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Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

David Hockney's Bigger Christmas Trees, which will light up London’s Battersea Power Station every evening until December 25

David Hockney Illuminates London’s Battersea Power Station With Digital Christmas Trees

The celebrated 86-year-old designed the large-scale holiday displays using his iPad

Jane Austen's signature is on the title page of the book.

Jane Austen’s Annotated Copy of ‘Curiosities of Literature’ Is For Sale

The novelist used a pencil to underline roughly 15 passages from the text by Isaac D’Israeli

Rizz is unusual, in that it's an abbreviated version of the word "charisma" that comes from the middle of the word.

‘Rizz’ Is Oxford’s 2023 Word of the Year

The word means “style, charm or attractiveness” or “the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner”

Many of the new additions depict characters from Spicemas, Grenada’s annual carnival celebration.

See the Newest Underwater Sculptures Residing on the Floor of the Caribbean

Originally created in 2006, the Molinière Underwater Sculpture Park recently added 31 new pieces off the coast of the island of Grenada

Musicians at Auschwitz played as part of as many as six orchestras sanctioned by the SS, as well as in secret. A new project by Leo Geyer restores some of the music they composed while imprisoned.

Restored Music Composed by Prisoners at Auschwitz Played Publicly for the First Time

Leo Geyer’s “The Orchestras of Auschwitz” weaves remnants of musical scores written by those at the camp into a piece honoring the Holocaust’s victims

Alice Tate-Harte, a conservator at English Heritage, works on a 17th-century portrait of Diana Cecil.

See a 17th-Century Portrait Restored to Its Original Appearance, Minus Lip Fillers and Other Touch-Ups

Conservators removed cosmetic changes made to a painting of English aristocrat Diana Cecil, likely to match 19th-century beauty standards

The Banksy mural in Dover, England, showed a worker chipping away a star on the European Union flag.

Banksy’s Brexit Mural in Dover Has Been Demolished

Contractors are working to determine whether restoration of the piece’s remains is possible

The full title of the painting by Clara Peeters is Still life of roses, carnations, tulips, narcissi, irises, love-in-a-mist, larkspur, and other flowers, in a wicker basket, with a butterfly and a cricket.

See the Rediscovered Still Life by Forgotten 17th-Century Master Clara Peeters

The painting by the influential Flemish artist could sell for as much as $883,000 at auction

The Mona Lisa Foundation's new exhibition in Turin aims to convince viewers that the Isleworth Mona Lisa (left) is an early version of the world-famous Mona Lisa (right).

Is This an Early Draft of the ‘Mona Lisa’?

The “Isleworth Mona Lisa” is now on view in Turin—but many experts aren’t convinced it’s the work of Leonardo da Vinci

Advances in technology are making altering or faking content increasingly easier.

Merriam-Webster’s 2023 Word of the Year Is ‘Authentic’

As technology’s ability to manipulate reality improves, we’re all searching for the truth

The exhibition uses the Seattle Art Museum's double-height galleries to showcase works like the 22-foot-tall sculpture Red Curly Tail  (1970).

Expansive Alexander Calder Exhibition Opens in Seattle

“Calder: In Motion” celebrates the iconic artist’s innovative mobiles, sculptures and other works

A visitor examines artifacts from the exhibition "Crimea: Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea" at the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam in 2014.

Hundreds of Crimean Treasures Return to Ukraine After Long Legal Battle

When Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, the artifacts were on loan to a museum in the Netherlands

Diana first spotted the blouse on a rack of clothes presented to her by the fashion team at Vogue magazine.

Princess Diana’s Engagement Portrait Blouse Is for Sale

Diana wore the garment for a portrait that officially announced her engagement in 1981

Persimmons will hang at San Francisco's Asian Art Museum for a brief three weeks.

‘Zen Mona Lisa’ Travels to the United States for the Very First Time

Titled “Six Persimmons,” the famous 13th-century work hasn’t left Japan for hundreds of years

Flag design finalist submission F2100

See the Top Contenders for the New Minnesota State Flag

Picked from more than 2,600 submissions, the finalists pay homage to the state’s motto and nickname

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

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