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Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

The cast of The Outsiders during the musical's world premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego earlier this year

‘The Outsiders’ Musical Is Coming to Broadway

The greasers and Socs from S.E. Hinton’s popular novel will spar on stage this spring

Brooker began collecting in 1959 in Paris and has been assembling his library ever since.

Trove of Rare Renaissance Books Could Fetch $25 Million at Auction

T. Kimball Brooker has amassed a collection of more than 1,300 texts from the 16th century

Wendy Red Star’s The Soil You See… is a seven-foot-tall glass red thumbprint featuring the names of chiefs who signed treaties with the American government, usually with a fingerprint.

Outdoor Exhibition on the National Mall Spotlights Untold American Stories

In “Beyond Granite: Pulling Together,” six artists have created works for a month-long display

The Handmaid's Tale is one of the books removed from libraries in Iowa’s Mason City Community School District.

Why This School District Used A.I. to Help Determine Which Books to Ban

Iowa schools are struggling to comply with new laws banning books that aren’t “age appropriate”

Signs for the Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibitition outside the Orlando Museum of Art on March 25, 2022

Florida Museum Sues Ex-Director Over Plot to Profit From Forged Basquiat Paintings

The museum says its reputation was badly damaged by a scandal it describes as “stranger than fiction”

Bélizaire and the Frey Children features an enslaved 15-year-old alongside three white children who were likely in his care.

Who Was the Enslaved Child Painted Out of This 1837 Portrait?

The painting of Bélizaire, 15, shown behind the children of his enslavers, has been acquired by the Met

Taylor Swift performs during the Eras Tour at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on August 7. 

Swifties Can Now Study Literature (Taylor’s Version)

At a Belgian university, Taylor Swift fans can expect intertextual analysis beyond their wildest dreams

House Between Forest and Field in Dutchess County, New York, was designed by nARCHITECTS, the winner of this year's National Design Award for architecture.

Meet the Innovative Winners of This Year’s National Design Awards

Cooper Hewitt recognizes talented trailblazers who are at the forefront of their fields

The Glimmer Twins, created by sculptor Amy Goodman

Statues of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards Unveiled in the Duo’s Hometown

The Rolling Stones bandmates both grew up in Dartford, Kent, where they met as teenagers

Artists have long used these rustic dune shacks in Cape Cod as creative retreats.

Tennessee Williams and Jack Kerouac Once Found Refuge in the Dune Shacks of Cape Cod. Now, Longtime Residents Are Being Forced Out

The National Park Service plans to lease out some of the structures, which have long been used by artists and writers

Boston artist Peter Stephenson completed The Wounded Indian in 1850.

‘Wounded Indian’ Sculpture Will Return to Boston—Decades After It Was Supposedly Destroyed

The piece was rediscovered in 1999 at a Virginia museum, which has finally agreed to hand it over

Creation of the Birds, 1957, by Remedios Varo, is one of more than 60 works featured in a new Chicago exhibition about the Surrealist.

How Remedios Varo Became One of the ‘Witches’ of Surrealism

In Mexico City, the Spanish-born artist created dreamlike works that drew on magic, mysticism and more

This triptych by Francis Bacon is listed as being owned by Roman Abramovich in the new database.

Ukraine Launches Database to Track Art Owned by Sanctioned Russians

The searchable list contains some 300 works by the likes of Pablo Picasso, Leonardo da Vinci and more

The theme for this year's festival is "Halloween in August."

The Puppets Take Manhattan, Celebrating a Rich Global Art Form

The International Puppet Fringe Festival honored puppeteer Ralph Lee, who died earlier this year

Allen Ginsberg photographs himself, Arthur Miller and William H. Gass in an elevator in Copenhagen's Hotel Royal.

See Allen Ginsberg’s Photographs—and A.I.-Generated Poems Based on Them

The Beat poet’s photos, taken throughout his literary career, depict friends and fellow writers

The city is asking the public to vote on five semi-finalist proposals, including this one by artist Basil Watson.

Women Who Shaped History

Five Ways of Looking at Harriet Tubman

Philadelphia has selected five semi-finalist proposals for a new statue at City Hall

Taiichiro Yoshida's metal sculpture of Jolteon

Gotta Catch These Pokémon Reimagined Through Stunning Traditional Japanese Craft Techniques

A new exhibition features 20 artists’ creative interpretations of Pikachu, Charizard and more

Director Greta Gerwig at the European premiere of Barbie. The film has enjoyed worldwide success and made Gerwig the only woman with a sole directing credit on a billion-dollar movie.

‘Barbie’ Makes History, Becoming First Billion-Dollar Movie Directed Solely by a Woman

Greta Gerwig’s movie challenges dated notions about the box-office appeal of films centered on women

The current Minnesota flag, which lawmakers hope to soon retire, flies during a snowstorm.

Minnesota Starts Work on a New State Flag

The old flag—often criticized for its poor design and offensive images—is slated to be replaced in May

Researchers uncovered this image of a woman under The Fifth Season (1943) using infrared reflectography.

Cool Finds

A Mysterious Portrait Was Discovered Beneath a René Magritte Painting

Researchers found the image using infrared reflectography, and they think it may depict the artist’s wife, Georgette

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