Arts & Culture

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

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?

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?

Manifestipi (installation detail) 2016 by ITWÉ Collective

The Innovative Spirit fy17

The Tipi Gets a Makeover

Ideas of evolution and tradition commingle in a new show at the American Indian Museum in New York City

After Audubon's health began to fail, his family completed the project, producing the color plates in installments for about 300 subscribers.

The Fantastic Beasts of John James Audubon's Little-Known Book on Mammals

The American naturalist spent the last years of his life cataloguing America's four-legged creatures

Wood took aim at the Daughters of the American Revolution, whose members, he claimed, “are trying to set up an aristocracy of birth in a Republic.”

A Preview of Grant Wood's New Retrospective at the Whitney

The artist who posed as a farmer gets the star treatment at the New York museum in his biggest show ever

In Search of the Real Grant Wood

The denim-clad artist who painted American Gothic wasn’t the hayseed he’d have you believe

The rose buds are the universal symbol for love and courage.

In Obama's Official Portrait the Flowers Are Cultivated From the Past

Kehinde Wiley’s painting is full of historical art references says Kim Sajet, the director of the National Portrait Gallery

The film is equal parts 21st-century technology and late 19th-century art

How the Creators of <em>Loving Vincent</em> Brought the First Fully Painted Animated Film to Life

Vincent van Gogh’s swirling coats of paint really move in the Oscar-nominated film thanks to 62,450 original oil paintings

Costume designer Ruth Carter says she found inspiration in the tradition and costume of African peoples. She thrilled over Ndebele neck rings, Suri face paint, and Zulu headgear and blankets and asked her crew to stay true to these traditions.

The New Director of the Smithsonian’s African Art Museum Reflects on the Look and Fashion of <em>Black Panther</em>

The blockbuster movie borrowed from multiple African peoples to create a unique Wakandan style

The Bond Between Mary Todd Lincoln and Her Seamstress

The connection between first lady Mary Todd Lincoln and her African-American seamstress Elizabeth Keckley was a remarkably strong one

Peter Hurd's famous portrait of Lyndon Baines Johnson

The Presidential Portrait That Was the 'Ugliest Thing' L.B.J. Ever Saw

Lyndon Johnson’s cantankerous nature carried over to even the more engaging parts of being Commander in Chief

Krzysztof Wodiczko; 1988-2000; C-print face-mounted to acrylic; Museum Purchase, 2000

A Powerful, Three-Story Video Installation Will Transform the Hirshhorn

The giant projection by Polish artist Krzysztof Wodiczko returns to the museum for the first time in 30 years

The home bioreactor in its intended environment. It also provides light for herbs.

In the Future, Will We Be Growing Fruit in Home Bioreactors?

A team of molecular biologists wants you to forget about strawberries and, instead, take "cell jam" for a whirl

Urban Thinkspace in Philadelphia

Weaving Games and Puzzles Into the Fabric of a City

To encourage playful learning, Urban Thinkspace and other projects put miniature playgrounds along the paths kids travel

A decline in women authors and named characters has subtly shaped our understanding of literary history, says study author Ted Underwood.

Women Were Better Represented in Victorian Novels Than Modern Ones

Big data shows that women used to be omnipresent in fiction. Then men got in the way

The specially commissioned portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama make their formal museum debut.

The Obamas' Official Portraits Break New Ground With Their Boldness

A picture-perfect reveal ceremony was by turns heartfelt and humorous

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