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Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

Peter Paul Rubens' Salome Presented With the Head of John the Baptist was lost for centuries.

Cool Finds

Lost Rubens Painting, Rediscovered After Two Centuries, Could Sell for $35 Million

A French family found the masterpiece in their collection in 1987

The nine finalists are Samantha Raimis, CHUCK E., Carrie Torrence, Pamela Crumb, Frida Hitchcock, Blair Hanscom, Sally Strode, Rosie Romero and Wendy Craven.

Which of These Historical Dolls Is the Creepiest?

Vote for one of the nine finalists from a Minnesota museum’s collection

Last Generation protesters throw mashed potatoes at a Monet painting in Germany. 

Why Are Climate Activists Throwing Food at Million-Dollar Paintings?

In the most recent stunt, protesters tossed mashed potatoes at Monet’s “Grainstacks” in Germany

Edward Hopper's Nighthawks, 1942

Reexamining Edward Hopper—and the Woman Behind His Career

“Hopper: An American Love Story” highlights the artist’s relationship with his wife, Josephine Nivison

The poster for "Habibi, Love's Revolutions" features art by Alireza Shojaian.

How 23 Artists Explore Queerness in the Arab World

“Habibi, Love’s Revolutions” reflects on LGBTQ experiences and identities

“This homage is a call for action to support the current revolution in Iran, led by brave Iranian women risking their lives to stand up against oppression to overthrow a longtime authoritarian regime,” the Anonymous Artist Collective for Iran says.

Iranian Artists Stage Anonymous Protest at the Guggenheim Museum

The group draped red banners across four floors in support of the protests gathering momentum in Iran

A rendering of a giant flower pot vacation rental on a farm in Idaho, designed by Whitney H. from the United States

Spend the Night in a Giant Flower Pot or a Supersized Cereal Box

Airbnb is giving $100,000 each to 100 people to help them build the most off-beat lodgings they could imagine

Christopher Lloyd (Doc Brown in the film) poses onstage at London's production of Back to the Future: The Musical

Great Scott! ‘Back to the Future’ Is Coming to Broadway

Marty McFly, Doc Brown and their iconic DeLorean are heading to New York City this summer

Woman Hiding Her Face (1912) by Egon Schiele

Nazis Stole Two Paintings From a Jewish Cabaret Star. Now, His Heirs Are Selling Them

Proceeds from the auction will go toward supporting underrepresented artists

NOFX's Mike "Fat Mike" Burkett, one of the new museum's founders, performing in August 

A Punk Rock Museum Is Coming to Las Vegas

Thousands of instruments, set lists, flyers and other ephemera will tell the genre’s story

Actress Anna May Wong is the latest woman to appear on the quarter under the U.S. Mint's American Women Quarters program.

Meet Anna May Wong, the First Asian American on U.S. Currency

The trailblazing actress overcame discrimination to become a global star

Freddie Mercury on stage in 1986

Cool Finds

Queen Releases Newly Discovered Song With Vocals From Freddie Mercury

Once believed to be lost, the track comes from a 1988 recording session

King Fire Self Portrait by Jeff Frost (2018)

See How California Artists Process Wildfires Through Their Work

A new exhibition showcases art that seeks to make sense of destruction

Untitled (Figure) by Adayfi Mansoor, 2016

Guantánamo Detainees Ask Biden to Let Them Keep Their Art

An open letter calls for the reversal of a ruling giving the government ownership of work made in the prison

Miramar Castle in Trieste, Italy

This Beautiful Italian Region Will Reimburse Your Train Ticket

Hoping to boost tourism, the Friuli Venezia Giulia region is offering to pay for travelers’ train fares and museum passes

After throwing cans of soup on Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers," two climate activists glued their hands to the wall, and one called for the end of fossil fuel production.

Climate Activists Throw Soup on Vincent van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ to Protest Fossil Fuels

The demonstration is the latest in a string of nonviolent protests that involve tampering with famous works of art

This image of an axolotl highlights components of its nervous system

Art Meets Science

Stunning Images Reveal the Complex Beauty of Life Under a Microscope

Nikon’s Small World Photomicrography contest winners captured a gecko hand, breast tissue cells and dozens of other minuscule moments

The 1,600-year-old mosaic in Rastan, Syria

See the Stunning 1,600-Year-Old Mosaic Unearthed in Syria

Archaeologists found the artwork beneath a building in Rastan

Andy Warhol's 1984 Prince series

Are Andy Warhol’s Silkscreens of Prince a Copyright Violation?

The Supreme Court hears a case that could redefine the limits of fair use and creative expression

Outisde of the Artists Forum at Tehran's Honarmandan Park, an anonymous activist dyed a fountain blood red.

Tehran’s Fountains Turn Blood Red in Anonymous Protest Art

Iranians are using art to challenge the government’s “morality police” and violent crackdowns following the death of Mahsa Amini

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