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

Art & Design

Friday

Victor "Marka27" Quiñonez is among the first group of artists to be commissioned as part of Boston's Un-Monument initiative. The artist is seen here working on his large-scale public artwork "Souledad," located in Boston's South End.
Lee Hopkins/The Boston Art Commission, Mayor’s Office of Arts & Culture, City of Boston. hide caption

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Lee Hopkins/The Boston Art Commission, Mayor’s Office of Arts & Culture, City of Boston.

Friday

Hailey Welch, also known as the "hawk tuah girl" who some argue is meme from the "zynternet" via Tim and Dee TV/YouTube hide caption

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via Tim and Dee TV/YouTube

Wednesday

This circa 1846 daguerreotype of Dolley Madison, made by John Plumbe Jr., was purchased for $456,000 at auction in June. Sotheby's hide caption

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Sotheby's

The Smithsonian acquires the earliest known portrait of an American first lady

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Thursday

Judy Baca and artists working on the expansion of The Great Wall. Iman Maani/NPR hide caption

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Iman Maani/NPR

A half-mile long mural in Los Angeles celebrates the history of California

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Saturday

A century-old wrestling competition in Chittagong, Bangladesh, known as Abdul Jabbar's Boli Kheladraws thousands of spectators annually. In this picture from April 24, 2023, two wrestlers go at it on a sandy stage in front of a street audience. Sanchayan Chowdhury hide caption

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Sanchayan Chowdhury

Saturday

Bruce Onobrakpeya, a towering figure in modernism, in his home/studio in Lagos, Nigeria. At 91, he has his first Smithsonian solo show. Manny Jefferson/for NPR hide caption

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Manny Jefferson/for NPR

Pioneering Nigerian artist Bruce Onobrakpeya opens an exhibition at the Smithsonian

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Sunday

A man walks past the entrance of the Kunsthaus Zurich on March 14, 2023. The museum is investigating the provenance of paintings over a possible connection to Nazi looting. Arnd Wiegmann/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Arnd Wiegmann/AFP via Getty Images

Sunday

Sunday

A display of some of the pre-Columbian antiquities, which comprise the "Repatriation and Its Impact" exhibit at The Parthenon museum in Nashville. The artifacts will be returned to Mexico, when the exhibit concludes. Victoria Metzger/Centennial Park Conservancy hide caption

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Victoria Metzger/Centennial Park Conservancy

How one Nashville museum has embraced the repatriation of stolen artifacts

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Tuesday

The Banksy Museum in New York City features replicas of 160 original Banksys. This one is called "Good Doctor," and was originally stenciled in New York in 2010. Isabella Gomez Sarmiento/NPR hide caption

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Isabella Gomez Sarmiento/NPR

Saturday

Monday

Slick Rick is known for his eyepatch and the crowns he often wears. Janette Beckman/Courtesy of Fahey/Klein Gallery hide caption

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Janette Beckman/Courtesy of Fahey/Klein Gallery

The history of hip-hop, told through bling

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Tuesday

Courtroom sketch artists Elizabeth Williams (from left), Jane Rosenberg and Christine Cornell wait to enter the Manhattan courthouse where former President Donald Trump's trial is occurring on April 25. Jefferson Siegel/AP hide caption

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Jefferson Siegel/AP

Sunday