Art
June 9, 2025

How an $18 Throw Pillow Led to the Discovery of a Famously Stolen Painting

One night in June 1978, while Robert Stoddard was peacefully sleeping, thieves were sneaking through his 36-acre Worcester estate. By the time they escaped, they’d gathered 12 paintings—worth about $10 million today—across the residence, many of which still haven’t been recovered. Once he woke up the next morning, Stoddard quickly realized he had been the victim of what would become one of the art world’s most infamous heists.

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Art
June 9, 2025

Illustrator Transforms Fields of Grass Into Peacefully Surreal Worlds

Once she began feeling restricted by the confines of her studio, Mul Gil Kim hatched a rather ambitious plan: embarking upon a worldwide journey all by herself. Over the course of 673 days, the Korean artist traveled to 46 countries across five continents, producing more than 400 artworks that responded to daily reflections and discoveries made during her adventures.

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Resources
June 8, 2025

You Can Take Over 130 Free Classes at Harvard, and Here’s How

Harvard is one of the most competitive universities in the United States, boasting an elite reputation and coveted academics that are admired around the world. Even so, there’s something not many know about this prestigious school: they offer more than 130 courses all for free. Available through the online learning platform edX, these classes span everything from political science, human anatomy, and calculus, to public health, musical history, and chemistry.

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Art History
June 7, 2025

Watch Two Art Historians Demystify Hieronymus Bosch’s ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’

There are few other artworks as dense, imaginative, and, at times, preposterous as Hieronymus Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights. It’s perhaps for these reasons that the non-profit and educational resource Smarthistory dedicated its newest video to the renowned triptych. Across fifteen minutes, Smarthistory hosts Beth Harris and Steven Zucker mine the sprawling composition of its symbolism, tracing the narrative thread that binds each of the triptych’s three panels.

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My Modern Met

Celebrating creativity and promoting a positive culture by spotlighting the best sides of humanity—from the lighthearted and fun to the thought-provoking and enlightening.