Art History | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/art-history/RSS feed for Art HistoryenThu, 16 Jul 2026 18:13:06 +0000Buckingham Palace's Royal Picture Gallery Revives the Salon-Style Hang, Doubling the Number of Masterpieces on Viewhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/buckingham-palaces-royal-picture-gallery-revives-the-salon-style-hang-doubling-the-number-of-masterpieces-on-view-180989135/Charles III reportedly had a say in the stylistic switch, which rearranged and added artworks by the likes of Rembrandt, Rubens, Vermeer and Van DyckThu, 16 Jul 2026 18:13:06 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/buckingham-palaces-royal-picture-gallery-revives-the-salon-style-hang-doubling-the-number-of-masterpieces-on-view-180989135/Scientists Just Learned That This Bat Eats Birds Midflight. A Renaissance Painter May Have Known About It Hundreds of Years Agohttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-just-learned-that-this-bat-eats-birds-midflight-a-renaissance-painter-may-have-known-about-it-hundreds-of-years-ago-180989096/Last fall, scientists reported the first known recordings of greater noctule bats hunting and feasting on songbirds during night flights. But a 17th-century artwork by Jan Brueghel the Elder seems to depict the species flying with feathered prey in its mouthThu, 09 Jul 2026 16:17:58 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-just-learned-that-this-bat-eats-birds-midflight-a-renaissance-painter-may-have-known-about-it-hundreds-of-years-ago-180989096/Can You Guess the Origins of Papyrus Fragments or Painted Ceramics? A College Student Turned the Met's Open-Access Database Into an Online Gamehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/can-you-guess-the-origins-of-papyrus-fragments-or-painted-ceramics-a-college-student-turned-the-mets-open-access-database-into-an-online-game-180989080/If you consider yourself an art history buff, test your smarts with Anthropeum. The game pulls ten images from the Met's open-access archive and challenges players to identify each artifact's time and place of originTue, 07 Jul 2026 17:09:01 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/can-you-guess-the-origins-of-papyrus-fragments-or-painted-ceramics-a-college-student-turned-the-mets-open-access-database-into-an-online-game-180989080/To Recreate One of the American Revolution's Most Famous Paintings, This Artist Painstakingly Crafted Miniature Wax Figures of the Nation's Foundershttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/to-recreate-one-of-the-american-revolutions-most-famous-paintings-this-artist-painstakingly-crafted-miniature-wax-figures-of-the-nations-founders-180989026/Bartlett M. Frost’s diorama is modeled after John Trumbull's depiction of the presentation of the Declaration of Independence. Newly conserved, the work is now on view at the National Portrait GalleryThu, 02 Jul 2026 11:45:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/to-recreate-one-of-the-american-revolutions-most-famous-paintings-this-artist-painstakingly-crafted-miniature-wax-figures-of-the-nations-founders-180989026/Sold for Just £5,588, This Amber Pendant Turned Out to Be a Rare Tudor-Era Portrait of Elizabeth I. Now, It's Going on Auction for £100,000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/sold-for-just-5588-this-amber-pendant-turned-out-to-be-a-rare-tudor-era-portrait-of-elizabeth-i-now-its-going-on-auction-for-100000-180989048/A master craftsman carved the likeness around 1600, possibly as a commission from the English monarch herself. A parrot on the back of the heart-shaped object symbolizes Elizabeth's status as a "virgin queen"Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:19:18 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/sold-for-just-5588-this-amber-pendant-turned-out-to-be-a-rare-tudor-era-portrait-of-elizabeth-i-now-its-going-on-auction-for-100000-180989048/In a Scientific First, Researchers Recovered Ancient DNA That Humans Left Behind on Rock Art and Cave Wallshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-a-scientific-first-researchers-recovered-ancient-dna-that-humans-left-behind-on-rock-art-and-cave-walls-180989038/DNA preservation on cave walls is highly variable, but scientists say their work is an important step on the path toward gaining a deeper understanding of our creative ancestorsMon, 29 Jun 2026 14:27:58 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-a-scientific-first-researchers-recovered-ancient-dna-that-humans-left-behind-on-rock-art-and-cave-walls-180989038/Who Were the Couples That Posed for David Hockney's Famed Double Portraits?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/who-were-the-couples-that-posed-for-david-hockneys-famed-double-portraits-180988970/One of his subjects was a cousin I never knew. I wanted to learn more about the large-scale portraits that helped define the English artist's legacyWed, 17 Jun 2026 18:51:33 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/who-were-the-couples-that-posed-for-david-hockneys-famed-double-portraits-180988970/What Did Jackson Pollock Hope to Accomplish With This Dizzying Drip Painting, Which Just Sold for a Record-Breaking $181 Million?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/what-did-jackson-pollock-hope-to-accomplish-with-this-dizzying-drip-painting-which-just-sold-for-a-record-breaking-181-million-180988794/The Abstract Expressionist is best known for his action paintings, which emphasized the movements of the artist's body during the creative process. "Number 7A, 1948" is now his most expensive work ever auctionedFri, 22 May 2026 19:51:01 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/what-did-jackson-pollock-hope-to-accomplish-with-this-dizzying-drip-painting-which-just-sold-for-a-record-breaking-181-million-180988794/