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Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy ride the presidential limousine through the streets of Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Texas Governor John B. Connally Jr. is seated in front of them.

History of Now

Ex-Secret Service Agent’s Account of JFK’s Assassination Could Cast Doubt on ‘Lone Gunman’ Theory

Paul Landis’ new book refutes the idea that a single bullet injured both the president and Texas Governor John B. Connally Jr.

The statue of the Little Prince outside Villa Albertine’s Fifth Avenue headquarters

New ‘Little Prince’ Statue Sits Near Central Park and Gazes Up at the Stars

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote and illustrated much of the beloved novella while living in the city in the 1940s

The Buddha statue stolen from the Barakat Gallery on September 18

Thief Steals $1.5 Million Buddha Statue From Los Angeles Gallery

Gallery officials say they are stumped as to why the 250-pound artwork was targeted

David Byrne, frontman of the Talking Heads, in the concert film Stop Making Sense, which returns to theaters this week

Why the Talking Heads’ 40-Year-Old Concert Film Still Mesmerizes

“Stop Making Sense,” known as one of the greatest movies of its kind, returns to the big screen

Inside the restored women's cold room

Stunning 16th-Century Turkish Bath Reopens in Istanbul

The revitalized space will feature a museum and contemporary art in addition to traditional bathing

The four colorful panels depict Black Americans holding protest signs.

See Washington National Cathedral’s New Racial Justice-Themed Stained-Glass Windows

Designed by artist Kerry James Marshall, the panels replace windows depicting Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson

Conservator Adelaide Izat works on Susanna and the Elders, a painting newly reattributed to Artemisia Gentileschi.

Cool Finds

Lost Artemisia Gentileschi Painting Discovered in English Palace’s Storeroom

“Susanna and the Elders” was misattributed for some 200 years, first to a male artist and then to the “French School”

This marble mortar was originally found in the ancient city of Ma'rib in 1984.

Republic of Yemen and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art Come to Agreement Over Artifacts

The two pieces, which date back to the third millennium B.C.E., will remain in New York for now

Visitors to the Kunsten Museum view Jens Haaning's Take the Money and Run (2021), consisting of two blank canvases.

Artist Who Submitted Empty Canvases to Danish Museum Must Repay $70,000

A court ordered Jens Haaning to return the money from his “Take the Money and Run” stunt

English writer Virginia Woolf in June 1926

Virginia Woolf Scorned Fashion but Couldn’t Escape It

A new exhibition investigates the Bloomsbury Group’s relationship with clothing, accessories and sartorial social norms

Bethann Hardison in Invisible Beauty

New Documentary Showcases Bethann Hardison’s Battle to Diversify the Fashion Industry

“Invisible Beauty” explores the fashion trailblazer’s work as a model, agent and activist

A replica of Pillar of Shame on display in Taipei, Taiwan, on June 4, 2023. Copies of the sculpture exist around the world.

Hong Kong Student Jailed Over Tiananmen Square Protest Banner

Zeng Yuxuan, 23, was sentenced to six months in prison on charges of sedition

One side of the amphora, which dates to 530 B.C.E., depicts the mythological figure Heracles fighting the Nemean lion.

Australian Museum Will Return Prized 2,500-Year-Old Vase to Italy

The institution will also repatriate two additional looted items discovered during investigations

Bob Ross' signature in the corner of A Walk in the Woods (1983)

Bob Ross’ Very First On-Air Painting Is for Sale

Priced at nearly $10 million, “A Walk in the Woods” was the subject of the artist’s 1983 television premiere

The eagle eyes of Welcome as Warning stare down at visitors to "The World's UnFair" in Queens, New York.

‘The World’s UnFair,’ a New Exhibition Calling for the Return of Indigenous Land, Comes to Queens

Located on an empty lot, the immersive art show has a simple message: “Give it back”

Tian Tian playing in the snow. Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and their son Xiao Qi Ji will return to China by December 7.

Pandamonium

Why the National Zoo Is Saying Goodbye to Its Giant Pandas

Staff remain hopeful that members of the threatened species will be back in Washington in the near future

Édouard Manet's Olympia will soon make its United States debut in a new exhibition.

Manet’s ‘Olympia’ Comes to America for the Very First Time

The painting scandalized 19th-century viewers and heralded the dawn of modern art

St. Sophia's Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine

UNESCO Adds Sites in Kyiv and Lviv to List of World Heritage in Danger

The agency has been trying to protect Ukraine’s historic sites since the beginning of the war with Russia

This 20-inch X-wing miniature was used in the original Star Wars film's final battle.

Cool Finds

X-Wing Model From Original ‘Star Wars’ Movie Found in a Garage

The 20-inch miniature is going to auction, where bidding starts at $200,000

Chairs sit ready for the attendees of the ceremony recognizing 2020 and 2021 Pulitzer Prize winners.

Why the Pulitzer Prizes Are Expanding Eligibility to Non-U.S. Citizens

The prestigious awards will soon be open to permanent residents and those who call the U.S. their “longtime primary home”

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