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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

Sunday

'Peanuts' First Black Character Franklin Turns 50

Cartoonist Charles Schulz debuted his comic strip Peanuts' first black character, Franklin, on July 31, 1968. Peanuts Worldwide LLC hide caption

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Peanuts Worldwide LLC

'Peanuts' First Black Character Franklin Turns 50

Fifty years ago, Charlie Brown lost his beach ball. It was gone forever, that is, until a boy named Franklin returned it to him.

'Peanuts' First Black Character Franklin Turns 50

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A Nigerian Photographer's Portraits Of The Mind

Abdul-Azeez Buba, 33, Borno, Nigeria: "Before Boko Haram attacked my community, I was a successful building engineer. I made a lot of money from constructing houses." Etinosa Yvonne Osayimwen/Courtesy of www.etinosayvonne.me hide caption

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Etinosa Yvonne Osayimwen/Courtesy of www.etinosayvonne.me

Goats and Soda

A Nigerian Photographer's Portraits Of The Mind

Etinosa Yvonne Osayimwen wants to show what's going on inside the heads of Nigerian survivors of violence. She layers their portraits with an image that reminds them of how their lives have changed.

Monday

Architect Unveils Design For Emanuel AME Church Memorial

An architectural rendering shows the proposed design for a memorial on the Emanuel AME Church grounds, showing the fellowship benches and names fountain as seen from Calhoun Street in Charleston, S.C. Image Courtesy Dbox for The Mother Emanuel Nine Memorial / Handel Architects hide caption

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Image Courtesy Dbox for The Mother Emanuel Nine Memorial / Handel Architects

National

Architect Unveils Design For Emanuel AME Church Memorial

The memorial honors the nine worshippers murdered by a white supremacist at the church in Charleston, S.C., in June 2015. It is designed by the architect behind the Sept. 11 memorial in New York City.

Thursday

Get Pumped: 100+ Fabulous Pairs Of Shoes Are On View In New York

These pointed-toe laced pumps, circa 1964, are made of green suede and grosgrain ribbon. Glenn Castellano/New-York Historical Society hide caption

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Glenn Castellano/New-York Historical Society

Get Pumped: 100+ Fabulous Pairs Of Shoes Are On View In New York

The Walk This Way exhibition features centuries of notable footwear from the personal collection of Stuart Weitzman — suffragists' boots, a lawyer's loafers, Cinderella's sandals and more.

Get Pumped: 100+ Fabulous Pairs Of Shoes Are On View In New York

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Sunday

The Joyful Cities Of Bodys Isek Kingelez

Ville Fantome. This construction has the largest footprint of the artist's cityscape dioramas. The skyscrapers represent different countries. For instance, the gold-and-silver tower is emblazoned with USA. Mark Abramson for NPR hide caption

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Mark Abramson for NPR

Goats and Soda

The Joyful Cities Of Bodys Isek Kingelez

Using everything from soda cans to matchboxes, the Congolese artist crafted utopian dioramas, now on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Saturday

Friday

Chicano Protests And Celebrity Portraits: George Rodriguez's Los Angeles

Los Angeles police arrest a Chicano student protester in the neighborhood of Boyle Heights in 1970. This image is seen on the cover to George Rodriguez's new book, Double Vision. George Rodriguez/all images courtesy of Hat & Beard Press hide caption

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George Rodriguez/all images courtesy of Hat & Beard Press

The Picture Show

Chicano Protests And Celebrity Portraits: George Rodriguez's Los Angeles

The photographer, now 80 years old, pointed his lens at rock stars and Hollywood icons — when he wasn't documenting social justice movements.

Chicano Protests And Celebrity Portraits: George Rodriguez's Los Angeles

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Tuesday

Smithsonian Reveals Winning Design For New Native American Veterans Memorial

The National Museum of the American Indian announced its winning design for the National Native American Veterans Memorial. National Museum of the American Indian hide caption

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National Museum of the American Indian

National

Smithsonian Reveals Winning Design For New Native American Veterans Memorial

Harvey Pratt's Warriors' Circle of Honor will incorporate a large, upright stainless steel circle above a stone drum and a walkway with intricate carvings of the five military seals.

Smithsonian Reveals Winning Design For New Native American Veterans Memorial

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Saturday

Friday

Crying Toddler On Widely Shared 'Time' Cover Was Not Separated From Mother

A 2-year-old Honduran girl cries as an official searches her mother in McAllen, Texas, near the U.S.-Mexico border, earlier this month. For many, the image has become indelibly associated with a Trump administration policy that for weeks separated migrant children from their parents — but the girl's father says she was not separated from her mother. John Moore/Getty Images hide caption

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John Moore/Getty Images

Media

Crying Toddler On Widely Shared 'Time' Cover Was Not Separated From Mother

The image has been tied to a border policy separating migrant families. But in this case, daughter and mother were detained together — and the White House says it's proof the controversy is overblown.

Thursday

This Jacket Caused A Racket: What, Exactly, Does Melania Trump Not Care About?

First lady Melania Trump leaves Joint Base Andrews in Maryland wearing a jacket with the words "I REALLY DON'T CARE. DO U?" after her visit Thursday with migrant children who are being detained at the U.S.-Mexico border. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Analysis

Analysis

This Jacket Caused A Racket: What, Exactly, Does Melania Trump Not Care About?

The first lady's wardrobe choice during a trip to visit detained migrant children raises eyebrows and generates theories about whom the message was meant for.

Saturday

'Old In Art School': An MFA Inspires A Memoir Of Age
Samantha Clark/NPR

Author Interviews

'Old In Art School': An MFA Inspires A Memoir Of Age

Upon retiring from Princeton University at age 64, historian Nell Irvin Painter decided to pursue a second career in visual art among students a third of her age.

'Old In Art School': An MFA Inspires A Memoir Of Age

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Friday

Unidentified Thief Caught On Camera Stealing $45,000 Banksy Print From Exhibit

The Toronto Police Service released this image of the Banksy print Trolley Hunters, apparently stolen from an exhibit Sunday. Banksy/Toronto Police Service hide caption

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Banksy/Toronto Police Service

Unidentified Thief Caught On Camera Stealing $45,000 Banksy Print From Exhibit

Toronto police say Trolley Hunters was stolen from the unauthorized show Sunday — and they've released surveillance video backing it up. That hasn't quieted conspiracy theorists, though.