Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

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

The $45 million building will feature a performance venue and events space.

Andy Warhol Museum Announces $45 Million Expansion

The new building will feature a performance venue inspired by “A Bird,” a watercolor by the famed Pop artist

Detail of the rediscovered "fiend" in Joshua Reynolds' painting The Death of Cardinal Beaufort (1789)

Hidden Demon Revealed in the Shadows of a Joshua Reynolds Painting

Conservators have restored the malignant spirit, which generated controversy among 18th-century audiences

An interim memorial now stands in front of the Pulse nightclub, the site of a deadly 2016 mass shooting.

Plans for Museum Honoring Victims of Pulse Nightclub Shooting Have Been Canceled

The city of Orlando has agreed to buy the nightclub property, where a permanent memorial will eventually open

On the new U.S. quarter, sculptor Joseph Menna and designer Benjamin Sowards depict Tallchief floating through the air in the middle of a dramatic leap in The Firebird.

New U.S. Quarter Honors Maria Tallchief, America’s First Prima Ballerina

Born on Osage land in Oklahoma, the famous dancer broke barriers for Native American women

Elton John and David Furnish pictured at home in their art gallery in Windsor, England, in 2019

See Hundreds of Photographs From Elton John and David Furnish’s Private Collection

Never-before-seen images of celebrities, performers and important moments in history are going on display in London

Page 63 of 297