United States

Fountain in David H. Koch Plaza on Fifth Avenue at the entrance of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Manhattan, New York, NY
The Best Art Museum in All 50 U.S. States 2024

Wherever you go in the United States of America, you aren't very far away from art. From intimate…

Excavation of certain physical features often requires archaeologists to get creative with digging methodologies. Wells, cisterns, and other subterranean features can be particularly challenging. Archeologist shown with head and torso in a hole as they work on site.
Want to Become an Archaeologist? A PhD Student Offers Insight
Here's what archaeology graduate programs are really like! There is no one kind of archaeologist to be and the directions that your studies can take you are too numerous to count. Archaeology is a…
The backmost section of Geer cemetery is hedged in by a parking lot for a telephone company. Fallen trees are a common disruption in this portion of the cemetery and pose threats to the preservation of headstones.
The Archaeology of Death at a Southern Black Cemetery
Durham, North Carolina's Geer Cemetery is sparking new conversations about what it means to care for a cemetery and how American history is being told
Mary Pickersgill, Star-Spangled Banner, early 19th century. National Museum of American History, Washington D.C.
Looking Back at "Reframed"
Western art history is filled with colorful characters, whose statuses as heroes or villains can change based on the mores of our current society. The "Reframed" column is not a politically leaning…
Paul Revere, Boston Massacre, 1770. Engraving, hand-colored. Courtesy Collection of the Boston Athanaeum.
Reframed: Paul Revere's “Boston Massacre”
In the special collection of brittle works on paper at the Boston Athenaeum lies Paul Revere’s 1770 hand-colored engraving, The Bloody Massacre.
Gilbert Stuart, George Washington (The Athenaeum Portrait), April 12, 1796. Oil on canvas. 47.99 x 37 in. Collection National Portrait Gallery.
Why the Iconic Athenaeum Portrait of Washington was Never Finished
Ironically, the most iconic portrait of the president was never completed.
Samuel Scott, Wager's Action off Cartagena, 28 May 1708, before 1772. Oil on canvas 33.9 x 8.9 in. National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.
The Global Battle for the San José—The Holy Grail of Shipwrecks
The Spanish Galleon San José, which sank off the coast of Colombia in 1708, was rediscovered by Colombian officials in 2015 near Cartagena. For years, the San José was called the “holy grail of…
John James Audubon, detail of Washington Eagle. Smithsonian American Art Museum. Courtesy of Smithsonian American Art Museum. Gift of Dr. S. Dillon Ripley II and Mary Livingston Ripley.
Reframed: John James Audubon’s “Eagle”
Eagles and George Washington have for centuries been mainstream symbols of the United States, and the nation’s unique contributions to science, culture, and the stalwart pursuit of truth.