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Art & Design NPR explores the visual arts including design, photography, sculpture, and architecture. Interviews, commentary, and audio. Subscribe to the RSS feed.

Art & Design

Wednesday

William Christenberry, Artist Whose Muse Was Rural Alabama, Dies At 80

Artist William Christenberry at his home in Washington, D.C., in 2015. Christenberry died Monday at the age of 80. Greg Kahn/GRAIN for The Washington Post via Getty Images hide caption

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Greg Kahn/GRAIN for The Washington Post via Getty Images

The Two-Way

William Christenberry, Artist Whose Muse Was Rural Alabama, Dies At 80

The photographer, who also painted and sculpted, returned to the place of his youth every summer, chronicling the lives of old buildings and roadside businesses as they changed with age.

Christenberry explains his fascination with Sprott church

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In A First, Spain's Prado Museum Puts The Spotlight On A Female Artist

Still life with Flowers, Gilt Goblets, Coins and Shells was created by Clara Peeters in 1612. Peeters hid small self portraits in the goblet on the right. Staatliche Kunsthalle hide caption

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Staatliche Kunsthalle

Parallels

In A First, Spain's Prado Museum Puts The Spotlight On A Female Artist

Clara Peeters, a 17th century Flemish painter, hid tiny self-portraits in her still life paintings. She wasn't a household name, then or now, and just 40 or so of her paintings have survived.

In A First, Spain's Prado Museum Puts The Spotlight On A Female Artist

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Friday

Matisse And Diebenkorn 'Meet' At Last, At The Baltimore Museum Of Art

Untitled (Woman Seated in a Chair), by Richard Diebenkorn, 1963 Thomas E. Benesch Memorial Collection, BMA/The Richard Diebenkorn Foundation hide caption

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Thomas E. Benesch Memorial Collection, BMA/The Richard Diebenkorn Foundation

Fine Art

Matisse And Diebenkorn 'Meet' At Last, At The Baltimore Museum Of Art

Henri Matisse and Richard Diebenkorn never met in real life, but a new exhibit feels like a conversation between the two artists. Across decades and continents, Matisse influenced Deibenkorn's work.

Matisse And Diebenkorn 'Meet' At Last, At The Baltimore Museum Of Art

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Sunday

How Technology Helped Martin Luther Change Christianity

Minneapolis Institute of Art curator Tom Rassieur stands in a gallery showcasing objects honoring the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther posting his 95 Theses against the Catholic Church. Lisa Burke/Courtesy of Lisa Burke hide caption

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Lisa Burke/Courtesy of Lisa Burke

Religion

How Technology Helped Martin Luther Change Christianity

As the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's 95 Theses approaches, an exhibit shows how Luther's treatise against the Catholic Church spread, before the advent of modern communications.

How Technology Helped Martin Luther Change Christianity

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Friday

Photography

Remembering Ruth Gruber, Who Photographed The 20th Century's Darkest Moments

The photographer and author documented life in Nazi Germany and in Josef Stalin's gulags, as well as the arrival of Jews in Israel. She died Thursday at the age of 105.

Remembering Ruth Gruber, Who Photographed The 20th Century's Darkest Moments

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Thursday

Before His Name Was Known At All, Seuss Put Creatures On The Wall
Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. All Rights Reserved

Fine Art

Before His Name Was Known At All, Seuss Put Creatures On The Wall

Decades before he became a beloved children's book author, Theodor Geisel (better known as Dr. Seuss) created a series of whimsical sculptures he called "Unorthodox Taxidermy."

Before His Name Was Known At All, Seuss Put Creatures On The Wall

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Decades Later, Salvador Dalí's Decadent Dream Dishes Are Awakened

Salvador Dalí's dinner parties were legendary for their opulence and bizarre fare. In 1973, Dalí immortalized these freakish feasts in the book Les Diners de Gala. Taschen hide caption

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Taschen

The Salt

Decades Later, Salvador Dalí's Decadent Dream Dishes Are Awakened

Food and surrealism make bizarre bedfellows in Les Diners de Gala, first published in 1973. Now, you can get a reprint of those recipes and illustrations — and a peek into his legendary banquets.

