Articles

To make it easier for those in the U.S. and in Germany to trace the history of World War II-era artworks, the Smithsonian and the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation created the German/American Provenance Research Exchange Program for Museum Professionals (PREP).

How U.S. and German Art Experts Are Teaming Up to Solve Nazi-Era Mysteries

Specialists in WWII art loss and restitution discuss provenance research

The Senate as a Court of Impeachment for the Trial of Andrew Johnson

The Political Circus and Constitutional Crisis of Andrew Johnson’s Impeachment

When the 17th president was accused of high crimes and misdemeanors in 1868, the wild trial nearly reignited the Civil War

This Major Military Operation Ignited the Vietnam War

By 1965, the U.S. initiated a military deployment, Operation Rolling Thunder, to help South Vietnam defend its independence

At Sisian Ceramics, Vahagn Hambardzumyan throws clay on a wheel to make traditional Armenian shapes onto which Zara Gasparyan etches decorative patterns. The terracotta jugs on the left are made to hold water.

Armenia

The Art of Armenian Pottery Will Be on Display at This Summer's Smithsonian Folklife Festival

The artists behind Sisian Ceramics create works evocative of the Armenian landscape

Many of the pieces in "Brand New" are simply decontextualized products and ads, like these works from Joan Wallace, (left) The Pool Ladder Painting No. 2, 2004, and Jeff Koons, New! New Too!, 1982.

Are You Buying What These Artists Are Selling?

The absurdity of American commercialism is laid bare in the Hirshhorn’s latest exhibition

Slave sale, Charleston, South Carolina

When Emancipation Finally Came, Slave Markets Took on a Redemptive Purpose

During the Civil War, the jails that held the enslaved imprisoned Confederate soldiers. After, they became rallying points for a newly empowered community

Will structures like the Gangneung Ice Arena be worth the investment once the games wrap up?

Does Pyeongchang Have a Future As a Winter Sports Destination?

South Korea may fall short of its lofty goal to transform the region into an Asian hub for snow and ice sports

Thousands of years ago, a herd of Columbian mammoths trudged across present-day Oregon to an ancient lake, recording their interactions in the muddy sediments.

New Research

Rare Mammoth Tracks Reveal an Intimate Portrait of Herd Life

Researchers piece together a 43,000-years-old tableau of an injured adult and concerned young

This Mysterious Event Led to the Spanish-American War

In early 1898, the USS Maine sailed into Havana harbor as a show of support for the Cuban revolutionaries

Made of fermented vegetables, kimchi was popularized globally during the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.

The Paris Olympics

How the 1988 Olympics Helped Spark a Global Kimchi Craze

The Summer Games in Seoul introduced a new international audience to the delicious and stinky staple

Malcolm X by Copain, c. 1967

Is It Time for a Reassessment of Malcolm X?

A Smithsonian Channel film, "The Lost Tapes," challenges misconceptions about the charismatic leader

The Club in Yerevan serves up Trinifish, a signature dish that marries ingredients from the Armenian Highlands with French cooking techniques.

Armenia

Four Restaurants Bringing Traditional Dishes into Contemporary Cuisine

These chefs are putting modern spins on ancient recipes

Norman Rockwell (above in a 1968 photograph by Garry Camp Burdick), who created more than 300 original covers for the Saturday Evening Post over the course of his long career, was already widely known for his rich visualizations of the American dream when he set about the challenging task of animating FDR's Four Freedoms.

Norman Rockwell's 'Four Freedoms' Brought the Ideals of America to Life

This wartime painting series reminded Americans what they were fighting for

Joseph Kayan, a Goroka Show participant from Chimbu Province, wears boar tusks and the tail of a tree kangaroo around his neck. The design of his headdress is specific to his village: it includes bird-of-paradise feathers, with reeds to fill out the shape. His armlets hold sprigs of plants from his region.

Striking Photos of the Past and Present of Papua New Guinea

From tribal traditions to urban strife in the island nation

Turtle Hatchlings Face Death While Dashing to Ocean

On the beaches of the Great Barrier Reef, the first turtle hatchlings emerge from their shells and make a run for the ocean

Flash mob in Chicago

Latest IMAX Film Studies History of American Music

Air and Space Museum makes way for the Flying Elvi

Clockwise from top left, new illustrations by Ryan Schude, Edel Rodriguez, Tim O'Brien, Melinda Beck.

A 21st-Century Reimagining of Norman Rockwell's "Four Freedoms"

The iconic paintings helped the U.S. win World War II. What do they mean today?

The 1868 treaty is "not just a historical relic," says Navajo Nation president Russell Begaye, "it’s a living document. . . It’s a contractual agreement with the U.S. government and the Navajo nation.”

The Navajo Nation Treaty of 1868 Lives On at the American Indian Museum

Marking a 150-year anniversary and a promise kept to return the people to their ancestral home

At La Pasiega in Spain, the scalariform, or ladder shape, composed of red horizontal and vertical lines (center left) dates to older than 64,000 years.

New Research

Were Neanderthals the Earliest Cave Artists? New Research in Spain Points to the Possibility

Archaeologists pushed back the date of cave paintings at three sites to 65,000 years ago—20,000 years before the arrival of humans in Europe

Joe Leahy at his Kilima coffee plantation at the height of his wealth and power.

The Reckoning

Thirty years ago, an acclaimed series of documentaries introduced the world to an isolated tribe in Papua New Guinea. What happened when the cameras left?

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