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Arts

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

In 1919 Marcel Duchamp penciled a mustache and goatee on a print of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and inscribed the work "L.H.O.O.Q." Spelled out in French these letters form a risqué pun: Elle a chaud au cul, or "She has hot pants." Intentionally disrespectful, Duchamp's defacement was meant to express the Dadaists' rejection of both artistic and cultural authority.

Switzerland

A Brief History of Dada

The irreverent, rowdy revolution set the trajectory of 20th-century art

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Peter Pan Turns 100

But the boy who never grew up shows no signs of getting old

Sculptor Alexander Calder's hand-drawn map to his home looks like one of his mobiles.

Particulars of Context

There’s art in the history at the Archives of American Art

The Dance Class (La Classe de Danse), 1873–1876, oil on canvas, by Edgar Degas

Degas and His Dancers

A major exhibition and a new ballet bring the renowned artist’s obsession with dance center stage

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Minding the “Milkstone”

When works of art are pollen and rice, and even milk, the Hirshhorn Museum gives them extra-special care

South Entrance, Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery

Art’s Moving Experience

Before works go on tour during a three-year museum renovation, there’s lots of sprucing up and packing

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Around the Mall & Beyond

Alan Fern, director of the National Portrait Gallery, offers his insights on the art of reading a portrait

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