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Art

One of the six recovered frescoes depicts a dancing cherub.

Six Stolen Frescoes Returned to Pompeii

Between the 1970s and 2012, looters stole elegant artworks from two villas neighboring the famed ancient settlement

Separate Working Things I, vegetable color, dry pigment, watercolor and tea on walk paper, 1993-1995. The painting borrows archetypal images of romantic love.

The Reinvention of the Art of the Miniature

Putting a new spin on traditional themes, an artist revitalizes a once-popular form of painting

Incan qeros from the National Museum of the American Indian. The white pigment “often appears yellowish over time,” says Emily Kaplan.

How the Inca Discovered a Prized Pigment

The centuries-old history of titanium white

Maya Lin's Ghost Forest is on view at Madison Square Park through November 14, 2021.

Haunting ‘Ghost Forest’ Resurrected in New York City

Artist Maya Lin hopes to call attention to one of the dire effects of climate change with an installation in Madison Square Park

Haring's refrigerator door served as a kind of "guest register" for the famous friends who visited his SoHo apartment in the 1980s.

Keith Haring’s Famous Friends, From Madonna to Andy Warhol, Left Their Mark on His Fridge Door

The contemporary artist’s graffiti-covered refrigerator panel recently sold at auction for $25,000

Photographed in late April while still under construction, LUMA Arles is no skyscraper at 184 feet tall, but it towers over neighbors in the ancient city.

A New Frank Gehry Tower Rises Above the Quaint French Town of Arles

The city best known for its association with Vincent van Gogh now has a new, controversial art center

Among the offerings at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, reopening today, is the vibrant exhibition "¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now."

The Fine Art of Political Protest

More than 100 Mexican-American works spotlight how Chicano graphic artists lift up the power of people

Researchers have long debated the Cerne Abbas Giant's age, with some dating it to the prehistoric period and others to the medieval era.

New Research

Scholars Are One Step Closer to Solving the Mystery of an Enormous Chalk Figure

A new analysis of the 180-foot-tall Cerne Abbas Giant dates the English landmark to between 700 and 1100 A.D.

This 1561 portrait depicts Catherine de' Medici standing alongside four of her children, including the newly crowned Charles IX.

Rarely Seen Portrait of Renaissance Queen Catherine de’ Medici to Go on View

The 16th-century regent, pictured with four of her children, wielded significant political power during the French Wars of Religion

The newly released ID-Art app allows the public to easily identify and report stolen art.

Innovation for Good

Interpol’s New App Combats Art Crime and Protects Cultural Heritage

Amateur sleuths, collectors and dealers can use ID-Art to access the international organization’s database of 52,000 stolen artworks

Sanford Biggers' Oracle (2020) is now on view at Rockefeller Center in New York City.

This Monumental ‘Oracle’ Statue in NYC Subverts Traditional Sculpture

Part of an ongoing exhibition at Rockefeller Center, Sanford Biggers’ newest installation challenges the tropes of classical artwork

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Smithsonian Voices

Hear the Voices of America’s Artistic Community Recounting Despair, Resilience, Loss and Creation

During the summer of 2020, the Archives of American Art conducted 85 interviews with artists, teachers, curators and administrators

Reddy's two-story installation weaves human wisdom and intelligent technology together, forming a shimmering monument reflective of visitors' collective visions of the future.

Futures

A New, Interactive Sculpture by Suchi Reddy Illuminates Our Hopes and Fears About the Future

The A.I.-powered installation, a hallmark of the Smithsonian’s upcoming “Futures” show, promises something never seen or experienced before

Archaeologist Sergio Grosjean points to ancient handprints that decorate the interior of a cave in Mexico.

Cool Finds

1,200 Years Ago, Maya Children Decorated This Hidden Cave With Handprints

Archaeologists discovered the remarkable art about two decades ago but only publicized their findings now

Yvette, East Los Angeles Car Club, City of Industry, CA, August 14, 2015

The Vibrant History of Lowrider Car Culture in L.A.

With bright paint jobs and bouncy hydraulics, the ‘low and slow’ rides are an expression of cultural identity for the city’s Mexican American community

A view of the marble head discovered last week in Isernia, a town in south-central Italy

Cool Finds

Archaeologists in Italy Unearth Marble Bust of Rome’s First Emperor, Augustus

Researchers identified the sculpture based on the ancient ruler’s signature hairstyle and facial features

A dancer performs during the public presentation of a life-size chocolate version of Picasso's Guernica.

Spanish Confectioners Create Life-Size Chocolate Replica of Picasso’s ‘Guernica’

Local artisans undertook the ambitious project in honor of the 85th anniversary of the bombing depicted in the famed anti-war mural

Curators reattached the sculpture's missing digit using a "non-invasive, reversible and invisible system."

Cool Finds

Colossal Bronze Statue of Roman Emperor Reunited With Its Long-Lost Finger

Curators at the Louvre had mistakenly categorized the missing digit as a toe. An eagle-eyed researcher noticed the mistake in 2018

A panel of the "Birthing Rock" petroglyphs in Moab, Utah, prior to its defacement with racist and obscene etchings

Racist Phrase Found Etched on Native American Petroglyphs in Utah

Unidentified criminals wrote “white power” and obscenities over thousand-year-old Indigenous markings on “Birthing Rock” in Moab

A behind-the-scenes look at the installation of a massive piece of stained glass art inside the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas.

Artisan America

Celebrating America’s Oldest Family-Run Stained Glass Studio

A new exhibition spotlights Judson Studios, the Los Angeles group that’s been creating iconic pieces of art for nearly 125 years

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