Art & Archaeology

Watching "The Gilded Age"? Behind the Real Artist Who Paints Gladys's Portrait

John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) was high society's favorite portrait artist. But his oeuvre comes with a few surprises.

Aug 28 •

Van Gogh's "Starry Night" Up Close

"Just as we take the train to get to Tarascon or Rouen, we take death to reach a star."

Aug 13 •

The Most Hated Artists in the World?

Nothing divides museum-goers like Abstract Expressionists. How did they become a global phenomenon, and what did the CIA have to do with it?

Aug 7 •

Crossroads Roundup: Ed Sheeran's Painting Career, Extraordinary Maya Burial, and Egypt's First Ruler

This month's news in art, archaeology, culture, and more.

Aug 1 •

Last Call at the Café: Manet's Final Years

In the last installment of our series, we examine Édouard Manet's work at the end of his life.

Jul 29 •

A "War on Beauty": Manet and the Impressionists

Manet refused to participate in the First Impressionist Exhibition. Nevertheless, his name was inexorably tied to the Impressionists and their radical…

Jul 24 •

Édouard Manet in the Shadow of War

All was well at the Café Guerbois, until Manet, Degas, and their friends heard the news: France had declared war on Prussia.

Jul 18 •

Art Doesn't Have to Be Snobby

Exclusivity is the thief of joy.

Jul 16 •

Manet Breaks the Fourth Wall

After the 1865 Salon, Édouard Manet befriends a young group of painters with wild ideas, and finds himself again at the center of controversy.

Jul 11 •

Cézanne Summer!

As the Cézanne 2025 festival kicks off in Aix-en-Provence, let's look back on the artist's most favorite place in the world, and the summers he spent…

Jul 9 •

"Some Wretched Frenchman"

Édouard Manet shows "Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe" at the Salon des Refusés, and becomes the most notorious painter in Paris.

Jul 5 •

What On Earth is Going On With the Art Market?

As we look back on the most expensive paintings ever sold, it's worth examining the current state of the industry, and the "art-as-investment…

Jul 2 •

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