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Museums

The authenticity of Paul Gauguin's 1903 self-portrait has long been the subject of debate.

This Amateur Art Detective Thinks Paul Gauguin’s Last Self-Portrait Is a Fake

The new allegations come from Fabrice Fourmanoir, who previously identified a fraudulent Gauguin sculpture that the Getty Museum had purchased for $5 million

The Chicago Archaeopteryx, seen under UV light, shows soft tissues alongside the skeleton.

The Famous, Feathered Dinosaur Archaeopteryx Could Fly, Suggests New Study of a ‘Beautifully Preserved’ Fossil

The Chicago Archaeopteryx features more soft tissue and delicate skeletal details than any known fossil of its kind, and paleontologists discovered it has a set of feathers key to flight in modern birds

An 1890 photo by Alice Austen titled The Darned Club

Rejected by Museums Around the World, This New Art Exhibition Explores the Historical Roots of the Term ‘Homosexual’

“The First Homosexuals: The Birth of a New Identity, 1869-1939” is a sprawling collection of more than 300 works at Chicago’s Wrightwood 659 gallery

The Museum of Survivors is dedicated to the testimonies of the 1,200 Eastern European Jews who lived through the Holocaust with the help of German industrialist Oskar Schindler.

The Czech Factory Where Oskar Schindler Saved 1,200 Jews Is Now a Museum in Their Honor

Under the stewardship of the Jewish family that owned the factory before World War II, the museum is reclaiming the dilapidated site and its dark history

Argentine black and white tegus (Salvator merianae) were brought to the United States in the 1990s by exotic pet traders. They've since proliferated in the wild and been deemed an invasive species.

Mysterious Fossil Found in Museum Storage Turned Out to Be a New, Extinct Lizard Species

Today, tegus are considered invasive creatures in Florida, but a new paper suggests they’ve lived in the southeastern United States at least once before—millions of years ago

The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret, circa 1510

Who Created This Peculiar Painting of a Drooling Dragon? Nobody Knows—but a Museum Just Bought It for $20 Million

Painted around 1510, the mysterious altarpiece by an unknown artist features unusual details, including a slobbering dragon and an angel playing the mouth harp

E.H. Shepard illustrated a map of the Hundred Acre Wood for A.A. Milne's The World of Pooh (1957).

See the Imaginative Illustrations on the Endpapers of Children’s Books Like ‘The World of Pooh’ and ‘Blueberries for Sal’

A new exhibition celebrates the often-overlooked endpapers of more than 50 works of children’s literature ranging from the mid-20th century to the present day

Roughly 230 film reels have been found in storage.

Cool Finds

London Zoo Discovers Hundreds of Old Film Reels Featuring ‘Zoo Oddities’ and Animal Celebrities

Zoo officials are looking for experts to help preserve and digitize the decaying film canisters, which date to between the 1960s and 1990s

A close-up view of Leonardo da Vinci's Ginevra de' Benci, which depicts a famed Florentine poet

Meet the Mysterious Renaissance Muse Immortalized in the Only Leonardo da Vinci Painting in the Americas

Ginevra de’ Benci was a poet famed for her beauty and intellect. But art historians know little about her beyond the writings and artworks left behind by the men who admired her

A cache found in the Czech Republic weighed more than 15 pounds.

Cool Finds

Hikers Stumble Upon Gold Coins and Treasures That Could Be Worth $340,000

After discovering the 15-pound cache while hiking in the Czech Republic, the two men handed it over to a local museum

Grey, Orange on Maroon, No. 8, Mark Rothko, 1960

Child Scratches Mark Rothko Painting Worth Millions While Visiting Dutch Art Museum

Artworks by the Latvian-American Abstract Expressionist have been damaged before, but repairs have added up to hundreds of thousands of dollars

A view of Jennie C. Jones' new installation at the Met's roof garden

Hear the Wind Play These Stunning Stringed Sculptures in the Met’s New Rooftop Art Installation

Created by artist Jennie C. Jones, the new exhibition features a trio of towering musical instruments made from concrete and aluminum

A bouquet inspired by Vincent van Gogh's Undergrowth with Two Figures

Artists Across America Are Creating Stunning Floral Arrangements Inspired by Paintings, Sculptures and Artifacts

At “Art in Bloom” exhibitions, museums commission custom floral arrangements to go on display alongside items in their collections

One of the flags is decorated with 13 interlocking gold rings labeled with the names of the first 13 states.

America's 250th Anniversary

See the Colorful Flags That the Patriots Unfurled as They Fought in the American Revolution

At the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, a new exhibition has gathered together 17 historic flags that served as symbols of liberty

Cassandra Austen's 1795 hand-drawn copy of a plate from a 1786 drawing instruction manual

See the Forgotten Paintings Made by Jane Austen’s Older Sister, Cassandra

A new exhibition at the Jane Austen House in England includes six artworks that are going on public display for the first time

Flowers and Fruit in a Forest, Rachel Ruysch, 1714

Art Meets Science

See the Flower Paintings of Rachel Ruysch, Whose Stunning Still Lifes Are Finally Getting the Attention They Deserve

The Dutch “old mistress” was renowned in her own lifetime. But since her death 275 years ago, her legacy has been largely forgotten

Celebration of the Ommegang in Brussels: The Procession of Our Lady of the Sablon, Denis van Alsloot, 1616

Art Meets Science

How Many People Are in This Painting? The Prado Museum Is Using A.I. to Find Out

With the help of a tech start-up, the Madrid museum is enlisting technology to quantify large crowds in its artworks and boost visitor engagement

A book bound in Corder's skin has been in the museum's collections since the 1930s. The second copy was given to the museum several decades ago.

Recently Rediscovered Book Bound in Human Skin Goes on Display in England

Curators think the volume’s corners and spine are bound in the skin of William Corder, an infamous criminal who was convicted of murder in the late 1820s

The museum is filled with interactive exhibits and activities, including a bean-themed ball pit play area.

Now Open in Kansas City, The World’s First Barbecue Museum Is a Feast for the Senses

Jump in the bean-themed ball pit, solve a pork puzzle and pose with a championship mustard belt at the new Museum of BBQ

A 70mm IMAX camera used to shoot The Dream is Alive, now in the National Air and Space Museum's collection

In the 1980s, This Special Camera Helped Turn Astronauts Into Cinematographers to Shoot the First Imax Movie Ever Filmed in Space

The groundbreaking work, “The Dream Is Alive,” celebrates its 40th anniversary this year

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