Stories behind the surface
Journal
Essays begin with museum records and lead outward: toward a technique, a life, a close reading, or a question worth carrying into the gallery.
Museum record brief
From the collection: Terracotta figuring of a standing female votary holding a box
Discover Terracotta figuring of a standing female votary holding a box in the The Metropolitan Museum of Art collection, through its recorded maker, date and materials.
15 September 2026 · 2 min read
Museum record brief
From the collection: Limestone statue of a sphinx
Discover Limestone statue of a sphinx in the The Metropolitan Museum of Art collection, through its recorded maker, date and materials.
14 September 2026 · 2 min read
Museum record brief
From the collection: Terracotta statuette of an actor
Discover Terracotta statuette of an actor in the The Metropolitan Museum of Art collection, through its recorded maker, date and materials.
13 September 2026 · 2 min read
Museum record brief
From the collection: Bronze statuette of Minerva
Discover Bronze statuette of Minerva in the The Metropolitan Museum of Art collection, through its recorded maker, date and materials.
12 September 2026 · 2 min read
Museum record brief
From the collection: Head Attributed to Arsinoe II
Discover Head Attributed to Arsinoe II in the The Metropolitan Museum of Art collection, through its recorded maker, date and materials.
11 September 2026 · 2 min read
Museum record brief
From the collection: Model of a Two-Story Structure
Discover Model of a Two-Story Structure in the Art Institute of Chicago collection, through its recorded maker, date and materials.
10 September 2026 · 2 min read
Museum record brief
From the collection: Most Holy Virgin of Solitude
Discover Most Holy Virgin of Solitude in the Art Institute of Chicago collection, through its recorded maker, date and materials.
9 September 2026 · 2 min read
Museum record brief
From the collection: Terracotta statuette of Harpocrates
Discover Terracotta statuette of Harpocrates in the The Metropolitan Museum of Art collection, through its recorded maker, date and materials.
8 September 2026 · 2 min read
Museum record brief
From the collection: Diptych with Scenes from the Life of Christ
Discover Diptych with Scenes from the Life of Christ in the Art Institute of Chicago collection, through its recorded maker, date and materials.
7 September 2026 · 2 min read
Close looking
Why Rodin’s surfaces still feel modern
The fingerprints, seams, enlargements, and unfinished passages are not flaws around the work. They are where the work happens.
20 July 2026 · 6 min read
Artist story
Edmonia Lewis: carving a place in Rome
A transatlantic career in marble joined Neoclassical training to questions of freedom, literature, and self-definition.
18 July 2026 · 5 min read
Technique
From wax to bronze: one sculpture, several disappearances
Lost-wax casting turns a temporary model into a durable metal body through molds, heat, channels, and calculated absence.
14 July 2026 · 7 min read