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Artists

L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped (Project for Paris, Place de l’Étoile-Charles de Gaulle) is almost ready to enact its transformative magic on Paris from September 18 through October 3.

The Arc de Triomphe Is Wrapped in Fabric, Just as the Late Artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude Planned It

Beginning September 18, the pair’s posthumous work will be on full display in Paris for 16 days

For the study, researchers analyzed three shoes found in the Renaissance artist's house.

How Tall Was Michelangelo? Surprisingly Short, Study Suggests

New analysis of the artist’s (probable) shoes indicates that he stood 5 feet 2 inches tall

Mickalene Thomas, Jet Blue #25 (detail), 2021

Mickalene Thomas’ Dazzling Collages Reclaim Black Women’s Bodies

A four-part exhibition premiering this fall showcases the contemporary artist’s multimedia portrayals of Black femininity

Jacques-Louis David, Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (1743–1794) and Marie Anne Lavoisier (Marie Anne Pierrette Paulze, 1758–1836), 1788

Art Meets Science

Iconic Portrait of French Chemist and His Wife Once Looked Entirely Different

Jacques-Louis David’s 1789 painting originally depicted Antoine and Marie Anne Lavoisier as wealthy elites, not modern scientists

Joan Mitchell in her Paris studio in 1956

The Poetry and Passion of Joan Mitchell’s Abstract Expressionist Paintings

A traveling exhibition will unite 80 works by the acclaimed artist, who thrived in 1950s New York despite widespread sexism

In Paul Henry’s own words, he hoped to capture “the very soul of Ireland” in his paintings.

Cool Finds

Rare Impressionist Landscapes Found in Storage Unit Could Sell for $60,000

Created by artist Paul Henry, the oil paintings depict the Irish countryside

Chuck Close Self-Portrait, dye diffusion transfer prints, 1989

Chuck Close, Artist Whose Photorealist Portraits Captivated America, Dies at 81

The painter, who faced accusations of sexual harassment later in life, continuously changed his artistic style

American Black Duck by Peter Daverington at Halletts Point, Queens, is one of nearly 100 murals that make up the Audubon Mural Project.

The Audubon Mural Project Brings Threatened Birds Back to New York City

From purple finches to whiskered screech owls, artists are expanding a colorful flock of public artworks in Upper Manhattan

The museum's sculptures promote coral growth and will eventually serve as homes for sea creatures.

Art Meets Science

You Can Now Explore an Underwater Sculpture Museum in the Mediterranean

Artist Jason deCaires Taylor placed 93 statues of people and plants in a submerged “forest” off the coast of Cyprus

The Marchioness (2016) depicts a member of the fictional UmuEze Amara family, "one of the oldest noble clans in Nigeria."

Imagining a Different History for Africa Through Art

Toyin Ojih Odutola conjures a world that might have been

The thieves attempted to steal De Voorzaan en de Westerhem, an 1871 painting by Claude Monet.

Thieves Attempt to Steal a Monet From a Dutch Museum—but Drop It Mid-Escape

The would-be robbers tried to take an 1871 landscape by the French Impressionist from the Zaans Museum in Zaandam

A vandal covered this mural of a rat sipping a cocktail in white spray paint.

Banksy Murals in England Defaced, Removed Just Days After Appearing

Vandals targeted two scenes in the street artist’s latest series. Local officials covered up two others

The documentary plays out much like a spy thriller, interrogating the art world and the enigmatic figures who populate it.

Will the Mystery of ‘Salvator Mundi’ Ever Be Solved?

A new documentary, “The Lost Leonardo,” explores the dramatic history of a purported Renaissance masterpiece

The open-air exhibition features more than 20 life-size reproductions of the London museum's most famous paintings.

Pop-Up Exhibition Brings Masterpieces From London’s National Gallery Outdoors

An open-air display in Trafalgar Square features more than 20 life-size reproductions of works by Vincent van Gogh, Titian and more

Three Covers from Drawn to Art: Ten Tales of Inspiring Women Artists

Smithsonian Voices

Ten Emerging Illustrators Tell the Stories of Ten Powerhouse Women Artists

A new graphic art series, “Drawn to Art,” brings to light the visionary, but unheralded, work of ten rule-breaking females

The 6-foot-tall, 8-foot-wide pumpkin was installed on Japan's Naoshima island in 1994.

Typhoon Sweeps Yayoi Kusama Pumpkin Sculpture Into the Sea

Experts on Japan’s Naoshima island recovered the damaged artwork and are attempting to restore it

Production still from "Reservation Dogs."

‘Reservation Dogs’ Marks a Breakthrough for Indigenous Representation Onscreen

“Thor: Ragnarok” director Taika Waititi and Sterlin Harjo developed a comedy about Native American teens in Oklahoma that stars four young Native actors

Liz Orton photographed seeds sent to Kew Gardens in London as long as a century ago.

Art Meets Science

Take a Virtual Tour of Artworks Inspired by Efforts to Preserve Plant Biodiversity

A traveling exhibition showcases five artists whose creations engage with science and ecology

Angel Rodríguez-Díaz, The Protagonist of an Endless Story, 1993, oil on canvas, 72 x 57 7/8 in. (182.9 x 147.0 cm.)

Smithsonian Voices

How Artists Challenge Mythic Conceptions of the American West

Forty-eight modern and contemporary artists who are reclaiming the narratives of their region

Paolo Veneziano, The Crucifixion, about 1340-1345

Fragments of Gold-Adorned, 14th-Century Triptych Reunited After Decades

An exhibition at the Getty in Los Angeles brings together panels from a stunning altarpiece by Venetian painter Paolo Veneziano

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