Science & Tech Can Graphene, a One-Atom Thick ‘Wonder Material,’ Keep Precious Artworks From Fading? Scientists Say It Shows Promise A transparent layer can retard UV rays and moisture, but some conservators worry about application and suitability for aging oil paint. By Menachem Wecker, Oct 8, 2021
Shows & Exhibitions 500 Years Ago, These Artists Were Household Names. Here’s What Their Fall From Favor Suggests About the Fickleness of Art History An exhibition at the Worcester Art Museum links one collector's journey to bigger questions about who becomes famous, and why. By Menachem Wecker, Jun 8, 2021
Pop Culture 7 of the Greatest Long-Lost Art Historical Masterpieces That Were Found in Attics and Basements—Ranked Who doesn't love a great find? By Menachem Wecker, May 3, 2021
On View Ever Wonder What a 17th-Century Dutch Canal Smells Like? No? Well a New Show Invites You to Sniff the Odors of Art History Anyway The show also presents visitors with some nice smells. Promise! By Menachem Wecker, Mar 16, 2021
Shows & Exhibitions What Is the Role of a Museum in One of Polarized America’s Most Purple States? Oklahoma Contemporary Offers a Case Study The opening may be delayed, but Oklahoma Contemporary reflects big changes and ambitions in the Oklahoma City. By Menachem Wecker, Mar 17, 2020
Art World 10 Beginner’s Tips for How to See—and Understand—the Rich Complexities of Byzantine Textiles We got some tips from Elizabeth Dospel Williams, a curator at Dumbarton Oaks. By Menachem Wecker, Feb 12, 2020
On View Alfred Jarry’s ‘King Ubu’ Inspired Everyone From the Dadaists to the Beatles—and His Fascist Buffoon Is Now More Relevant Than Ever Without the 19th-century French firebrand, we may never have had Surrealism, Dada, or $120,000 bananas. By Menachem Wecker, Jan 27, 2020
Shows & Exhibitions Was John Singer Sargent a Virtuoso Draughtsman? A New York Exhibition Makes the Case—But Fails to Convince The Morgan Library & Museum's latest exhibition argues that the medium is an overlooked strength for the artist. We aren't so sure. By Menachem Wecker, Oct 23, 2019
Art World In Salt Lake City, a New Museum Director Is Attempting to Bridge the Gulf Between Contemporary Art and Mormonism Laura Hurtado, a Mormon from California, took the reigns as director of the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art earlier this year. By Menachem Wecker, Oct 3, 2019
Art World ‘Fine Art Is Good Medicine’: How Hospitals Around the World Are Experimenting With the Healing Power of Art Clinics are increasingly making art a serious part of patient care. By Menachem Wecker, Jul 29, 2019
Art World False Attributions Have Beleaguered Tintoretto’s Reputation. Three New Museum Shows Hope to Change That Several works at the three Tintoretto shows at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, feature corrected attributions. By Menachem Wecker, Mar 21, 2019
Art World The Norton Museum Is Adjacent to the Third-Richest City in America. Can a Major Expansion Make It More Than a Playground for the Wealthy? After a $110 million capital campaign, the museum opens its doors and hopes to draw in a new audience. By Menachem Wecker, Feb 14, 2019
Politics ‘We’re All in Freefall’: Museum Workers Scramble for Cash Amid the Longest US Government Shutdown in History Employees of federal museums are looking for part-time work, anxiously checking their bank balances, and fretting about what's to come. By Menachem Wecker, Jan 18, 2019
People How Barbara and Aaron Levine Became Two of America’s Most Committed Collectors of Conceptual Art The Washington, D.C.-based couple, who just donated a trove of works by Marcel Duchamp to the Hirshhorn, trace their evolution as collectors. By Menachem Wecker, Dec 14, 2018
Art World ‘I’m an Experiment’: Why the Israel Museum Hired Ido Bruno, a Tech-Savvy Designer With No Institutional Experience, to Be Its New Director He hopes to court digital donations from Israel's high-tech Silicon Wadi. By Menachem Wecker, Aug 27, 2018
