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Arts

Collector Michael Shaw was presented with the slippers he purchased in 1970 in a ceremony at the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

Two Decades After They Were Stolen, Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers Returned to the Scene of the Crime. Will They Stay There?

Federal investigators have handed over the shoes to their rightful owner, who plans to sell them at auction later this year

Historic scrolls looted in World War II were unfurled for the first time in decades by experts at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art.

Cool Finds

Family Finds Stolen Japanese Artifacts While Cleaning Out an Attic in Massachusetts

The FBI has returned the rare objects to Okinawa, where they were looted during World War II

The rock art was discovered in the Jalapão region, located in the east of Tocantins, Brazil.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover 2,000-Year-Old Rock Art in Brazil

Recurring symbols across 16 sites suggest that many of the artworks were created by the same cultural group

A bright green Banky mural appeared on a residential building in London on St. Patrick's Day.

New Banksy Mural Appears on a Building in London

Located on a wall behind a bare tree, the work features towering streaks of green meant to look like foliage

Portrait of the Artist, Vincent van Gogh, 1887

A Vincent van Gogh Self-Portrait Is at the Center of a New Exhibition on the ‘Art of the Selfie’

The National Museum Cardiff is encouraging visitors to snap photos with the 1887 artwork, which is on view in Wales for the first time

The statue was discovered in two pieces, one much older than the other, near Burghley House in Lincolnshire.

Cool Finds

Construction Worker Stumbles Upon Mysterious Roman Statue Hidden Beneath a Parking Lot in England

Found near a lavish historic estate, the nearly 2,000-year-old artifact has baffled researchers

Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe was the ALA's most challenged book in both 2021 and 2022. 

Book Banning Attempts Are at Record Highs

A new report from the American Library Association found that the number of challenged titles increased by 65 percent in 2023

Artist Françoise Gilot was a talented painter, but her work never achieved widespread recognition in France.

Françoise Gilot’s Artistic Career Persisted Long After She Left Picasso. Now, She’s Getting an Exhibition in Paris

At the Picasso Museum, the talented painter’s artistic legacy is finally getting the recognition it deserves

Princess Diana opened the first dedicated ward for patients with AIDS and HIV-related diseases at London's Middlesex Hospital in 1987.

LGBTQ+ Pride

Who Will Design London’s First Permanent HIV/AIDS Memorial?

Five artists have been shortlisted for the project, which will be located near the site of the U.K.’s first dedicated AIDS ward

Two of the suspects allegedly had “knowledge of the art world” and created fake certificates of authenticity to accompany the forged artworks.

Spanish Police Shut Down a Crime Ring Accused of Selling Fake Banksy Artworks

The suspects allegedly recreated the famous street artist’s work using spray paint and cardboard to rake in over $10,000

A video posted on social media shows a woman spraying red paint on the portrait, then cutting it with a handheld tool.

Pro-Palestinian Activists Damage Balfour Portrait at Cambridge University

The 1917 Balfour Declaration was a pivotal declaration of British support for a “national home for the Jewish people”

The original publication of "Tee-Oodle-Um-Bum-Bo," a song from La, La, Lucille

Cool Finds

A Lost Gershwin Musical Has Been Found Nearly 100 Years After It Was Last Performed

A researcher found a box containing 800 pages from the composer’s first musical, “La, La, Lucille”

Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy in the 1995 BBC series "Pride and Prejudice"

Mr. Darcy’s Famous Wet Shirt Sells for $25,000

Actor Colin Firth’s costume from the BBC’s “Pride in Prejudice” doubled auction house estimates

Banksy's Happy Choppers appeared on the side of an office building in east London in 2006.

Cool Finds

This Banksy Mural Was Salvaged From the Wall of a London Office Building

Conservators have been working for a year to restore “Happy Choppers,” which is going to auction on March 20

The Return of the Buffalo Herd, painted by Edward and Charles Detmold, hangs at Bateman's in East Sussex in honor of the book's 130th anniversary.

Rare ‘Jungle Book’ Watercolor Goes on Display at Rudyard Kipling’s Home in England

“The Return of the Buffalo Herd” is one of only four surviving illustrations from the book

An ancient fresco depicting Helle reaching for her twin brother, Phrixus, after falling from a golden ram

Cool Finds

A Remarkable Fresco Depicting a Scene From Greek Mythology Has Been Found in Pompeii

The vibrant painting portrays siblings Phrixus and Helle as they flee from their stepmother

Researchers have pieced together a 26-foot-tall statue of Atlas originally built some 2,500 years ago.

A Towering Statue of Atlas Emerges From the Ruins of Sicily’s Ancient Temple of Zeus

In the fifth century B.C.E., 38 looming sculptures of the Titan stood guard at the structure

Musician Don Henley leaving the Manhattan court on February 28, 2024

Don Henley of the Eagles Testifies That ‘Very Personal’ Handwritten Lyrics Were Stolen

The musician learned about the alleged theft when the drafts started appearing at auctions in 2012

Actor Anthony Daniels holds up the helmet he wore on the set of 1983's Return of the Jedi.

Star Wars Fans Can Soon Bid on C-3PO’s Head

Actor Anthony Daniels wore the golden helmet while playing the iconic droid in ‘Return of the Jedi’

The novel is set during the early days of the pandemic, when New Yorkers applauded from their windows each night for medical staff and essential workers.

36 Famous Authors Co-Wrote a Pandemic Novel. Can You Guess Who Drafted Each Section?

Margaret Atwood, R.L. Stine and John Grisham are among the writers who collaborated on “Fourteen Days,” which follows a group of New Yorkers who gather on a Manhattan rooftop to swap stories beginning in March 2020

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