Arts & Culture

Explore Harvard’s vibrant arts scene—from campus exhibitions and theater to cultural analysis and literary reviews. Discover how creativity shapes the Harvard experience.

A vibrant composition of flowers, a bird, and butterflies with a distant manor under a moody sky.

Rachel Ruysch’s Lush (Still) Life

Now on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, a Dutch painter’s art proved a treasure trove for scientists.

by Lydialyle Gibson

Biographical sketch of French artist Adélaïde Labille-Guiard

A brief profile of an enterprising French artist

by Laura Auricchio

Even at the scale of cities, planners can work with the local ecology to create lasting interventions that minimize disruptions to the landscape, such as Khed Sez (shown) and Lavasa, both in India.

Architecture that imitates life

Architects are beginning to employ biomimicry, studying nature as a model for building design.

by John Gendall

In Yup’ik lore, the crane—depicted in the mask above—connotes stealth, power, and insight. The human face on the bird’s belly represents its <em>yua,</em> or spirit—the part of the animal that understands, and can relate to, humans. The porcelain “teeth” that border the face are a reminder to use one’s innate gifts to good effect, or risk being consumed by them. The porcelain “bones” hanging from the wings ward off evil spirits; wooden rings represent this world and the spirit world.

Mnemonic Masks

Inspired by his Yup’ik heritage, Phillip Charette educates through his art.

by Elizabeth Gudrais

Ancestral Influences

View images of Phillip Charette's masks alongside masks from the Smithsonian Institution holdings that inspired him.

Oranges stacked for sale at a Moroccan bazaar

Second-Life Photography

A profile of cultural photographer Lee Smith

by Craig Lambert

In a 1966 image taken in the Museum of Abstract Spanish Art in Cuenca, Zóbel holds one of his sketches; his painting <em>Ornitóptero</em> hangs behind him. At left is <em>Homenaje a Vasarely II,</em> a sculpture by Amadeo Gabino; the painting at far right is <em>Barrera con rojo y ocre,</em> by José Guerrero.

Fernando Zóbel de Ayala

A brief profile of the peripatetic painter and philanthropist

by John Seed

Alex MacLean with tools of his trade: a new fuel-efficient plane and his camera

Up in the Air

Aerial photographer Alex MacLean documents the effects of the American lifestyle on the American landscape.

by Paul Gleason

Henry James Sr. poses with his son Henry Jr. at Mathew Brady&rsquo;s studio in New York City, 1854.

From Daguerreotype to Photoshop

Art historian Robin Kelsey examines photographs of all kinds to reveal what they say about human history, society, and culture.

by Craig Lambert

Emily Rauh Pulitzer

Advancing Art

Art historian and former museum curator Emily Rauh Pulitzer gives the Harvard Art Museum 31 important works of modern and contemporary art and $45 million, enhancing a tradition she shared with her late husband, Joseph Pulitzer Jr

Renoir’s “Head of a Child”

Degas, Renoir, and More on Display at Dumbarton Oaks

A collection of modern French paintings is being exhibited for the first time at this Harvard-owned museum in Washington, D.C.