Renovation and Restoration | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/renovation-and-restoration/RSS feed for Renovation and RestorationenThu, 28 May 2026 18:09:21 +0000England's Most Famous Naked Giant Will Glow White Again, Thanks to Help From Hundreds of People Performing a Ritual of Restorationhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/englands-most-famous-naked-giant-will-glow-white-again-thanks-to-help-from-hundreds-of-people-performing-a-ritual-of-restoration-180988848/The Cerne Abbas Giant, a 180-foot-tall geoglyph in southern England, is getting a new layer of chalkThu, 28 May 2026 18:09:21 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/englands-most-famous-naked-giant-will-glow-white-again-thanks-to-help-from-hundreds-of-people-performing-a-ritual-of-restoration-180988848/A 4,500-Year-Old Neolithic Hall Replica Rises at Stonehenge as Archaeologists and Volunteers Build With Prehistoric Tools and Techniqueshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-4500-year-old-neolithic-hall-replica-rises-at-stonehenge-as-archaeologists-and-volunteers-build-with-prehistoric-tools-and-techniques-180988806/The reconstruction of a prehistoric building, likely originally a place for winter feasts at the nearby Durrington Walls site, will serve as a learning space for studentsTue, 26 May 2026 20:29:45 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-4500-year-old-neolithic-hall-replica-rises-at-stonehenge-as-archaeologists-and-volunteers-build-with-prehistoric-tools-and-techniques-180988806/Stunning Frescoes in This Madrid Church Received a Facelift—But the Spanish Artist Buried Beneath Them Is Still Missing His Headhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/stunning-frescoes-in-this-madrid-church-received-a-facelift-but-goya-the-spanish-artist-buried-beneath-them-is-still-missing-his-head-180988756/Goya's frescoes are given new life in a church in Spain that also serves as the final resting place for most of the artist's body. The mystery of his missing skull has inspired poems and artworksMon, 18 May 2026 20:10:47 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/stunning-frescoes-in-this-madrid-church-received-a-facelift-but-goya-the-spanish-artist-buried-beneath-them-is-still-missing-his-head-180988756/New Clues Help Solve the Mystery of an Enslaved Boy Pictured in a Portrait by a Leading English Artisthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-clues-help-solve-the-mystery-of-an-enslaved-boy-pictured-in-a-portrait-by-a-leading-english-artist-180988717/An oil painting by Joshua Reynolds features a named naval officer and a Black child whose life story was unknown until researchers searched through captains’ logs, letters and admiralty recordsMon, 11 May 2026 21:57:18 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-clues-help-solve-the-mystery-of-an-enslaved-boy-pictured-in-a-portrait-by-a-leading-english-artist-180988717/Before ‘The Kiss,’ Gustav Klimt Got His First Big Art Assignment at This Austrian Theater. Now Visitors Can See His Ceiling Paintings Up Close for the First Timehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/before-the-kiss-gustav-klimt-got-his-first-big-art-assignment-at-this-austrian-theater-now-visitors-can-see-his-ceiling-paintings-up-close-for-the-first-time-180988698/As a young man, the artist who later became famous for working gold leaf into portraits earned a Golden Cross of Merit from an emperor for his contributions to Vienna’s BurgtheaterThu, 07 May 2026 19:13:07 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/before-the-kiss-gustav-klimt-got-his-first-big-art-assignment-at-this-austrian-theater-now-visitors-can-see-his-ceiling-paintings-up-close-for-the-first-time-180988698/How Do You Lift a 30,000-Pound Mast From a Warship Built a Record-Breaking 261 Years Ago? With a Really, Really Big Cranehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-do-you-lift-a-30000-pound-mast-from-a-warship-built-a-record-breaking-261-years-ago-with-a-really-really-big-crane-180988658/HMS "Victory" served in the American Revolution, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. It's the world’s oldest warship still in commission—but it's in desperate need of repairsFri, 01 May 2026 15:00:20 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-do-you-lift-a-30000-pound-mast-from-a-warship-built-a-record-breaking-261-years-ago-with-a-really-really-big-crane-180988658/This New York City Cemetery Restored a Victorian Greenhouse to Welcome Visitors to Its Historic Groundshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/green-wood-cemetery-restored-a-victorian-greenhouse-to-welcome-visitors-to-its-historic-grounds-180988588/Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn grew out of the 19th-century "rural cemetery" movement that transformed graveyards from cramped and dark to sprawling and beautifulTue, 21 Apr 2026 20:35:40 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/green-wood-cemetery-restored-a-victorian-greenhouse-to-welcome-visitors-to-its-historic-grounds-180988588/This Secret Passageway May Have Been Part of the Underground Railroad. Now, Preservationists Say It's in Dangerhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-secret-passageway-may-have-been-part-of-the-underground-railroad-now-preservationists-say-its-in-danger-180988461/The Merchant's House Museum in New York City announced its investigation into the tunnel's history in February. A neighboring development could threaten the building's walls and foundationsWed, 01 Apr 2026 19:08:04 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-secret-passageway-may-have-been-part-of-the-underground-railroad-now-preservationists-say-its-in-danger-180988461/