The Smithsonian Celebrates 175 Years  
• September 16, 2021

In 1846 — the year the Liberty Bell was cracked and James K. Polk was a president — a quintessential feature of our nation’s capital and of our young republic’s life […]

Van Gogh Show Dazzles
• August 12, 2021

We’ve been hearing the hype about “Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience.” It certainly sounds appealing: an interactive visual extravaganza — light projections, virtual reality — on the life and works […]

Philip Bermingham: The Power of Photography
• May 17, 2021

Some of the people photographed by Philip Bermingham — Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip with George H. W. and Barbara Bush, for instance — are figures known the world over. […]

DC Artswatch: NBM, Mosaic, Ken Cen, Studio Conservatory, Hirshhorn
• December 10, 2020

The National Building Museum, housed in the mammoth 1887 Pension Building at 401 F St. NW, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this week with a number of free online programs.

Visual Arts Preview: Social Distancing Edition
• September 17, 2020

This will be a limited and bittersweet season for the arts, but after six months of pure bitterness, this writer will happily take what he can get. The fall arts […]

The Power of Art, Right Now
• May 20, 2020

I have been dreading this column. I have been scared and slightly nauseated by the prospect of trying to write about art right now. I’ll forgo the tediously crafted litany […]

Hirshhorn Premieres Marcel Duchamp Documentary
• December 27, 2019

A new documentary about revolutionary 20th-century painter, sculptor and conceptual artist Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968), “Marcel Duchamp: The Art of the Possible,” was premiered at the Hirshhorn Museum on Nov. 23.

Holiday Macabre: ‘The Woman in Black’
• December 18, 2019

The holidays may seem an unlikely time to enjoy a Gothic ghost story. Why relish in horror during the season of light? But there’s something about a bit of the […]

Holiday Arts Preview: Visual Arts
• November 20, 2019

Chiura Obata: American Modern Smithsonian American Art Museum Opens Nov. 27 Born in Okayama, Japan, Chiura Obata (1885–1975) immigrated to San Francisco in 1903. In 1942, when World War II […]

Kennedy Center Opens the Reach With Parade, Festival (photos)
• September 9, 2019

Overlooking the Potomac River, the new campus is the setting for three matching white concrete-and-glass buildings with more than 130,000 square feet of space for artists and performances.