Painter Romaine Brooks Challenged Conventions In Shades Of Gray

Eggs Become Art To Celebrate Life’s Rebirth
Cultures around the world decorate eggs to celebrate spring. Modern artists continue those traditions, reflecting the fragility and beauty of life.

Ceci N’Est Pas Ice Cream (Actually It’s Lard And Food Coloring)
A photo series exposes the cheats food stylists use to make dishes look so scrumptious in glossy magazines and cookbooks. Roast meats are glazed with motor oil, and milk is replaced with glue.

How Can Satellite Images Unlock Secrets To Our Hidden Past?
Sarah Parcak is a pioneer in space archaeology. She describes her method of using satellite images to locate lost ancient sites.

Robert Mapplethorpe’s Provocative Art Finds A New Home In LA
The photographer, who died in 1989, was as controversial as he was celebrated. Now, two LA museums are exhibiting their massive joint acquisition of his archives.

Meet Alphonse Bertillon, The Man Behind The Modern Mug Shot
French criminologist Alphonse Bertillon wasn’t the first to introduce mug shots to police, but he standardized how they were taken and added the profile shot to zero in on a suspect’s unique features.

Some Artists Are Seeing Red Over A New ‘Black’
It’s not a paint or a pigment. It’s not even really black. But the “material” known as Vantablack is causing a stir after renowned sculptor Anish Kapoor bought exclusive rights to use it in art.

Encore: Housing Costs Inspire London Builders To Create Underground Mansions
High housing costs are encouraging Londoners to build down instead of up. They’re digging out basements to create underground mansions. This story originally aired on Jan. 4, 2016 on Morning Edition.

Originals: How To Spot One, How To Be One
Adam Grant, author of Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World, tells us what makes an original, how parents can nurture originality in their children, and its potential downside.

Avant Guard: At LA’s Broad Museum, A New Approach To Protecting Art
Contemporary art isn’t easy, and the new museum’s creators wanted first-time visitors to feel welcome. So The Broad’s guards act as friendly ambassadors — ready to engage with visitors about the art.

Meet The Architect Who Helped Bring Modernism To The Masses
Nearly 60 years ago, William Krisel did everything he could to break the monotony of tract housing. In the process, he proved that Modernism could be both livable and affordable.

Haunting Photo Of Migrants Takes World Press Photo’s Top Prize
The winning image, taken by Australian photographer Warren Richardson, shows a man passing a baby through a razor-wire fence at the Hungarian-Serbian border.

This House Is A Work Of Art, So The Owner Is Donating It To A Museum
This dramatic home — which you might recognize from The Big Lebowski — clings to the side of a canyon above Los Angeles. It’s being given to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

New Manufacturer Gives Oscar Statue A Minor Makeover
The New York-based company, Polich Tallix Fine Art Foundry, has taken over production from the Chicago-based R.S. Owens & Co., which had made the statues since 1982.

‘No Place For Discontent’: A History Of The Family Dinner In America
The dining room, with the dining table at its center, didn’t catch on in America before the late 1700s. These rooms — and the family meals held in them — became a place to cultivate social values.

Kodak To Revive Storied Super 8 Camera
Kodak is reviving its storied Super 8 camera as a digital-analog hybrid. NPR talks about what made the 8 mm film format such an appealing one, what its return might mean, and whether this relaunch can be successful for Kodak.

Meet The Most Pampered Vegetables In America
The Chef’s Garden is a farm in Ohio that feels like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory of vegetables. It grows cutting-edge varieties for chefs like cucamelons and eggplants the size of a pea.

Meet ‘The Tenth,’ A Slick New Magazine For Queer Black Men
Now on its third issue, The Tenth wants the fashion industry to stop seeing queer blacks folks as “the flavor of the month.”