NPR - 9/9/2010 12:13 PM
- The Two-Way
The most expensive, and arguably the most beautiful book ever, John James Audubon's "Birds of America" is to be auctioned off.
NPR - 8/25/2010 9:00 PM
- Fine Art
NPR's Susan Stamberg delves into the history of Victorian England's fascination with "blue and white" -- collectible Chinese porcelain, showcased in a new exhibition at the Freer Gallery in Washington, D.C.
NPR - 8/24/2010 9:00 AM
- Fine Art
French artist Henri Matisse is probably best known for his decorative and colorful paintings, especially nudes and still lifes. But a show at the Museum of Modern Art, called "Matisse: Radical Invention," deals with a more experimental period in Matisse's life. Critic Lloyd Schwartz says the show allows viewers to see Matisse's growth as an artist.
NPR - 8/23/2010 12:00 PM
- Art & Design
The city of Philadelphia is known for many things -- cheese steaks, the Liberty Bell, the Rocky statue. But now, the City of Brotherly Love can boast one more sight to see -- colorful murals painted by locals are transforming Philadelphia's neighborhoods into outdoor art museums.
NPR - 8/12/2010 9:00 PM
- Fine Art
NPR's Susan Stamberg takes a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where an exhibition tracks the evolution of the American woman through her sartorial choices -- from the corset-bound 19th century ladies who curtsied in imported gowns, to the sirens who lit up the silver screen in slinky ensembles during the 1930s.
NPR - 8/9/2010 8:35 AM
- Fine Art
The Dostoevskaya station, meant to honor the author of Crime and Punishment, has some Russian psychologists concerned that murals of violent scenes will play with riders' minds.
NPR - 8/5/2010 9:00 PM
- Pop Culture
As curator of the Museum of Bad Art outside Boston, Michael Frank stays on the lookout for atrocious acrylics and inferior oils. He frequents garage sales and thrift stores -- and drives extra slowly on trash night.
NPR - 8/3/2010 9:00 AM
- Music Interviews
After writing "We Will Rock You" and touring around the world as the lead guitarist in Queen, Brian May made an unusual career choice: He got his Ph.D. in astrophysics. May explains how Queen developed its distinctive sound and explains his fascination with stereoscopic photographs taken in the 1850s.
NPR - 7/31/2010 11:57 AM
- Photography
It's an irresistible story. A building painter in Fresno, Calif., announces negatives he bought for $45 at a yard sale were taken by Ansel Adams. But the renowned photographer's family thinks the story is too good to be true, and the heat's on to prove the negatives' authenticity.
NPR - 7/29/2010 1:45 PM
- Art & Design
Thomas Day was a successful North Carolina furniture builder and woodworker in the decades before the Civil War. He was also of mixed-race heritage -- and he appears to have owned slaves. A new book and exhibition tell his story.
NPR - 7/24/2010 9:01 PM
- Fine Art
Have we been looking at the wrong version of Thomas Eakins' "The Gross Clinic" all along? The Philadelphia Museum of Art is restoring the painting.
NPR - 7/23/2010 10:00 AM
- Arts & Life
Why do we enjoy things like bitter foods and horror films? And are we the only species that likes art? Paul Bloom, professor of psychology at Yale University and author of How Pleasure Works, explains our penchant for art and why we find some unpleasant things so enjoyable.
NPR - 7/17/2010 9:00 PM
- Architecture
Earlier this year, Vanity Fair asked a group of architects, critics and academics to name the most important architectural works of the past three decades. Now, the results are in.
NPR - 7/17/2010 5:00 AM
- Remembrances
Harvey Pekar died this week. He was a frequent guest on Weekend Edition over the years, and he was well-known to millions of fans through the comics and graphic novels he wrote.
NPR - 7/12/2010 9:00 AM
- Fine Art
Wittman founded the FBI's Art Crime Team and has tracked down more than $225 million worth of stolen art and cultural property -- including a $36 million self-portrait by Rembrandt. Wittman describes the heists in his new memoir, Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures.
