historic dwelling where enslaved individuals once slept will be on display at the park.

New Alabama Sculpture Park Reflects on Slavery’s Enduring Legacy

The Freedom Monument Sculpture Park in Montgomery will feature works from prominent artists, artifacts, immersive experiences and a new monument

Travis Gienger attends the weigh-in for his 2,749-pound gourd at the 2023 World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off. 

Minnesota Man Sets World Record With 2,749-Pound Pumpkin

Travis Gienger is a horticulture teacher who grows his award-winning gourds in his backyard

Experts used X-ray and infrared imaging to determine that Rembrandt painted The Adoration of the Kings (circa 1628).

A Painting Originally Valued at $15,000 Turned Out to Be a Rembrandt. Now, It Could Sell for Millions

The hand behind the brush can make or break a painting’s worth—especially when that hand belongs to a legendary Dutch master

Another supposedly unlucky thing: black cats.

Why Are We So Scared of Friday the 13th?

From the Knights Templar to Norse mythology, here’s how fear of the spooky date crept into popular culture

"The Master's Pupil" is a hand-painted video game that takes place inside Claude Monet's eyeball.

This New Hand-Painted Video Game Takes Place Inside Claude Monet’s Eyeball

Australian designer and developer Pat Naoum spent seven years creating “The Master’s Pupil”

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