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Artists

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The Limits of Imagination

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Who the $#&% is Jackson Pollock?

Gentile Bellini

Between East and West

Foucan and Belle called their efforts "parkour," from the French "parcours," meaning "route."

Extreme Running

Made popular by a recent James Bond film, a new urban art form called free running hits the streets

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Doodle Dandy

With a few deft strokes, Saul Steinberg turned institutional letterhead into signature works of whimsy

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Ralph Rucci: From Museum to Runway and Back Again

Francis Bacon’s Studio, photograph, c. 1975

Bringing Home the Bacon

Tempered chaos is key for painter Maggie Michael (in her Washington, D.C. studio). "In control or out of control; loved or loving; sexual or violent; my work relates to different aspects of our humanness," she says.

Artist on the Rise

Contemporary artist Maggie Michael shakes up abstract painting by giving control a chance

A relentless self-promoter, Houdini appeared in several films. Performing his daring escapes for the screen, he had hoped that he could slow down his packed schedule. His showmanship did not translate in film, and his movies proved to be failures. (Library of Congress)

Houdini Revealed

Some 80 years after his death, Harry Houdini is back in the public spotlight. This photo essay sheds light on the escape artist’s life

Chihuly's Walla Wallas (2005).

The Nature of Glass

Prolific sculptor Dale Chihuly plants his vitreous visions in a Florida garden

Designs for Living, from A to Z

Many artists throughout history, including Van Gogh, Cellini, and Michelangelo, have led lives worthy of tabloid headlines.

Artists Behaving Badly

Temperamental masters of the art world

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That Seahorse-Shaped Space in Our Brain

Colored Sand and Gunpowder

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New Book Canvasses Contemporary Artists

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Vanished Drawings

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Martín Ramírez (1895-1963): Who’s He?

Rossetti identified the subject of his Lady Lilith painting as Adam's first wife—"the witch he loved before the gift of Eve." The work (1866-68) was altered in 1872-73 to please patron Frederick Leyland. The original model was Rossetti's lover Fanny Cornforth.

Incurably Romantic

For much of the 20th century, Britain’s Pre-Raphaelite were dismissed as overly sentimental. A new exhibition shows why they’re back in favor

Cornell's 1946 construction, an homage to the ballerina Tamara Toumanova, incorporated feathers from her costumes.

Pas de Deux

Joseph Cornell turned his obsession with a prima ballerina into art

Sculptors and artists designed lifelike masks for gravely wounded soldiers.

World War I: 100 Years Later

Faces of War

Amid the horrors of World War I, a corps of artists brought hope to soldiers disfigured in the trenches

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