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Art

In Robert Walter Weir’s c. 1838 canvas of St. Nicholas (detail), perhaps influenced by a Washington Irving story, the painter envisioned both an enigmatic trickster and a dispenser of holiday cheer.

A Mischievous St. Nick from the Smithsonian American Art Museum

The 19th-century artist Robert Walter Weir took inspiration from Washington Irving to create a prototype of Santa Claus

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America’s Forgotten Landscape Painter: Robert S. Duncanson

Beloved by 19th-century audiences around the world, the African-American artist fell into obscurity, only to be celebrated as a genius a century later

BK Adams's likeness appears locally

“Exercise Your Mynd—BK Adams I Am Art” Brightens Up the Anacostia Museum

The boldly-colored paintings and sculptures of Washington D.C.’s own BK Adams enliven the museum’s main gallery

Samuel F. B. Morse, Gallery of the Louvre, 1831-1833, oil on canvas, Terra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection

Samuel Morse’s Other Masterpiece

The famous inventor’s painting of Gallery of the Louvre is as much a fascinating work of art as a 19th century history lesson

One of Will Walker's demotivational posters for scientists

Science Humor: Anti-Inspirational Posters

“I was learning for the first time about all the gremlins that stand between the researcher and The Answer.”

Eileen Collins, the first female pilot and first female commander of a space shuttle mission, photographed by Annie Leibovitz, 1999.

Andy Warhol, Annie Leibovitz, Norman Rockwell Featured in NASA|ART

These famous artists and many others are among those with works in the Air and Space Museum’s newest art exhibit

Deciphering the universe is a "Grand Challenge." Shown here is Galaxy M100.

Synergies

Scavenger hunts with mobile devices are a hit with teens.

Collaborations

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Fresh Eyes

Seeing everyday experience in a new light

West Pier V, 2006, Fiona Tan.

Exploring the Video Art of Fiona Tan

Take a tour of the contemporary artist’s innovative work in a new exhibit at the Sackler Gallery

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Looking Back on the Art of Tibetan Leader Situ Panchen

Crop circles are seen by many to enchant a mystical landscape: here, a circle pattern from 2009, 200 feet across, in a Wiltshire wheat field.

Crop Circles: The Art of the Hoax

They may not be evidence of UFOs, ancient spirits or secret weapons, but there is something magical in their allure

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Picture of the Week—Ophelia (Microbial Art)

Art historian Henry Adams contends that Pollock created Mural around his name, discernible as camouflaged letters.

Decoding Jackson Pollock

Did the Abstract Expressionist hide his name amid the swirls and torrents of a legendary 1943 mural?

Author of "The Triumph of Frank Lloyd Wright," Arthur Lubow.

Arthur Lubow on “The Triumph of Frank Lloyd Wright”

Graphic designer Jessica Helfand collected over 200 scrapbooks dating from the nineteenth century to the present.

The Cherished Tradition of Scrapbooking

Author Jessica Helfand investigates the history of scrapbooks and how they mirror American history

Rare Halo Display: A Portrait of Eunice Kennedy Shriver.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver Portrait Unveiled

At the National Portrait Gallery, artist David Lenz pays tribute to a champion for the intellectually disabled

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Smithsonian Magazine As Art

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The Space Art of Wang Ming

The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo.

The Measure of Genius: Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel at 500

Half a millennium later, the story of the painting of the Sistine Chapel is as fascinating as Michelangelo’s masterpiece itself

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