Museums

This 14th-century religious carving of a water spirit was part of a window decoration in a Kathmandu monastery.

Rubin Museum Agrees to Return Stolen Religious Artifacts to Nepal

An investigation launched by the New York cultural institution concluded that the 14th- and 17th-century carvings were "unlawfully obtained"

Bruce Clark, author of the new book Athens: City of Wisdom, outlines the events that culminated in the Elgin Marbles’ extraction from Greece.

How the Much-Debated Elgin Marbles Ended Up in England

For two centuries, diplomat Thomas Bruce has been held up as a shameless plunderer. The real history is more complicated, argues the author of a new book

Lawrence Brooks, 110, pictured at a previous birthday celebration at the National World War II Museum

Lawrence Brooks, the United States' Oldest Living WWII Veteran, Dies at 112

Brooks was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1940, when he was in his early 30s

Richmond took down its statue of Robert E. Lee in September 2021.

Richmond's Robert E. Lee Statue Is Headed to a Black History Museum

Officials have tentatively agreed to transfer ownership of removed Confederate monuments to a pair of museums in the Virginia city

The center aims to establish a "dialogue between modern and contemporary art," one curator says.

Why Baltimore Is Poised to Become a Major Hub for Henri Matisse Fans

The Baltimore Museum of Art recently opened a research center dedicated to the French artist

The Pirelli HangarBicocca in Milan is an art museum housed in a former factory of train parts and farm equipment.

Six Art Galleries in Unexpected Places

Around the world, factories, distilleries and bunkers have second lives as art venues

Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye will lead design of the new Heritage District, a center dedicated to teaching about the history and impact of the transatlantic slave trade.

After Breaking Ties With Britain, Barbados Announces Heritage District Tracing Slavery's Toll

The four-phase project will include a museum, global research center and memorial

The capsized hull of the U.S.S. Oklahoma (right) is visible next to the U.S.S. Maryland.

The Story Behind Pearl Harbor's Most Successful Rescue Mission

Eighty years ago, civilian Julio DeCastro and his colleagues at the Hawaii base's naval yard saved 32 sailors trapped inside the U.S.S. "Oklahoma"

The new exhibition “¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States” opens next spring in the Molina Family Latino Gallery at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the New National Museum of the American Latino

Years away from having a building of their own, Smithsonian staff are already at work on the exhibition ¡Presente! for next year

Art dealer Helen Fioratti and her husband, Nereo, purchased the mosaic from an aristocratic Italian family in the 1960s and used it as a coffee table in their Manhattan apartment for some 45 years.

A Mosaic From Caligula's 'Pleasure Boat' Spent 45 Years as a Coffee Table in NYC

Authorities returned the ancient artwork, now on view at a museum near Rome, to Italy following a multi-year investigation

Dozens of Smithsonian Institution professionals share their favorite reads from this year.

Smithsonian Scholars Pick Their Favorite Books of 2021

The writings of many fine authors support the research and ambitious undertakings of an Institution rising to the challenges ahead

Critics of the statue have emphasized not only to the deferential position of the two other figures but also Roosevelt’s racist beliefs and actions.

Controversial Teddy Roosevelt Statue Will Be Moved From NYC to North Dakota

The equestrian monument will leave the steps of the American Museum of Natural History, finding a new home at the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library

This 1925 painting depicts an idealized version of an early Thanksgiving celebration in Plymouth.

How to Tell the Thanksgiving Story on Its 400th Anniversary

Scholars are unraveling the myths surrounding the 1621 feast, which found the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag cementing a newly established alliance

David Allan, Edinburgh Milkmaid With Butter Churn, circa 1780–90

See a Rare Watercolor of a Black Woman Living in Edinburgh in the Late 18th Century

Staff at the National Galleries of Scotland, which recently acquired the David Allan painting, hope to uncover more information about the sitter's identity

Virtual reconstruction of Krishna Lifting Mount Govardhan as it may have looked around 600 C.E., when it decorated a manmade cave temple in southern Cambodia

A Botched Restoration Left These Ancient Cambodian Statues With Swapped Limbs

Now properly pieced together, the sculptures of Hindu deity Krishna are on view at the Cleveland Museum of Art

Ai Weiwei's Whitewash (1995–2000), pictured here in the M+ museum's newly opened galleries, features 126 Neolithic clay jars unearthed in China.

Major Contemporary Art Museum Debuts in Hong Kong Amid Censorship Concerns

M+ promises to be a leading cultural destination, but China's new national security law threatens its curatorial freedom

The room combines art that evokes imagined futures and artifacts from different contexts within the African diaspora.

The Met's New Period Room Envisions a Thriving Afrofuturist Community

The Manhattan museum's latest imagined space blends Black history and contemporary art

The museum acquired the collection in recognition of its historical significance—and to keep the objects from circulating elsewhere.

German Museum Acquires 15,000 Artifacts Documenting the History of Anti-Semitism

Holocaust survivor Wolfgang Haney collected the items over three decades

Art collector John Foster spotted this sculpture, titled Martha and Mary, in the front yard of a St. Louis home in 2019. 

Art Enthusiast Spots Long-Lost Sculpture by Black Folk Artist in Missouri Front Yard

William Edmondson had a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 1937 but was buried in an unmarked grave following his death in 1951

In October, the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History displayed this vandalized, bullet-ridden marker—one of three placed at the Mississippi site where, in 1955, police found the body of 14-year-old Emmett Till.

Why Museums Are Primed to Address Racism, Inequality in the U.S.

Smithsonian leaders discuss how the Institution can be a powerful place for investigating and addressing society’s most difficult issues

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