Art & Design

The VMFA Hopper Hotel Room from the exhibition Edward Hopper and the American Hotel.

Arts

1 Night In An Edward Hopper Hotel Room? It's Less Lonely Than You Might Think

12:39pm January 02, 2020

by Susan Stamberg

It isn't hard to imagine yourself inside a Hopper painting (say, having a coffee at a late-night diner) and now, for $150 a night, you can sleep in a re-creation of his 1957 work, Western Motel.

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Muguntuul Oyutan, 11, walks to school with her sister and friends in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. Mongolia is the world's most sparsely populated nation, and an increasing proportion of its citizens reside in the capital.

Arts

Favorite Videos And Interactives Of 2019

11:19am December 31, 2019

by Emily Bogle

This year, NPR's interactives and videos focused on everything from teens' relationships with guns to rapid migration in Mongolia. For some joy, Big Bird and friends performed at the Tiny Desk.

Arts

Betye Saar At MOMA

8:23am December 28, 2019

by Karen Michel

Celebrated African American artist Betye Saar is now in her 90s and still hard at work. She has two major shows dedicated to her distinctive pieces created largely from found objects.

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Lawsuit Alleges Missouri Bank Mismanaged Painter Thomas Hart Benton's Estate

6:21pm December 26, 2019

by Dan Margolies

In Kansas City, a lawsuit by the heirs of renowned painter Thomas Hart Benton alleges that a local bank has mismanaged Benton's estate.

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A horn player (left) in this detail from a 1694 altar carving by Francesco Antonio d'Alberto in Piedmont, Italy, clearly has a swollen neck that signifies goiter, medical historians say. The thyroid condition was a sign of poverty in those days.

Why Certain Poor Shepherds In Nativity Scenes Have Huge, Misshapen Throats

4:56pm December 24, 2019

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

In some historical Nativity scenes, the shepherds have grossly enlarged thyroid glands — also known today as goiter. It's an apparent symbol of their poverty and iodine-deficient diet.

Façade of Chicago's first and only Hanukkah-themed pop-up bar in Wrigleyville.

In Chicago, Hanukkah Now Has Its Own Pop-Up Bar Experience

6:26pm December 22, 2019

by Michel Martin

The two creators of the new Hanukkah-themed bar saw a void in the pop-up scene. Neither is Jewish, but they did enough research to be able to serve up matzo ball soup, latkes, and boozy jelly donuts.

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Keita Takahashi designed an in-ground slide for a since-cancelled Nottingham playground.

Arts

Meet 'Wattam,' The Newest Absurd Video Game Playground From Keita Takahashi

4:23pm December 17, 2019

by Vincent Acovino

From the designer of Katamari Damacy and other cult favorites comes a new work — one just as eccentric and earnest as his past games.

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Arts

A Glimpse Of Paraguay's Japanese Community

11:01am December 17, 2019

by Samantha Clark

During a trip back to Paraguay, photographer Ricardo Nagaoka documents the Japanese diaspora he grew up in.

France Remembers Leonardo Da Vinci

7:28am December 16, 2019

by Eleanor Beardsley

The exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci's works at the Louvre in Paris isn't the only way to mark the 500th anniversary of the artist's death. He spent the last years of his life in France's Loire Valley.

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Arts

Finding A Stolen Gustav Klimt Painting

8:03am December 15, 2019

Workers at a gallery in Italy found a secret chamber where a painting — which was stolen almost 23 years ago and believed to be by the artist Gustav Klimt — has been found. Dario Gallinari discusses.

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