Fine Art

A detail from the north wall of Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry murals shows workers on the automobile assembly line. After Detroit declared bankruptcy, the murals were at risk of being sold. Click here for a larger view.

Arts

In Detroit's Rivera And Kahlo Exhibit, A Portrait Of A Resilient City

8:01pm March 16, 2015

by NPR Staff

This is the first exhibit to focus on the time Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo spent in Detroit. It's a big step for the Detroit Institute of Arts as it recovers from the tumult of the city's bankruptcy.

Queue Listen Now

Arts

A Travel Show For Your Favorite Weird-Museum And Dance Enthusiast

4:23pm March 11, 2015

by Linda Holmes

Ovation's American Canvas has a lot of fun in San Francisco, starting with the art installation at Alcatraz.

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

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

In Art For The Blind, Touching Exhibits Is Mandatory

10:15am February 14, 2015

Museums are filled with signs that say "do not touch." But a current exhibition at the Museo del Prado in Madrid wants you to do just the opposite. The exhibit is designed for blind people.

Queue Listen Now

Artist Jesse Howard filled his 20-acre property with hand-painted signs.

Arts

Ornery Artist's Hand-Lettered Screeds Helped Him Keep The World At Bay

11:41am February 08, 2015

by C.J. Janovy

Jesse Howard filled his property with signs that proclaimed his disappointment with the world. The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis recently opened the first comprehensive survey of his work.

Queue Listen Now

Afghan war rugs featuring U.S. drones is a recent trend in the market, says collector Kevin Sudeith.

Arts

'War Rugs' Reflect Afghanistan's Long History With Conflict

9:29pm February 07, 2015

by NPR Staff

Afghanistan has suffered through decades of war. The modern history of violence has seeped into the nation's ancient art of rug making — rugs now feature imagery of tanks, AK-47s and U.S. drones.

Queue Listen Now

David Beck, DODO, 2007, graphite on paper

Beautiful Bird Exhibit Spotted At Smithsonian

11:22am February 04, 2015

by Susan Stamberg

The American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., has gathered the work of artists who paint, photograph and sculpt winged creatures — underscoring their endangered existence and exquisite beauty.

Queue Listen Now