Smithsonian Magazine

Smithsonian Magazine takes you on a journey through history, science, world culture and technology with breathtaking images from around the world.

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Smithsonian Magazine

Who Claims the West? • A NEW EXHIBITION AT THE SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM CHALLENGES THE OLD MYTHOLOGY OF THE AMERICAN FRONTIER

the scroll • A GLIMPSE AT OUR DIGITAL OFFERINGS

By the Beat • A hip-hop pioneer reflects on the 50th birthday of the genre that revolutionized music

Grit to Glitz • HIP-HOP’S STREET ARTISTS CREATED A SPLASHY NEW GENRE THAT BURST INTO GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS

The Frontier Midwife • When a mysterious epidemic of poisoning ravaged the Midwest, a Philadelphia-trained healer got to the root of the problem

The Things They Carried • PHYSICIANS IN THE 19TH CENTURY HAD TO BE READY TO TREAT EVERYTHING—SO THEY NEEDED A VERSATILE KIT

MAKING A SCENE • An artist conjures a whimsical version of a magnificent 15th-century mural

The Write Stuff • After more than a century, a family-owned pencil company in Tennessee still makes a statement in the digital age

CATCH THE WIND • This innovative craft taught millions of Americans to seize the breeze

Bright Light • A candle stand used by the first president illuminates his extraordinary last days in office

Here Be Monsters • A CLEVER CETACEAN FEEDING TRICK MAY HAVE LAUNCHED A WHALE OF A LEGEND

THE VILLAGE PEOPLE • When did our nomadic ancestors give up wandering to settle down? In Israel, new discoveries are upending an old debate

Remaining in Place

The Art of War • A veteran’s painstaking tribute to naval might and sacrifice

material wealth • The treasure of today’s fiber artists

dreaming in color • BISA BUTLER’S EXUBERANT PORTRAITS CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY AND TAKE QUILTING TO A NEW LEVEL

ties that bind • AN ARTIST IN HAWAII CONNECTS CONTEMPORARY STYLE WITH ANCIENT TRADITIONS

magic in the felt • A RIVER OF FABRIC? JANICE ARNOLD’S INSTALLATIONS GO TO GREAT LENGTHS TO EVOKE WONDER

THE MOMENT OF TRUTH • An exclusive visit to the secret U.S. laboratory where scientists developed the first nuclear weapon

Maligned Marsupial Mobilized • In Australia, the defenseless bandicoot was nearly wiped out by invasive species. Now rescuers are pinning hopes on a remnant island population

COMING into FOCUS • Arresting portraits illuminate the little-known role of African American photographers in the 19th century

IN SEARCH of WILLA CATHER • Maybe the author of O Pioneers! and My Ántonia is no longer the height of literary chic. But a century later she’s still a superstar in her Nebraska hometown

Don’t Be Puzzled • YOU CAN FIND NINE ANSWERS IN THESE PAGES

ask smithsonian • YOU’VE GOT QUESTIONS. WE’VE GOT EXPERTS