Designers

The Gordon Strong Automobile Objective at night

Hundreds of Frank Lloyd Wright's Designs Were Never Built. Here's What They Might Have Looked Like

So far, David Romero has digitally reconstructed over 20 of the famous architect's unrealized projects

At the Paris World's Fair a powerful display of hand-drawn diagrams (above: Income and expenditure of 150 Negro families in Atlanta, Ga.,U.S. designed by W.E.B. Du Bois and his students) called attention to the unrecognized contributions of Black Americans. The fragile posters are being rotatated in and out of an exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum through May 2023.

How W.E.B. Du Bois Disrupted America’s Dominance at the World’s Fair

With bar graphs and pie charts, the sociologist and his Atlanta students demonstrated Black excellence in the face of widespread discrimination

David Bowie in the dress he wore on the cover of The Man Who Sold the World

Have You Seen This David Bowie Dress? A London Museum Is Looking For It

The Museum of London Docklands is hoping to locate lost garments for an exhibition on Jewish fashion designers

Among other items, numerous alligator and crocodile coats once owned by André Leon Talley will go on sale at Christie's later this month.

André Leon Talley’s Caftans and Cufflinks Are Going Up for Auction

In his will, the trailblazing fashion editor left the proceeds to two Black churches

Hector Guimard, who gained acclaim from his work with the Paris Métro subway system, is the subject of an exhibition on view at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City.

Meet the Designer of the Fanciful Subway Entrances to the Paris Métro

The celebrated architect Hector Guimard was also a passionate advocate for workers’ rights, even as he honed his reputation in the business of luxury

The new trains will feature better lighting, improved signage, panoramic windows, outlets and USB ports and other upgrades.

Take a Sneak Peek at Amtrak’s Newest Trains

The Airo trains will have larger windows, newly designed cafe cars and updated seating

Marie Antoinette in coronation robes

Marie Antoinette's Furniture Is Up for Auction

Two items represent two distinctive stages in the French queen's life

Maurice Sendak at his home in Ridgefield, Connecticut, in 1990

Maurice Sendak Imagined More Than Wild Things

A new exhibition, the first of its kind since the artist's death, showcases his extensive but lesser-known body of work

A rendering of a giant flower pot vacation rental on a farm in Idaho, designed by Whitney H. from the United States

Spend the Night in a Giant Flower Pot or a Supersized Cereal Box

Airbnb is giving $100,000 each to 100 people to help them build the most off-beat lodgings they could imagine

English artist Sam Cox and his wife, Alena, sitting in front of their Kent mansion, which Cox covered in doodles

This Artist Spent Two Years Covering His Mansion in Doodles

Sam Cox—also known as Mr. Doodle—has been dreaming about the project since he was 18

A produce farm on the Rural Studio campus in Newbern, Alabama

These Are the Winners of the National Design Awards

This year, Cooper Hewitt honored innovators in climate change, clothing design and more

“The Great Divide” explores how ideas that came to the fore during the Enlightenment at once blurred social hierarchies and reinforced them, particularly along lines of gender and race. 

These 18th-Century Shoes Underscore the Contradictions of the Age of Enlightenment

An exhibition at Toronto's Bata Shoe Museum examines fashion's role in supporting social hierarchies that emerged during the landmark intellectual movement

At the world's largest arms fair held every two years in London, a group of artists in 2016 organized the "Art the Arms Fair," to voice opposition to the war industry and the international arms trade (above: Pattern Tank by Tristan Oliver, 2019).

Designers Build a Provocative Road Map for World Peace

Cooper Hewitt’s new show taps into the collective consciousness of activists, app developers, artists and architects to envision a way forward

Models holding hands in Lagos, Nigeria, in 2019

How Fashion Helped Shape Africa's Cultural Renaissance

A new exhibition at the V&A in London explores historic and contemporary African designers, photographers, models, makeup artists and illustrators

Macintosh computers—and the company that created them—changed the PC world.

New Polish Museum Bytes Into the History of Apple Products

Over 1,000 artifacts get to the core of the iconic brand’s popularity

Tiara, Cartier London, special order, 1936. Platinum, diamonds, turquoise. Sold to The Honorable Robert Henry Brand. Cartier Collection.

How Islamic Art Influenced One of Fashion’s Most Famous Jewelers

A new exhibition traces how Middle Eastern patterns and motifs inspired—and fueled—Cartier

This watercolor portrayed what became the third-act curtain of the musical On the Town.

Broadway Artistry Wasn't Just in the Stars—It Lives on Through Production Design

A new exhibition pays homage to the art of mid-century costumes, sets and more

Taste testers involved in a recent study preferred chocolate that shattered in their mouth.

Innovation for Good

Have Scientists Designed the Perfect Chocolate?

Part of a burgeoning field of 'edible metamaterials,' Dutch physicists found that 3-D printed spiral-shaped candies give the ideal eating experience

The four-day Smithsonian Craft Show opens April 20 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., offering the works of 120 artists (above: an array of offerings).

Nine Artists on What It Means to Create

Forty years of bringing critical attention to the nation's best-known makers in the arts is celebrated at this year's Smithsonian Craft Show

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum has organized the exhibition, “Sarah & Eleanor Hewitt: Designing a Modern Museum,” focusing on the lives of its founders.

The Trailblazing Sisters Who Founded the Nation's First Woman-Led Museum

A new exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, tells the story of founders Sarah and Eleanor Hewitt

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