Saturday

Thursday

Sunday

The Art Of The Vote: Who Designs The Ballots We Cast?

An American expat in Germany marks the Maryland ballot for the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Sean Gallup/Getty Images hide caption

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Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Politics

The Art Of The Vote: Who Designs The Ballots We Cast?

Beyond party affiliation, beyond opinions on candidates, there's another factor that influences our vote: the very ballot on which it's cast. Here's a glimpse at how that ballot gets designed.

The Art Of The Vote: Who Designs The Ballots We Cast?

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Friday

Syria's Leading Sculptor Keeps Creating In A Time Of Destruction

Sculptor Mustafa Ali in the Old City of Damascus, at his office, which used to be a synagogue. (Right) His sculptures, made from bronze, wood, marble and other materials, are popular among collectors in the Middle East and Europe. Peter Kenyon/NPR hide caption

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Peter Kenyon/NPR

Parallels

Syria's Leading Sculptor Keeps Creating In A Time Of Destruction

Mustafa Ali hunkers down in Damascus' Old City and sculpts figures that have made him famous in the Mideast and Europe. But his work has grown darker as the war grinds on.

Syria's Leading Sculptor Keeps Creating In A Time Of Destruction

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Monday

How Does Christoph Niemann Make Art Look Effortless? With A Lot Of Work
Christoph Niemann/Sunday Sketching/Courtesy of Abrams

Author Interviews

How Does Christoph Niemann Make Art Look Effortless? With A Lot Of Work

The artist and illustrator says that behind every fun, whimsical sketch there are "100 very boring, unsexy steps." Niemann describes his creative process in his new book Sunday Sketching.

How Does Christoph Niemann Make Art Look Effortless? With A Lot Of Work

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With GPS And Graph Paper, Farmers Find A-maze-ing Ways To Bring In Cash

The theme of Mike's Maze this year is "See America," which commemorates the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service. Courtesy of Warner Farm hide caption

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Courtesy of Warner Farm

The Salt

With GPS And Graph Paper, Farmers Find A-maze-ing Ways To Bring In Cash

Using technology and math, farmers are creating elaborate corn maze designs, from replicas of fine art to Internet kitties. Labyrinths help make ends meet — they yield more cash per acre than crops.

Photography Writ Large: The Monumental Art Of Thomas Struth

Struth photographed Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in 2011. "They were actually quite nice together," he says of the experience. (Pictured: Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh, Windsor Castle 2011) Thomas Struth/Promised Gift to the National Gallery of Art from the Collection of Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker hide caption

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Thomas Struth/Promised Gift to the National Gallery of Art from the Collection of Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker

Photography

Photography Writ Large: The Monumental Art Of Thomas Struth

Struth is known for massive pictures of architecture and people looking at art in museums. But a few years ago, a commission to photograph the British royals pushed him out of his comfort zone.

Photography Writ Large: The Monumental Art Of Thomas Struth

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Friday

Art Star Ragnar Kjartansson Moves People To Tears, Over And Over

Ragnar Kjartansson's Woman in E takes place in a circular room built from a gold tinsel curtain. Unlike many of his works, Woman in E features real people, rather than films. Cathy Carver/Courtesy of the artist, Luhring Augustine (New York) and i8 Gallery (Reykjavík) hide caption

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Cathy Carver/Courtesy of the artist, Luhring Augustine (New York) and i8 Gallery (Reykjavík)

Fine Art

Art Star Ragnar Kjartansson Moves People To Tears, Over And Over

The artist's repeating performance films can bring on a sort of catharsis, and people often cry after seeing a few cycles. "He's a huge deal," says one curator. "He's been ... rocking the art world."

Art Star Ragnar Kjartansson Moves People To Tears, Over And Over

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