Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Artists

At left, Tony Buttino prepares Western New York book reviewers (from left to right: Stephanie, Percy and Afrika) with production assistant Pam Johnson at right.

To Combat Summer Reading Slumps, This Timeless Children’s Television Show Tried to Bridge the Literacy Gap With the Magic of Stories

With a charismatic host and charming book readings and reviews, the hit series “Reading Rainbow” stands as a beacon of children’s literature

The Louvre's current visitor entrance is underneath a pyramid designed by I.M. Pei in the Napoléon courtyard.

The Louvre Is Asking Architects to Submit Their Design Ideas for an Ambitious $316 Million Expansion

The Paris museum has launched a competition to design a new entrance and underground exhibition spaces, including one dedicated to the “Mona Lisa”

Guimard's Place de la Bastille Métro entrance was demolished in the 1960s.

The Architect Who Designed the Iconic Entrances to the Paris Métro Is Finally Getting the Attention He Deserves

When Hector Guimard’s subway designs were unveiled in the early 1900s, the public rejected his Art Nouveau style. Soon, a new museum devoted to his work will open in the city

The Hall of Constantine's Vision of the Cross depicts the emperor ahead of his battle with Maxentius.

The Vatican’s Newly Restored Raphael Rooms Spotlight the Great Artist Who Died Before Finishing His Final Project

As specialists cleaned and studied the rooms in the Apostolic Palace, they learned new information about the Renaissance painter’s experimental techniques

Christopher Reeve's costume from Superman is seen on display at an auction at Christie's in London, December 16, 2003

Here’s How Superman’s Iconic Motto of ‘Truth, Justice and the American Way’ Evolved Over Time

The quintessential superhero has always stood for truth and justice, but the final part of his catchphrase has morphed to match a more connected world—and his place in it

Daniela Chávez holds her violin during a mariachi performance

At This Year’s Folklife Festival, the Kids Are All Right

Cultural traditions such as mariachi and hula are being shepherded by a new generation

An engraving by Edward Savage, after Robert Edge Pine's 1784-1788 painting Congress Voting Independence

America's 250th Anniversary

These Daring Revolutionary-Era Artists Promoted the Patriot Cause From the Heart of Enemy Territory

A new book explores how painters, sculptors and writers, especially women and people of color, used their craft to advocate for American independence while living in George III’s capital city

Taking a short, deep nap may help you have an "a-ha" moment after you wake up.

Need to Solve a Problem? Try Taking a Deep Power Nap for an ‘Aha’ Moment, Research Suggests

A new study finds that entering N2 sleep—a deep phase of non-rapid eye movement sleep—may help lead to more “eureka” breakthroughs

The exhibition features paintings, sculptures, audio recordings and more.

The Louvre Invited 100 Contemporary Artists to Copy—and Reinterpret—Its Masterpieces. Here’s What They Made

The results range from faithful reproductions to complete reinventions of renowned works by artists such as Delacroix, Goya and Vermeer

Tove Jansson with Moomin dolls

A Bold Finnish Artist Brought These Precious Little Hippopotamus-Like Trolls to the World 80 Years Ago

Tove Jansson was a trailblazing illustrator and author—and the inventor of the beloved Moomins, the central characters of her whimsical children’s books

Box in a Valise (From or by Marcel Duchamp or Rrose Sélavy), Marcel Duchamp, 1935-41

See How Marcel Duchamp Broke the Rules and Shocked the Art World Again and Again

The subversive French artist is receiving his first retrospective in the United States in more than 50 years. Decades after his death, his work is still influencing contemporary art

At the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, California, visitors bring characters to life using a light table.

How the Beloved ‘Peanuts’ Found Its Way to Define the Modern Comic Strip

With poignant wisdom and gentle wit, Charles M. Schulz reinvented the form and introduced the nation to Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy and so many more indelible characters

Scientists and artists collaborated to reconstruct the face of a 10,500-year-old woman whose remains were found in the Meuse Valley of Belgium.

See the Face of a 10,500-Year-Old Woman, Reconstructed by Archaeologists and Artists

Using well-preserved ancient DNA, researchers have created a life-like facial reconstruction of a woman who lived in Belgium’s Meuse Valley during the Mesolithic period

The pieces were jumbled together when the building was demolished.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Say They’ve Pieced Together the Ancient Fragments of the ‘World’s Most Difficult Jigsaw Puzzle’

More than 1,800 years ago, the thousands of pieces formed colorful frescoes that covered the walls of a luxurious villa in Londinium, the precursor to modern-day London

Clifton Chenier at Fitzgerald's, Berwyn, Illinois, 1984

How the Charismatic King of Zydeco Introduced the Music of the Bayou to the Nation

The lively songs and performances of Clifton Chenier, who would have turned 100 today, brought fans—including the Rolling Stones—to their feet

The activist threw paint on Pablo Picasso’s L'hétaïre (1901).

Climate Activist Throws Bright Pink Paint on Glass Covering Picasso Painting in Montreal

The stunt is part of an environmental organization’s efforts to draw attention to the dangerous wildfires spreading through Canada

A statue of Cézanne is his hometown of Aix-en-Provence

Paul Cézanne’s Hometown of Aix-en-Provence Is Finally Celebrating Its Most Famous Native Son

This summer, the artist’s historic home and studio are opening to the public alongside a massive retrospective exhibition at the museum that once refused his works

John C. Calhoun, Mathew Brady Studio, whole-plate daguerreotype

Take a Look at the ‘Extraordinary’ 19th-Century Portraits Made With Some of the Earliest Methods of Photography

A new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery traces three different 1800s forms of photo-making: daguerreotypes, ambrotypes and tintypes

Emerson's Patriot Radio, model FC-400, made in 1940

Explore Art and Design in 1940s America Through These 250 Paintings, Photos, Posters and Artifacts

A new exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art examines how artistic expression evolved throughout the war years and the postwar period

Vincent Willem van Gogh’s Studio, Kuwakubo Toru, 2015

These Powerful Paintings Show Why van Gogh Fell in Love With Japan—and Why Japan Fell in Love With van Gogh

A new exhibition examines how the Dutch artist drew inspiration from Japanese art. It also explores how he influenced 20th- and 21st-century Japanese painters and photographers

Page 9 of 118