Art & Design

Strike 2: Our second attempt at illustrating the plague story — with what we said was a 15th-century image by Jacopo Oddi from the La Franceschina codex depicting Franciscan monks treating victims of the plague in Italy — also turned out be a pictur

Iconic Plague Images Are Often Not What They Seem

5:47pm August 18, 2017

by Rae Ellen Bichell

Many images that have been traditionally used to depict the Black Death are, in fact, not images of the plague at all. Now, a group of dedicated historians are trying to correct the record.

Pantone Honors Prince With A New Purple Shade

6:43am August 15, 2017

Color-cataloguing company Pantone is paying a unique tribute to the late singer Prince: a unique shade of purple called "Love Symbol #2."

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Ancient Iraqi Art On Display In Italy At Venice Biennale

7:55am August 12, 2017

by Christopher Livesay

The Iraqi Pavilion at the Venice Bienniale places ancient artwork saved from extremist destruction alongside work by contemporary artists as a way to make sense of the country's complicated history.

"Hydrant: In the Air," 1963 — "It's significant because it shows us. We were not allowed to go to the public pools. So we opened our hydrant and we cooled ourselves off. But when I saw it and photographed it I made it more than just poor people turning

Arts

What Hiram Maristany Saw Looking Through The Lens At El Barrio

2:31pm August 04, 2017

by Beck Harlan

Photographer Hiram Maristany has spent more than 50 years documenting the Puerto Rican community in New York City's East Harlem neighborhood — through poverty, beauty and gentrification.

This mosaic panel of peonies, made of inlaid iridized glass and bronze, was made circa 1900â1910.

Arts

Tiffany Is Known For Lamps And Stained Glass, But He Made Magical Mosaics, Too

4:58pm August 03, 2017

by Karen Michel

Louis Comfort Tiffany — son of the luxury jeweler — took a trip to Italy in the late 1800s and returned inspired. A museum in Western New York has devoted an exhibition to these lesser known works.

This image of the Earth rising over the moon was the first one recovered by the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project.

Arts

From Family Snapshots To NASA Photos, Archivists Aim To Solve Preservation Puzzles

4:15pm August 02, 2017

by Matt Guilhem

Levi Bettwieser develops found film rolls from his Idaho home, and Dennis Wingo helped rescue early pictures of the moon. But what will happen when historical photos go from analog to digital?

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Harvey Dunn's 1918 oil painting The Sentry shows a soldier coming up from the trenches. "You see in his eyes what would later become known as the thousand-yard stare," says exhibit curator Peter Jakab.

Arts

Even In 'The War To End All Wars,' There Was Art Coming From The Trenches

5:18pm August 01, 2017

by Susan Stamberg

An exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum features art and artifacts from World War I. It includes paintings by combat artists and images of carvings found on the walls of underground quarries.

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City has turned over an ancient vase to authorities after a warrant was issued for its seizure. Above, the museum in May.

Met Museum Turns Over Ancient Vase Suspected Looted From Italy

5:12pm August 01, 2017

by Laurel Wamsley

The Met delivered the Greco-Roman vase to New York prosecutors, who issued a warrant for it last week. A forensic archaeologist says the artifact was likely "unlawfully removed from Italian soil."

Art Exhibit Features Chagall's Works For Ballet And Opera

5:43am July 31, 2017

by Mandalit del Barco

A new exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art explores the role that music and ballet played in the work of painter Marc Chagall.

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The Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Mass., announced it would sell 40 works to fund its renovation and endowment, raising concerns from museum organizations that the instiution is treating its collection "as a disposable financial asset." Above, an exhibi

Museum's Plan To Sell 40 Works Has Art World Up In Arms

5:54pm July 30, 2017

by Laurel Wamsley

The auction, including two Rockwell paintings, would fund the Berkshire Museum's renovation and increase its endowment. But two prominent museum organizations say the sale violates fundamental ethics.