A Dutch Master’s Lessons in How to Love Again

Johannes Vermeer Showed Me What Intimacy Really Looks Like

Ten years ago, I had a life-changing experience with art. I’d been going through a vicious divorce that year, struggling with depression, and frankly was not doing well in any area of my life. A powerful impulse to escape, to put an ocean behind me, took hold one Thursday afternoon. I cashed out my Frequent Flyer miles that evening, and arrived in Amsterdam a day later.

I’m a poet; I don’t have an art background. But I knew that Rembrandt was probably my favorite painter, and I went into the …

by Michael White | March 27, 2015

Is America Still the Home of the Brave?

Tracing a National Tradition from the American Revolutionaries and Amelia Earhart to Graffiti Artists and Venture Capitalists

March 27, 2015

On January 14, 2015, the world waited with bated breath as Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson came over the rim of a notoriously steep section of the rock known as …

Are Artists Like Fine Wine?

Aging Means Getting Older, Wiser, and Maybe Even More Creative

by Sarah Rothbard | March 25, 2015

What inspires artists as they grow older? Do they approach their work in new ways? Do they see the world differently? Painter Charles Garabedian, muralist Judithe Hernández, and musicologist Karen …

What Do Grandma Moses and Michelangelo Have in Common?

One Peaked Late. The Other Peaked Early. Both Were Artistic Geniuses.

March 20, 2015

“Creativity takes courage,” at least according to Henri Matisse. If that’s the case, then at what point in their lives are artists most creative? When they’re young, bold, and taking …

Screenwriter Scott Alexander

A Fan of Oatmeal, Jazz, Movie Popcorn, and Killing Snails

March 19, 2015

Scott Alexander and his writing partner, Larry Karaszewski, have written the screenplays for the movies Ed Wood, The People vs. Larry Flynt, Man on the Moon, and most recently, Big …

The Views That Didn’t Make L.A. Famous

I Got to Know My City By Putting Its Underappreciated Landscapes on Canvas

by Barbara A. Thomason | March 16, 2015

As a native Angeleno, I’ve always felt that L.A. is rarely seen for all of its history, diversity, and character. Tourists only visit Venice Beach, Hollywood, and Universal City, maybe …

Are Replicas Changing the Way We Experience Art?

Precise Digital Reproductions Allow More People to Own and View Masterpieces, Minus the Work’s Soul

My Museum’s Got More Picassos Than Yours

What’s the Secret to a Successful Museum?

That Matisse in the Pantry? The Nazis Stole It.

Seventy Years after World War II, Europe is Grappling with History, Restitution and Thousands of Pieces of Nazi-Looted Art

Just Leave That Botticelli Near the Bike Rack

"Inside | Out" Makes Art Inescapable by Placing Major Works on the Street. Literally.

Get More Zócalo