Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

Betty White poses with a parrot at the Los Angeles Zoo in 2014.

Good News

Animal Shelters See an Influx of Donations in Honor of Betty White

Fans donated thousands of dollars to local animal shelters on what would have been her 100th birthday

Map from front endpapers to The Odyssey of Homer (translated by T. E. Shaw (Col. T. E. Lawrence)), 1935. 

Art Meets Science

See Fantastical Maps From ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘Lord of the Rings’ and More

In honor of the centennial of James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses,’ a San Marino, California exhibition takes museumgoers on a literary journey

This watercolor of Huna Mill in Scotland is one of 79 paintings by Prince Charles on display at the Garrison Chapel in London.

See Prince Charles’ Watercolors of Landscapes Around the World

A new show in London features 79 watercolors by the British royal

Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia curated by volunteer community editors, found itself at the center of conversations about whether to categorize non-fungible tokens as "art."

Should NFTs Be Classified as Art? Wikipedia’s Editors Vote ‘No’

Makers of the free encyclopedia spar over the categorization for non-fungible tokens, the relatively new phenomenon sweeping the digital art world

The image of the playwright on the title page is also just one of two portraits with "any claim to authenticity," according to the British Library. 

Shakespeare First Folio Acquired by the University of British Columbia

The volume is going on display at Vancouver Art Gallery as part of a new exhibition

Researchers suspect that a painting bought in 1970 for £65 might be the handiwork of Anthony van Dyck. Featured here is an example of a similar painting, Portrait of Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain as a nun (1626), which was attributed to van Dyck in 2009. This work is part of the collections of the Louvre Museum in Paris, France.

Cool Finds

Dismissed as a Copy for Decades, This Flemish Masterpiece Could Now Fetch Thousands

Purchased by an art historian for $90 in 1970, researchers now say the portrait might be the handiwork of the 17th-century court painter Anthony van Dyck

This 14th-century religious carving of a water spirit was part of a window decoration in a Kathmandu monastery.

Rubin Museum Agrees to Return Stolen Religious Artifacts to Nepal

An investigation launched by the New York cultural institution concluded that the 14th- and 17th-century carvings were “unlawfully obtained”

The barking owl is one of the 53 endangered bird species featured on the album.

Trending Today

Bird Call Album Flies Over Taylor Swift on Australian Pop Charts

Songs of Disappearance soars to the number-three spot as Australians show support for endangered bird species

The new technique can distinguish artists based on small samples of their brushwork.

Art Meets Science

New Tech Can Distinguish Brush Strokes of Different Artists

Researchers used 3-D scanning and A.I. to identify artists from tiny samples of their paintings

Sidney Poitier, pictured here in 2006 at the Cannes Film Festival, died Friday, January 7. He was 94. 

How Sidney Poitier Rewrote the Script for Black Actors in Hollywood

Smithsonian curators reflect on the legacy of the late Poitier, who starred in ‘In the Heat of the Night’ and ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’

This commemorative Edmonia Lewis "forever" stamp will go on sale January 26, as the 45th installment of the USPS's Black Heritage series. 

U.S. Postage Stamp Will Honor Edmonia Lewis, a Sculptor Who Broke the Mold

As a Native American, Black and Roman Catholic woman, Lewis overcame prejudice to become a sought-after sculptor in late 19th-century Europe

Actress and comedian Betty White, pictured here in 2015, died last week at the age of 99.

Women Who Shaped History

How Betty White Broke Barriers for Women in Television

A Smithsonian curator reflects on the legacy of the beloved “Golden Girls” actress

Built in the third-century, the large Roman baths complex also featured open-air swimming pools, as well as a temple, garden and library.

Italy Bans McDonald’s Drive-Through at Ancient Roman Baths Site

Upholding an earlier decision, the high court halts construction of a new restaurant, resolving a years-long dispute in favor of cultural preservation

Numerous books, films and other works first published in 1926 enter the public domain on January 1.

Winnie-the-Pooh, an Ernest Hemingway Classic and a Massive Library of Sound Recordings Will Enter the Public Domain on January 1

Works newly available to copy, republish and remix in 2022 also include poems by Langston Hughes and Dorothy Parker

An intercontinental ballistic missile takes flight from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, in 2002. In 1962, the United States would confront the Soviet Union on its missile stockpiles in Cuba, edging the two nations to the brink of nuclear war.

History of Now

‘Do You Hear What I Hear?’ Conjures Images of Peace Everywhere—and Nuclear Annihilation

Composed at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the classic Christmas song contains another message—one of unity

Workers removed the sculpture from the University of Hong Kong's campus under the cover of night.

Hong Kong Removes ‘Pillar of Shame’ Honoring Tiananmen Square Victims

The move arrives amid continuing crackdowns on pro-democracy protesters in the Asian city

A Louis Wain illustration of cats singing carols

See Louis Wain’s Exuberant Cat Art at the Hospital Where He Spent His Later Years

The Victorian artist’s famous feline portraits are on view at England’s Bethlem Museum of the Mind

The center aims to establish a "dialogue between modern and contemporary art," one curator says.

Why Baltimore Is Poised to Become a Major Hub for Henri Matisse Fans

The Baltimore Museum of Art recently opened a research center dedicated to the French artist

Unearthed in Norway, this crowned figure with a falcon on its right arm dates to the 13th century, and may be the oldest depiction of falconry discovered in Scandinavia.

Cool Finds

One of the Oldest Depictions of Falconry in Scandinavia Is Discovered

The 800-year-old carved figure holding a falcon was found at a dig site in Norway

Brown was known as the Godfather of Soul and the Hardest Working Man in Show Business.

James Brown’s Estate Has Sold After 15-Year Dispute

The estimated $90 million deal will go mostly toward a scholarship fund for children from South Carolina and Georgia

Page 99 of 297