Smithsonian Institution

Latest Articles

The Seeker

Salvatore Mancini’s quest for elemental connections
Salvatore Mancini has photographed factories along the Blackstone River Valley to record a local history of the Industrial Revolution.
By GREG COOK | June 24, 2010

Photos: 'The Kennedys' at Peabody Essex Museum

Photos of JFK, Jackie Onassis and family at the PEM through July 18
"The Kennedys” exhibit at Peabody Essex Museum, through July 18
By RICHARD AVEDON | May 19, 2010

Puppet pageants

The influential art of Jim Henson and Peter Schumann
In the beginning, there was Kermit. Not Kermit the Frog — not just yet. That would come nearly 15 years later.
By GREG COOK | May 07, 2010

Printing matters

Vinalhaven Press artifacts at June Fitzpatrick
An aged poster hangs framed in Patricia Nick’s apartment bearing a handwritten mantra. In faded blue marker, the author scripted “An original print is NOT a reproduction. It is an original work of art conceived and drawn or cut on the plate, block or stone by the artist, the printing of which is either done by him or under his direction or supervision.”
By ANNIE LARMON | April 14, 2010

Fresh fruit and vegetables

A winter crop of art
The bleakest months of New England winter are ahead of us, so the prospect of leaving your toasty house to see art may not be at the top of your to-do list.
By GREG COOK | January 04, 2010

Alternative energy

GASP marks five years
At the end of August, the seven-month-old Massachusetts Creative Economy Council released its first report on the state of culture here.
By GREG COOK | October 19, 2009

Review: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

Dusting off the same old display cases
In the three years since last he was on screen, Ben Stiller's bored night guard, Larry Daley, has become a well-to-do hawker of infomercial crap, but he's still not in the right place.
By TOM MEEK | May 19, 2009

Solved?

Ulrich Boser takes on the Gardner heist
In the wee hours of March 18, 1990, two men posing as police officers gained entrance to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, tied up the two security guards, and stole 13 pieces of art.
By JEFFREY GANTZ | March 18, 2009

With friends like these

Obama should worry less about befriending the GOP and more about keeping his own party in line
Warren Harding was obviously not one of our greatest presidents. But during his little more than two years in the White House, he did offer some shrewd insights into life at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
By STEVEN STARK | February 06, 2009

Universal tales

Diane Macklin makes a difference at FUNDA
For the 11th consecutive year, the Rhode Island Black Storytellers (RIBS) are bringing stories and tellers from near and far for the eight-day FUNDA Fest (January 18-25).
By JOHNETTE RODRIGUEZ | January 15, 2009

Real time savers

Whither wristwatches?
Breaking news: scientists have eradicated the social malady known as "watch tan." The cure, of course, was the advent of the cell phone.
By GEORGIANA COHEN | December 17, 2008

Tweak-folk

Reimagined folk songs by Sam Amidon
Released this summer, Nico Muhly's Mothertongue (Bedroom Community) — the latest album by the ambitious contemporary classical music composer, a protégé of Philip Glass — offers listeners a bombastic example of the ongoing collaboration between the composer and Vermont-based folk singer Sam Amidon.
By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | December 03, 2008

Interview: The DeCordova’s new director holds forth

Voice of Kois
Dennis Kois (rhymes with voice) began work as the new executive director of the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in Lincoln on June 2.
By GREG COOK | June 24, 2008

In our nature

Frank Gohlke at the Addison, ‘Pulp Function’ at the Worcester Center for Crafts, and ‘Expanded Sculpture 2’ at 119 Gallery
Gohlke looks at nature not as something that we gaze on from a distance but as the often defiant or disappointing environment where we live.
By RANDI HOPKINS | April 02, 2008

Political art

The know-nothing Bush administration makes one more attack on the arts. What you can do and why you should do it.
Tucked inside President Bush’s stinker of a 2009 budget are a series of proposals that would shamefully cut funding for the arts.
By EDITORIAL | February 13, 2008

Blues redux

The music’s other life
Demystifying the origins of the blues has become a cottage publishing industry.
By TED DROZDOWSKI | February 12, 2008

The long view

Bob Blumenthal’s history of jazz
Bob Blumenthal’s first book is out, and the wonder is that we didn’t get it sooner.
By JON GARELICK | January 29, 2008

Fabulous faker

Zhang Daqian’s imaginary landscapes, plus “A Tradition Redefined”
It was a sublime scene, even though the seven-foot-tall painting was cracked, threadbare in places, patched in others, and dulled by a gray-brown murk.
By GREG COOK | December 31, 2007

Gods and monsters — and David Hasselhoff

Art: 2007 in review
The Museum of Fine Arts did big things with Napoleon and Edward Hopper, pictures of prostitutes graced the walls of Boston’s two biggest art museums, and all hell broke loose when the Mooninites invaded.
By GREG COOK | December 17, 2007

Earmuffs for everyone

Celebrations
The story goes that 15-year-old Chester Greenwood was ice-skating when his ears got unbearably cold.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | November 28, 2007

Environmental issues

The Sound Works of Jed Speare
For the better part of the last 15 years, local artist, organizer, and composer Jed Speare has been an integral member of Boston’s artistic community.
By SUSANNA BOLLE | November 27, 2007

Have words, will travel

Judith Black’s tales take you on a journey
Black has written and performed stories about many unsung heroines, from Lucy Stone to Rosie the Riveter, from her grandmother to her mother-in-law.
By JOHNETTE RODRIGUEZ | September 13, 2007

Type Radio

Free extended MP3 mixes
The UK label Type Records specializes in avant-garde music with a soft, lyrical touch.
By SUSANNA BOLLE | July 30, 2007

Thinking inside the box

Joseph Cornell in Salem
Joseph Cornell was the quintessential odd duck.
By GREG COOK | April 24, 2007

An exile’s journey

María Magdalena Campos-Pons gets a retrospective in Indianapolis
Cuban artist María Magdalena Campos-Pons arrived at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art one December day in 1991.
By GREG COOK | February 20, 2007

Hand made

Loïs Mailou Jones and Clare Rojas
Eight years after Loïs Mailou Jones’s death, School of the Museum of Fine Arts curator Joanna Soltan is proclaiming her to be “among the most significant African-American artists of the 20th century.”
By GREG COOK | October 04, 2006

Face painting

Local artist, national finalist
When the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery reopens July 1, its collection will include a painting by South Portland artist Brett Bigbee.
By KIRSTEN TERRY | June 28, 2006

Beyond dollars and square feet

How will museum expansion in Massachusetts affect the way we see — and talk about — art?
When the Institute of Contemporary Art revealed specifics of the first 11 acquisitions for its permanent collection a month ago, I watched with particular interest.
By GREG COOK | April 05, 2006