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Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

The Lyric’s senior director of digital initiatives, Brad Dunn, meets with SoundShirt designers at CuteCircuit in London.

Art Meets Science

This High-Tech Shirt Helps Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Patrons Feel Music

Guests at Chicago’s Lyric Opera can now immerse themselves in performances through the SoundShirt’s vibrations

Jonny Fowle, global head of whisky at Sotheby's, tasted a tiny drop of the rare Scotch whisky and described it as "very rich."

Rare Bottle of Scotch Whisky Sells for Record-Breaking $2.7 Million

Made in 1926, the whisky aged in sherry casks for 60 years before being bottled in 1986

The sarcophagus of Ramses II is a major attraction in a new exhibition, as it has rarely been shown publicly outside of Egypt.

Why Egyptomania Is Taking Over Australia

A series of exhibitions in the country spotlight the enduring appeal of ancient Egypt for modern audiences

The Psychedelic Eye mosaic, once on the wall of the deep end of John Lennon's swimming pool, is now freestanding and up for auction.

John Lennon’s ‘Psychedelic Eye’ Swimming Pool Mosaic Goes to Auction

The famous musician commissioned the trippy mural for his home in Kenwood at the height of Beatlemania

John Legend is one of nine musicians who agreed to participate in YouTube's new Dream Tracks experiment.

Art Meets Science

YouTube’s New A.I. Music Generation Tool Mimics the Voices of Popular Singers

So far, nine artists—including John Legend, T-Pain, Demi Lovato and Charli XCX—have volunteered their voices

Banksy's Migrant Child has endured damage from the elements since it appeared in 2019. 

Why Restoring a Banksy Mural in Venice Is So Controversial

Critics argue that the street artist may have intended for the work to deteriorate over time

Thieves used a hammer to shatter the front door to the gallery and made off with a Chagall print.

Thieves With Hammer Stole $100,000 Chagall Print From Manhattan Gallery

The whereabouts of the work—and the individuals who conducted the “brazen” heist—remain a mystery

Cimabue's Christ Mocked (circa 1280)

Cool Finds

This Forgotten Masterpiece Was Hanging Above an Elderly French Woman’s Hot Plate. Now, It’s Heading to the Louvre

The French government gave the museum 30 months to raise the funds to purchase the Cimabue painting

A drawing of a musical lion from 14th-century France

Why Is Medieval Art So Weird?

Titled “Weird Medieval Guys,” a new book examines illustrations of armless frogs, human-sized snails and more

Taylor Swift performing during her record-breaking Eras Tour.

Taylor Swift-Themed Cruise Sets Sail Next Year

The four-night sailing is organized by Swifties, though the singer-songwriter herself won’t be on board

A museum visitor wears the new headset, which collects brainwave data that is used to create real-time images visualizing their response to art.

Art Meets Science

See What Your Brain Does When You Look at Art

A new device translates museum-goers’ brainwaves into a simplified real-time visualization

A portrait of William Shakespeare at the edge of space in a still from the short film Lovers and Madmen

Shakespeare’s Portrait Travels to Edge of Space

The stunt was planned to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s First Folio

Pablo Picasso’s Femme à la montre (or Woman with a Watch) sold for a whopping $139.4 million at Sotheby’s in New York this month.

‘Femme à la Montre’ Becomes Second Most Expensive Picasso Ever Sold

The 1932 painting of the artist’s mistress, Marie-Thérèse Walter, fetched $139 at auction

A view of the exhibition galleries of "On the Reverse" at the Prado Museum

Madrid’s Prado Museum Shows What’s Behind Famous Paintings—Literally

The new exhibition “On the Reverse” encourages visitors to think of paintings as three-dimensional objects by showing their back sides

An original Victorian-era photograph of the "stick man" featured on the cover of Led Zeppelin IV

Cool Finds

Researchers Have Finally Identified the Mystery Man on a Led Zeppelin Album Cover

Once thought to be a painting, the image of the “stick man” was hiding in a Victorian photo album in England

Will Liverman performs during the dress rehearsal of X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X at the Metropolitan Opera, which runs through December 2

Malcolm X Opera Opens in New York

The Afrofuturist production examines the civil rights leader’s legacy and lasting influence

Before it was stolen, the toilet had been installed in a bathroom at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England.

Four Men Charged With 2019 Theft of $6 Million Gold Toilet

Titled “America,” the infamous 18-karat loo was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan

Austin Butler stars as Major Gale Winston Cleven.

Based on a True Story

Watch the Trailer for ‘Masters of the Air,’ Steven Spielberg’s Long-Awaited Follow-Up to ‘Band of Brothers’

The upcoming miniseries follows the 100th Bombardment Group, an Air Force unit nicknamed the “Bloody Hundredth”

Two Just Stop Oil protesters after smashing the glass protecting Rokeby Venus at London’s National Gallery 

Climate Activists Hammer at Glass Protecting Velázquez’s ‘Rokeby Venus’

Organized by Just Stop Oil, the incident was just the latest of many protests targeting famous artworks

David Hockney paints the portrait of Harry Styles that is currently on display in the exhibition.

David Hockney Show Opens in London—and Features a New Portrait of Harry Styles

“David Hockney: Drawing from Life” returns to the National Portrait Gallery after the pandemic shut it down three years ago

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