Culture and Arts

"The paintings from Monet’s early career are profoundly daring and surprising," comments Esther Bell, Curator in Charge of European Paintings at the Fine Art Museums of San Francisco. "You see his mastery of light and texture everywhere — in his depictions of large and small moments, with friends and loved ones, in the solitude of forests and fields and in the quiet scenes of everyday life. Every stroke commands our attention." more »

All of these planets are the best targets found so far to search for signs of life, and it is remarkable that they are all transiting the same star. This means that the system will allow us to study each planet in great depth, providing for the first time a rich perspective on a different planetary system than ours, and on planets around the smallest main sequence stars. Only 39 light years away from Earth! more »

Small in scale, yet teeming with life, miniature boxwood carvings have been a source of wonder since their creation in the Netherlands in the 16th century. The execution of these prayer beads and diminutive altarpieces seems almost as miraculous as the stories they tell and, in this first exhibition of its kind, the wizardry of the carvers who created these precious panoramas is revealed. Fit for a king, this magnificent cello was made for George IV when he was Prince Regent and is emblazoned with the royal coat of arms of Great Britain and the Prince of Wales' feathers. Its ribs bear the motto "Liberty and Loyalty." more »

Mary Garber began her trailblazing sports journalism career in 1944, when the sports editor of the Winston-Salem Journal joined the Navy and Garber replaced him. "Not because I had any ability in sports," Garber once told the Women’s Sports Foundation, "but because it was the war, and every man was in the armed forces."Even though she was banned from locker rooms and forced to sit with the players’ wives instead of in the press box, Garber lobbied to continue covering sports after World War II ended. more »