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Fine Arts

Known as the transmitter of Chan, or Zen Buddhism, the Chinese monk, Bodhidharma, was said to have a volatile temperament. Portrait of Bodhidharma. Fourteenth century, ink on silk.

Buddhism in China: An Enduring Legacy on View at the Freer

A new exhibit at the Freer examines the adoption of Buddhism in China through richly detailed paintings

Walter Cronkite, Robert Vickrey, 1966, watercolor, gouache and graphite pencil on paper, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Time Magazine

That’s The Way It Was: Remembering Walter Cronkite

A look back at the most-trusted man in news

Barbara Kruger offers words of wisdom at the new installation at the Hirshhorn, just in time for the political conventions.

Events August 28-30: Belief + Doubt, Gallery Talks and Baby Animals

This week, see the latest from Barbara Kruger, crafting contemporaries and the Zoo’s baby boom

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Part 3: Who Are the Nominees for the Contemporary Artist Award?

The final part in our series introduces you to the work of five more artists, from giant roses to combat video games to surrealist assemblages

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Was Vincent van Gogh Color Blind? It Sure Looks Like It

Filtering van Goghs works to simulate color blindness unlocks strikingly different images, perhaps revealing something about the way the famous painter saw the world

Learn more about the stories of the Tuskegee Airmen. Edward C. Gleed and two unidentified airmen, 1945. Photo by Toni Frissell.

Events August 21-23: A Pilot’s Journey, Olympic Trivia and Conservation Clinics

This week, learn more about the Tuskegee Airmen, test your Olympic trivia and learn how to care for your heirlooms

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Part 2: Who Are the Nominees for the Contemporary Artist Award?

This week’s look at five more names from the prestigious short list and where to see their work

Living Better Now

Q&A: Jayson Musson Breaks Down Coogi Sweaters

With the ‘80s and ‘90s status-symbol clothing a bargain on eBay, the Brooklyn artist buys, disassembles and reconstructs them to make abstract “paintings”

Julia Child’s Kitchen will open again for her 100th birthday celebration at the Smithsonian.

Events August 14-17: Green Jobs, Julia Child’s 100th Birthday and Live Jazz

This week at the Smithsonian, learn about emerging green jobs, celebrate Julia Child’s birthday and unwind with a tribute to Thelonious Monk

This Friday night, head over to the Freer Gallery’s Meyer Auditorium for a screening of the film, “An Autumn’s Tale” (Dir.: Mabel Cheung,1987).

Events August 10-12: Date Night, Super Science Saturday, The Story of the Earth

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The American Art Museum Announces Nominees for Contemporary Artist Award

We help you sort out who’s who from the museum’s recent announcement, in a series of three posts

The artist’s black, white and red phrases titled Belief+Doubt exist outside the traditional galleries.

Look at the Writing on the Wall: Barbara Kruger Opens Soon at the Hirshhorn

The artist behind “I shop therefore I am” has plastered her monumental statements all over the Hirshhorn

This Wednesday, hear the original sounds of Arvel Bird as he performs a blend of Celtic and Native American music.

Events August 7-9: Sketching, Musical Genre-Bending and Stitching

This week, sketch like a master, catch a concert that blends Native American and Celtic sounds and stitch in the presence of greatness

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Packing List Series, Part 2: An Artist’s Illustrated Guide

With a watercolor sketchbook guide, Adolf Konrad drew on his talents to record his belongings

A French postcard issued around 1900, predicting La France’s future

Could a Whale-Powered Bus Be the Future of Transportation?

Visionary postcard artists illustrated around 90 fanciful cards between 1899 to 1910 imagined what the future held in store for France in the year 2000

Jacob Lawrence’s 1941 Bar and Grill depicts the reality of segregation of the Jim Crow South, a new experience to the Harlem artist.

Curator Talk at the American Art Museum on African-American Art Exhibition

Virginia Mecklenburg offers a Wednesday lecture on the artists from “Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era and Beyond”

Mycoplasma mycoides, 2011

Teaching Molecular Biology with Watercolors

Molecular biology professor David Goodsell is just as skilled with a microscope as with a paint brush

As the Olympic Games head to London, you should head to the Mall.

Olympic Games at the Smithsonian

Before you settle into your couch to watch the Olympics, get down to the Smithsonian for exhibits, games and more

Both the creator of the Klingon language and the coach who helped Star Trek actors nail their foreign language lines will be discussing the life of invented languages Thursday at the Smithsonian.

Events July 24-26: Animal Migrations, Belly Dancing and the Invention of Klingon

This week at Smithsonian, learn how animals find their way across continents, try out belly dancing and pick up a new language with the creator of Klingon

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Events July 20-22: Living Earth Festival, Movie Day, Book Signings at Air and Space

This weekend, celebrate Earth, have a movie day and check out some super cool planes at the Udvar-Hazy Center

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