This ‘Zen’ Motorcycle Still Inspires Philosophical Road-Trippers 50 Years Later
Robert M. Pirsig’s 1966 Honda Super Hawk Motorcycle. Jaclyn Nash / Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History Fifty years ago, America took a motorcycle ride that doubled as an exploration…
The ‘Penicillin Girls’ Made One of the World’s Most Life-Saving Discoveries Possible
A dried sample of the original Penicillium mold that Fleming discovered in 1928. Cade Martin For many people, a bloom of mold symbolizes failure. But this small medallion of mold,…
Tired of Diplomacy as Usual, This Congressman Flew Solo to Promote World Peace
Illustration by Scott Bakal In May 1951, Representative Peter F. Mack was in his southern Illinois district on what promised to be an unremarkable listening tour among his constituents. Amid…
Kids Send Thousands of Letters to Santa Each Year. Here’s What Really Happens to Them
The mailbox for letters to Santa Claus at the home of the Parsons family in Pennsylvania, on December 10, 2020 Ben Hasty / MediaNews Group / Reading Eagle via Getty…
How Museums Are Preserving and Celebrating Selena’s Legacy
Fans hold a photo of Selena during the ceremony honoring her with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2017. Tara Ziemba / AFP via Getty Images Selena…
How This Caribbean-Born Artist Became the Toast of 18th-Century France
Portrait of Adèle Papin Playing the Harp, oil on canvas, c. 1799. The 17-year-old sitter, the famously beautiful daughter of a prominent family, was later rumored to be Napoleon’s mistress.…
Feast Your Eyes on These Paintings From the Impressionist Era
In Still Life With Brioche, c. 1890, Victoria Dubourg Fantin-Latour captures the buttery crust of a signature pastry. Known for her tablescapes, she met her artist husband Henri when both…
How Tyrus Wong Spent 106 Years Making the World More Beautiful
Artist Tyrus Wong, with kites of his own design, at California’s Santa Monica Beach Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times / Getty Images Tyrus Wong arrived in San Francisco from…
This Artist Turned to Painting Animals in a Turbulent Historical Moment
Tiger, oil on canvas, 1912. The artist’s vibrant animal paintings were based on careful study, including hours spent observing big cats at the Berlin Zoo. Lenbachhaus Munich, Donation of the…
The Knotty Art of Printmaking
The First Knot (with heart-shaped shield), Albrecht Dürer, woodcut, 1506-1507. UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum Printmaking, which dates to ancient times, was long considered a craft,…