Art & Design

Italian architect Renzo Piano talks to journalists in Paris in 2014.

Architect Renzo Piano: The Future Of Europe's Cities Is In The Suburbs

12:16pm March 10, 2015

by Sylvia Poggioli

In the 1960s and '70s, Piano was involved in the battle to revive decaying historic centers of cities. Now the Pritzker Prize-winning architect is fighting to save their often desolate outskirts.

Queue Listen Now

Happy Lovers (c. 1760-65) by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, is one of about 800 objects that American art collector Norton Simon purchased from Joseph Duveen. Over the years, Simon sold most of the collection off, but about 130 objects remain at the Norton Simon

Arts

Meet Joseph Duveen, The Savvy Art Dealer Who Sold European Masterpieces

3:52pm March 09, 2015

by Susan Stamberg

Duveen once observed: "Europe has a great deal of art, and America has a great deal of money." A new exhibit explores the relationship between Duveen and American mega-millionaire Norton Simon.

Queue Listen Now

Frida Kahlo's passion for food was evident in her many still lifes of fruit, like this painting entitled "The Bride Frightened at Seeing Life Opened." She was also known for her raucous dinner parties in Mexico City.

Arts

A Detroit Opera Celebrates Frida Kahlo's Life And Cooking

2:15pm February 28, 2015

by Tracie McMillan

The Michigan Opera Theater is mounting a production in March of Frida. The city's Mexican restaurants are getting involved by honoring the Mexican artist's recipes and cooking with special menus.

Edouard Manet's 1873 oil on canvas, The Railway, is on view at the Norton Simon Museum in Los Angeles until March 2. It is on loan from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Arts

Impressionist Hero Edouard Manet Gets The Star Treatment In Los Angeles

3:14pm February 27, 2015

by Susan Stamberg

Manet was not himself an impressionist, but he mightily influenced the movement. Two of his paintings are now in LA. The Railway is making its West Coast debut, and Spring just sold for $65 million.

Queue Listen Now

Jay Austin's tiny house in Washington, D.C., has 10-foot ceilings, a loft bed over the bathroom and a galley-style kitchen.

Living Small In The City: With More Singles, Micro-Housing Gets Big

11:53am February 27, 2015

by Franklyn Cater

Single people represent the fastest growing category of households in the U.S. That's made small dwellings — from micro-apartments to stand-alone tiny houses, a niche force in the real estate market.

Queue Listen Now

A mural is seen on the remains of a house that witnesses said was destroyed by Israeli shelling during a 50-day war last summer in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip.

Banksy's Murals Turn Up In Gaza Strip

5:45pm February 26, 2015

by Krishnadev Calamur

The artist, who uses public spaces for his often-provocative murals, posted images of art created in the Gaza Strip, along with a two-minute video of life in the Palestinian territory.

Nelson Rockefeller examines a painting at New York's Museum of Modern Art in 1939. Rockefeller was 23 when he hired Diego Rivera to paint a mural in the newly built Rockefeller Center.

Arts

Daughters Back An Artful End To The Rivera-Rockefeller Rivalry Story

7:48am February 24, 2015

by Carrie Kahn

Capitalist Nelson Rockefeller and painter Diego Rivera clashed over a political mural in the 1930s. Now their daughters have teamed up to preserve both their fathers' legacies and the art they loved.

Queue Listen Now

Visual Feast: If The World's Major Cities Were Made Of Food

4:42pm February 23, 2015

by Tove Danovich

A charming photo series called BrunchCity re-creates metropolises in miniature, with famous local noshes as part of the architecture.

Runway Collections Inspired By Vibes From '60s And '70s

3:36pm February 23, 2015

Renee Montagne looks back at the best of New York Fashion Week with Deborah Needleman, editor-in-chief of T: The New York Times Style Magazine, and looks forward to what will hit the European runways.

Queue Listen Now

Arts

Mink Is The New Black

12:36pm February 22, 2015

Fur is showing up on supermodels strutting down the runways. Despite previous protests, fashion columnist Robin Givhan tells NPR's Rachel Martin that for some designers, fur is back.

Queue Listen Now