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Fine Arts

Tour the former Old Patent Office, now the National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum.

Events June 12-14: Temple of Invention Tour, A Healthy Future in Renewable Energy, and Painting with Maya-Mam

This week, take a tour of the Old Patent Office Building, learn about renewable energy sources, and paint with Mayan artist Ubaldo Sánchez

While grotesque, the faces in Louis-Leopold Boilly’s The Grimaces (1823) were carefully studied from life. The figure with a twisted mouth at the upper left is a self-portrait.

A Serious Look at Funny Faces

A history of caricatures exposes the inside jokes

Celebrate World Oceans Day with Phoenix, the 45-foot, full scale model of a North Atlantic right whale this Friday.

Events June 8-10: World Oceans Day, 100 Years of Girl Scouts, Hat-Making Workshop

This weekend celebrate World Oceans Day, 100 Years of Girl Scouts and hat designer, Lula Mae Reeves

Tuesday is the last chance of the century to see Venus pass between the sun and the earth.

Events June 5-7: Transit of Venus, Living Portraits, and Ai WeiWei

This week, watch the transit of Venus, take a “living portrait,” and explore the work of Chinese dissident artist Ai WeiWei

Pollock’s studio in East Hampton, New York, is now the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center.

Sharing Pork Chops With Jackson Pollock

Richard Field was an undergrad with gumption when he visited the painter at his Long Island home. Nearly 60 years later, Field recalls the memorable affair

Legendary birdwatcher, artist and author Kenn Kaufman discusses the phenomenon of migration at the National Zoo on Thursday.

Events May 29-31: Tarantula Feedings, Hollywood Pop Quiz, and Kenn Kaufman

Franklin Delano Roosevelt by Douglas Granville Chandor

Amy Henderson: The Shock of the Old

For generations immersed in social media, culture means a different thing than it did in 1940

Ross Braught, a largely forgotten artist who surely knew Jackson Pollock, painted the mural Mnemosyne and the Four Muses for the Kansas City Music Hall.

Where Did Jackson Pollock Get His Ideas?

A talented painter who died poor and forgotten may have inspired the influential American artist’s work in ceramics

Portrait of Black Madonna, by Benny Andrews, is on display in the new exhibition, “African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era and Beyond.”

Events May 25-27: Laundry Day, Healing and Aloha, 100 Artworks at the American Art Museum

This weekend, air out your dirty laundry, live the life of “aloha” and check out the American Art Museum’s latest exhibit

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How Posters Helped Shape America and Change the World

One enthusiast’s collection, on exhibit at the Oakland Museum of California, offers a sweeping look at grass-roots movements since the 1960s

Arist-in-Residence, Tom “Pohaku” Stone, a Native Hawaiian carver from O’ahu, Hawaii, will share his surfboard-carving skills this Sunday at the American Indian Museum.

Events May 18-20: Identities in Motion, Metro Mambo, Surfboard Carving

Asian-Pacific Heritage Month, do the Mambo at the National Museum of African Art and witness Tom Stone carve a traditional Hawiian surfboard

A diagram of visitor movement in the American Art and Furniture gallery at the Cleveland Museum of Art

What a Physics Student Can Teach Us About How Visitors Walk Through a Museum

By sketching the movements of people at the Cleveland Art Museum, Andrew Oriani laid the groundwork for some deep insights into how art is appreciated

Sliders served at last year's ZooFari benefit

Events May 15-17: Words, Earth and Aloha, merengue and méringue, and ZooFari

This week, watch a documentary about Hawaiian music, enjoy a performance of Dominican merengue and Haitian méringue, and chow down at ZooFari

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There’s a Happening Tonight at the Hirshhorn

Tonight, the Hirshhorn’s nightly 360-degree projection, SONG 1, comes alive with an outdoor concert

Celebrate Suma Qamaña, or living well, at the Bolivian Festival this Saturday

Events May 11-13: Gardening for Healthy Living, Bolivian Festival, Steinway Series for Mother’s Day

Celebrate living well with Mom this weekend at Garden Fest, the Bolivian Festival and at the Steinway series with Mendelssohn Piano Trio

Detail of the Cleveland Apollo Sauroktonos

Questions About Apollo

A stunning statue at the Cleveland Museum raises concerns about the acquisition of antiquities

Lalla Essaydi's photographic series challenge traditional ideas of femininity and empowerment

Lalla Essaydi: Revising Stereotypes at the African Art Museum

A new solo exhibition by Lalla Essaydi challenges Western and Muslim perceptions of women’s identities

The Encore Chorale at the Kogod Courtyard at last year's popular performance.

Events May 8-10: Carolyn Morrow Long, Encore Chorale Spring Concert, and The Unknown Aaron Burr

This Saturday, you can make a Korean kite just like this one at the Sackler Gallery.

Events May 4-6: Cool off with IMAX, Fly a kite at the Sackler and celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with Smithsonian

Every Tuesday, take a guided tour through the Mary Livingston Ripley Garden.

Events May 1-3: Ripley Garden Tour, the Multi-colored Universe, and Roni Horn

This week, take a garden tour, discover the universe through cutting edge developments in X-ray telescopes, and meet acclaimed artist Roni Horn

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