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Arts

The Painter’s Father is in the collection of the National Gallery in London.

Is This Copy of a Long-Lost Northern Renaissance Portrait Actually an Original Albrecht Dürer?

Experts have long assumed that a painting at London’s National Gallery is one of many replicas of an original Dürer portrait. Now, a new book claims that this cracked copy is the real deal

A woman's firefighting jacket and hood from 1800-50

This New Samurai Exhibition Will Challenge Your Understanding of the Japanese Warrior Class

Silk screens, women’s firefighting robes and a Darth Vader costume are among the more than 280 unexpected items that are on display at the British Museum

The original scroll of Jack Kerouac's On the Road, up for auction in March, is 121 feet long.

You Can Buy Jack Kerouac’s Early Draft of ‘On the Road,’ Which He Typed on a 121-Foot-Long Scroll

The author taped pages together so he wouldn’t need to load paper into his typewriter. The original scroll of the Beat Generation classic is expected to fetch up to $4 million at auction

Portrait of a Canon Regular (1552) depicts an unidentified clergy member.

Women Who Shaped History

Historians Thought This Rare Renaissance Portrait by One of the First Famous Female Artists Was Lost to History—Until It Surfaced in North Carolina

Sofonisba Anguissola’s 16th-century painting of a clergyman was known only through a black-and-white photo. However, the original had been hiding in a private collection in North Carolina since 1977

The Star-Spangled Banner, the flag that inspired the national anthem, on view at the National Museum of American History

From Giant Art to Amazing Specimens, See These 20 New and Revitalized Smithsonian Shows in 2026

The Institution’s museums are commemorating America’s 250th birthday, showcasing the art of noise and displaying the best of portraiture

Audrey Nuna, Ejae and Rei Ami at the Grammys on February 1, 2026

‘Golden’ From ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Just Won K-Pop’s Very First Grammy

The hit song, a demon-slaying self-empowerment anthem, was recognized as the Best Song Written for Visual Media

Invocation: Severance of Ties, Jim Chuchu, digital video (still), 2014

This Groundbreaking New Showcase of Nearly 60 Works Is the Biggest-Ever Exhibition of LGBTQ+ African Art

One of its co-curators wants historians to expand on the display and “write a proper history” of this artistry

A side-by-side view of Turner's Marford Mill (left) and the real-life inspiration behind it (right)

You Can Buy This 438-Year-Old Mill in Wales That Inspired a Stunning J.M.W. Turner Painting

Rossett Mill was the subject of a landscape by the Romantic painter around 1795. Now, the property is listed at a little over $2 million

William Zachs stands before the Henry Raeburn and Alexander Nasmyth portraits, now on display together at the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh.

Cool Finds

The Mystery of the Missing Robert Burns Painting Has Finally Been Solved—After 200 Years of Searches and Seances

The portrait of the renowned Scottish poet vanished without a trace in 1840. Since then, scholars and sleuths alike have been strategizing about how to get it back

The mural will be on view for a brief five-week period during the Winter Olympics before closing again for 18 months of restoration.

This Magnificent Mural by Leonardo da Vinci Will Go on Display for a Brief Window During the Winter Olympics in Milan

Guided tours will take visitors onto scaffolding to view the rare artwork inside Sforza Castle, which is currently undergoing restorations

Students with the 4-H Club of Dauphin County gathered inside the refrigerated display room at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center to carefully break down the sculpture.

What Happened to This 1,000-Pound Butter Sculpture After the Crowds Melted Away?

At the end of the 2026 Pennsylvania Farm Show, volunteers and students carefully dismantled the creamy masterpiece so it could be used to produce renewable energy for local homes

Dimitris Economou returned this copy of Harry the Dirty Dog 36 years after his parents checked it out.

Cool Finds

A Little Boy’s Library Book Was Due in 1989. Thirty-Six Years Later, He Realized His Parents Had Never Returned It

After finding “Harry the Dirty Dog” at his dad’s home in Greece, Dimitris Economou brought it back to the library in Virginia where his family had checked it out more than three decades earlier

Frida on a White Bench, New York by Nickolas Muray surrounded by merchandise inspired by the image

Frida Kahlo’s Image Is on Paintings, Posters, Socks and Sanitary Pads. How Did Fridamania Come to Dominate Popular Culture?

An exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston features paintings by Kahlo, works by artists she inspired and consumer products featuring her self-portraits

A still from Down the Barrel (of a Lens), Kameron Neal, two-channel video installation with sound, 2023

See the Stunning Artworks by the Winners and Featured Artists of This Boundary-Pushing National Portrait Competition

The seventh edition of the triennial Outwin Boochever contest showcases contemporary artists’ novel approaches to their subjects

The new miniature Sphere at National Harbor would have 6,000 seats.

A Smaller Version of the Las Vegas Sphere May Be Coming to the Washington, D.C. Area

Officials have proposed building a mini-Sphere in Maryland’s National Harbor. One-third the size of the original, the structure would cost about $1 billion

A historic marker at Jackson State University, ca. 1950, from the “At the Vanguard” exhibition at the National Museum of African American History and Culture

How Historically Black Schools Create and Preserve Their Own History Through Amazing Artifacts, From Paintings to Marching Band Hats

For nearly 200 years, HBCUs have educated Black Americans. Now, a new exhibition highlights special objects from five universities

Traces of the hand stencil are still visible among younger works of art.

New Research

Can You See the Faded Outline of a Hand? Archaeologists Say This 67,800-Year-Old Stencil May Be the World’s Oldest Known Rock Art

The prehistoric artist likely created the image by spraying ochre mixed with water over a hand flattened on the wall of a cave in Indonesia

The four watches, which borrow from 20th-century paintings, are the latest art-inspired products from the Swiss company Swatch.

See How These Wristwatches Reimagine Famous Masterpieces by Claude Monet, Jackson Pollock, Edgar Degas and Paul Klee

The Swiss watchmaker Swatch has partnered with the Guggenheim to create a collection inspired by 20th-century artworks from the Impressionist and Abstract Expressionist movements

A rendering of the planned Rijksmuseum sculpture garden

A Sprawling Sculpture Garden Featuring Modern Masterpieces Is Coming to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam

The new space will feature artworks by the likes of Alberto Giacometti, Louise Bourgeois and Alexander Calder. Officials say it will be free for anyone to visit

Portraits of Oscar Wilde taken in New York in 1882

Oscar Wilde’s Portraits, Poems, Letters and Manuscripts Head to Auction 125 Years After His Death

Other rare items, available for purchase in February, include illustrations, theater programs, telegrams and newspapers

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