Arts & Culture

The Bar-B-Q Inn in 1971.

Time After Time

William Christenberry embraces the impermanent

"It is a very simple truth," novelist Henry James wrote in 1887, "that when today we look for 'American art' we find it mainly in Paris." John Singer Sargent captured the pearly light of dusk in Paris in his 1879 work In the Luxembourg Gardens.

Americans in Paris

In the late 19th century, the City of Light beckoned Whistler, Sargent, Cassatt and other young artists. What they experienced would transform American art

Author of "Bernini's Genius," Arthur Lubow.

Admiring the Masters

In this Q & A, Arthur Lubow, author of "Americans in Paris," compares the Paris of today with the one that inspired Manet, Monet and Renoir

At an altitude of 12,300 feet, the Shandur Pass is usually populated by grazing yaks. But once a year it turns into the world's highest polo ground. When teams from Chitral and Gilgit face off—as they have since 1933—tribesmen gather for the mayhem.

Extreme Polo

There are no holds barred at the annual grudge match in northwest Pakistan's "land of mirth and murder"

Damon Conklin uses the body, from head to feet, as his canvas.

Today's Tattoos

Making your mark

John Coyne's New Global Theatre creates a virtual performance where the production occurs on several different stages and is broadcast via monitors to the actors and the audience.

Recasting Shakespeare's Stage

Designing a Globe Theatre for the 21st century

Stolen in 1990 from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, "Christ in the Storm on the Lake of Galille" has not been recovered. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Rembrandt at 400

Astonishing brushwork, wrinkles-and-all honesty, deep compassion. What's the secret of his enduring genius?

An Almost Mystical Feeling

Master painter Rembrandt was also a talented draftsman and printmaker

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Man of the Century

But 100 years after writing his classic memoir, the question about Henry Adams remains: Which century?

"In his writing," Theroux says, E.B. White (shown on his Maine farm circa 1970) "is the kindest and most rational observer of the world."

Living With Geese

Novelist and gozzard Paul Theroux ruminates about avian misconceptions, anthropomorphism and March of the Penguins as "a travesty of science"

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Last Page: Going Up?

Some brushes with fame are more uplifting than others

An Interview with Stephanie Dickey, author of "Rembrandt at 400"

Stephanie Dickey discusses Rembrandt's ambition and what it was like to see the paintings in person

"A resilient person is performing competently while in the midst of adversity," says Stuart Hauser, author of Out of the Woods: Tales of Resilient Teens.

Extraordinary Resilience

Psychiatrist Stuart Hauser answers questions about his new book, Out of the Woods, which chronicles four emotionally disturbed teenagers

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Passion Fruit

Edward Weston quested for the perfect pepper

For his new book, Old Masters and Young Geniuses: The Two Life Cycles of Artistic Creativity, economist David Galenson conducted a study of artistic greatness.

Interview: David Galenson

Pondering the nature of artistic genius, a social scientist finds that creativity has a bottom line

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Last Page: Strings Attached

"You want the greatest guitar ever?" Dad asked

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Ways of Seeing

Inviting artists to help showcase its collections is just one way the Hirshhorn Museum is expanding its vision

On their first flight together, Charles and Anne Morrow Lindberg flew more than 7,000 miles from the United States to China.

Sky Writer

Anne Morrow Lindbergh chronicled the flights made with her celebrated husband

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Q&A: Lucy Lawless

Lucy Lawless, star of Xena: Warrior Princess, which aired from 1995 to 2001, has given her signature costume to the Museum of American History

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What's Up

Topper, 1st Class and No Popcorn

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