Art & Design

Willem de Kooning's Woman — Ochre (oil on canvas, 1954-55) has been missing for 30 years.

Arts

Where's This Painting? 30 Years After Its Theft, Nobody Knows

2:01pm November 27, 2015

by Vanessa Barchfield

On the day after Thanksgiving 1985, a man and a woman walked into the University of Arizona art museum and walked out with Willem de Kooning's Woman — Ochre. An empty frame still hangs in its place.

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Baseball player Willie Mays, singer Barbra Streisand and politician Shirley Chisholm will all be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom this year.

Here Are The 2015 Medal Of Freedom Winners, In Their Own Voices

5:17pm November 23, 2015

by Colin Dwyer

Athletes, artists and activists crowd the list of winners of the nation's highest civilian honor. Before they get their medals Tuesday, get to know them — in sight and sound.

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"Wide Hips" in India. Janet Echelman's first sculpture.

Arts

How Did A Mishap Lead To An Artist's Best Work?

2:10pm November 20, 2015

by NPR/TED Staff

Sculptor Janet Echelman found her voice as an artist when her paints went missing — which forced her to look to an unorthodox new art material.

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One of the main attractions in "The Edible Monument" exhibition at the Getty Center in Los Angeles is a nine-foot long sugar palace showing the Greek sorceress Circe meeting Odysseus' men.

Arts

Let them Eat Sugar Sculpture! The Getty Celebrates Edible Table Art

1:58pm November 20, 2015

by Abbie Fentress Swanson

The party animals of Europe made festive, elaborate centerpieces from food from medieval times through the 18th century. Among the most notable of their table art traditions is the sugar monument.

A Christian holds a crucifix made in the Dogon style in Bugudunjuru, Mali in 1996.

Photographer Abbas Chronicles 'What People Do In The Name Of God'

10:15pm November 19, 2015

Abbas became interested in religion while covering the Iranian Revolution. "I could see that the waves of passion [that were] raised by the Revolution were not going to stop at the borders," he says.

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Arts

Correction: World's Largest Jigsaw Puzzle

4:25pm November 19, 2015

On Wednesday's program, NPR misidentified the gigantic jigsaw puzzle. We incorrectly stated it was a work called "Wildnerness" by Adrian Chesterton, when in fact it is called "Wildlife" by Adrian Chesterman.

Arts

World's Largest Jigsaw Puzzle 'Wildlife' Features Fantasy Forest

4:03pm November 19, 2015

NPR talks to the man who created the painting of the world's largest jigsaw puzzle, Adrian Chesterman. It has 33,600 pieces, and when completed it is more than 18 by 5 feet.

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A man wears a shirt with the "Peace for Paris" symbol, near the French embassy in Berlin on Saturday, a day after the deadly attacks in Paris.

Circle Of Hope: How A Raw Reaction Became A Sign Of Solidarity

6:36pm November 14, 2015

by NPR Staff

When Jean Jullien learned of the Paris attacks, the French artist dashed off a pen-and-ink mash-up of the Eiffel Tower with a peace sign. That symbol has since become a worldwide icon of the tragedy.

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Tara Donovan's installation in the "Wonder" exhibit is made of hundreds of thousands of index cards.

Arts

This Art Exhibit Makes You 'Wonder' — And That's The Whole Point

6:05pm November 13, 2015

by Elizabeth Blair

Nine major contemporary artists have created massive, otherworldly installations to mark the reopening of the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C.

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During his decades-spanning career Irving Penn photographed everything from fashion models to frozen food. Above, Ball Dress by Olivier Theyskens for Nina Ricci, New York, 2007.

Arts

For Irving Penn, Perfect Portraiture Wasn't Just For Fashion Models

1:37pm November 10, 2015

by Susan Stamberg

Penn created many of the stark, glossy pictures of stick-thin fashion models that appeared in Vogue. He also made portraits of nudes, celebrities and also everyday objects, like cigarettes.

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