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Newly discovered skeletal remains of pet monkeys at an Ancient Egyptian seaport are strong indicators of the extensive trade networks that connected the Roman Empire with India via the Indian Ocean.
Pet Monkeys Were Popular in Ancient Rome, Burials Reveal
The recent archaeological discovery also deepens our understanding of trade networks between India and the Roman Empire.
hyperallergic.com
December 26, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Newly discovered skeletal remains of pet monkeys at an Ancient Egyptian seaport are strong indicators of the extensive trade networks that connected the Roman Empire with India via the Indian Ocean.
Robin Hoskins, an art model of 14 years, wishes people would appreciate the elegance and stamina required to pose for artists. “But most importantly, we need to be able to have a dignified wage and be able to earn a decent living, just like anyone else in any other successful profession.”
Art Models Struggle for a Living Wage and Recognition
The workers who pose for artists at historic organizations like the Art Students League say they are overworked and underpaid in a field that rarely values them.
hyperallergic.com
December 26, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Robin Hoskins, an art model of 14 years, wishes people would appreciate the elegance and stamina required to pose for artists. “But most importantly, we need to be able to have a dignified wage and be able to earn a decent living, just like anyone else in any other successful profession.”
Will Europe’s new creators of Christian imagery be allowed to push the boundaries of what Christian art can represent and to whom it might speak? Nativity scenes bring into focus two defining questions of our time: who belongs, and how far belonging can stretch.
How a Nativity Scene Sent Europe Into a Tizzy
A controversial Brussels nativity scene begs the question: Should explicitly Christian imagery continue to be a part of Europe’s civic space, and if so, who has the authority to define it?
hyperallergic.com
December 25, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Will Europe’s new creators of Christian imagery be allowed to push the boundaries of what Christian art can represent and to whom it might speak? Nativity scenes bring into focus two defining questions of our time: who belongs, and how far belonging can stretch.
Call-out culture was alive and well in the Victorian Era: the first-ever commercial Christmas greeting card was viewed as scandalous by British teetotalers for ostensibly promoting underage drinking.
Did You Know the First Commercial Christmas Card Featured Underage Drinking?
May we all be as merry as that boozy child.
hyperallergic.com
December 25, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Call-out culture was alive and well in the Victorian Era: the first-ever commercial Christmas greeting card was viewed as scandalous by British teetotalers for ostensibly promoting underage drinking.
These days, Santa sightings typically happen in abandoned malls, holiday markets, and other consumerist nightmares. But in 1863, the best chance of spotting Santa would have been behind Union lines.
The Artist Who Helped Create a Very American Santa Claus
Abolitionist cartoonist Thomas Nast had a big role in manufacturing the US version of the Christmas patriarch.
hyperallergic.com
December 25, 2025 at 8:28 PM
These days, Santa sightings typically happen in abandoned malls, holiday markets, and other consumerist nightmares. But in 1863, the best chance of spotting Santa would have been behind Union lines.
As a counterpart to Saint Nicholas, who preceded the more approachable Santa Claus, the demonic Krampus was evoked in Central Europe for centuries as a warning to kids to be good — or else.
Merry Christmas from Krampus, Santa's Demonic Helper
Krampuskarten depict Saint Nicholas's darker counterpart: the devilish Krampus, whose current image visually carries centuries of folklore.
hyperallergic.com
December 25, 2025 at 7:19 PM
As a counterpart to Saint Nicholas, who preceded the more approachable Santa Claus, the demonic Krampus was evoked in Central Europe for centuries as a warning to kids to be good — or else.
Photographer Danelle Manthey frames the practice of Christmas decoration as a kind of folk art in the book “American Christmas.” Peace on earth and installation art for all!
A Photographer Captures Christmas Kitsch Across the US
With American Christmas, Danelle Manthey presents elaborate decorative traditions as a form of folk art, but one can’t help but wonder if White Christmas might be a more accurate title for her…
hyperallergic.com
December 25, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Photographer Danelle Manthey frames the practice of Christmas decoration as a kind of folk art in the book “American Christmas.” Peace on earth and installation art for all!
There are few small pleasures more delightful than a holiday card from a friend. Cards made by artists like Claes Oldenburg, Ad Reinhardt and Philip Guston each reflect the unique personality of their makers.
When Artists Make Holiday Cards
There are few small pleasures more delightful than opening the mailbox to find a holiday card from a friend.
hyperallergic.com
December 25, 2025 at 4:42 PM
There are few small pleasures more delightful than a holiday card from a friend. Cards made by artists like Claes Oldenburg, Ad Reinhardt and Philip Guston each reflect the unique personality of their makers.
Nativity scenes are inherently political. They declare that God dwells in the lowliest of places, among the marginalized and dispossessed. That’s the true spirit of the holidays.
The Egalitarian Vision of Nativity Scenes
In all its artistic iterations across millennia, the nativity remains inherently political in its depiction of God choosing to enter the world in marginalized circumstances.
hyperallergic.com
December 25, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Nativity scenes are inherently political. They declare that God dwells in the lowliest of places, among the marginalized and dispossessed. That’s the true spirit of the holidays.
Christmas in 1950 was a low time for Langston Hughes. So instead of giving his friends Christmas gifts, he sent out typewritten postcards that expressed his financial state, and enduring holiday cheer.
Christmas Cheer from a Lean Year: The 1950 Holiday Cards of Langston Hughes
The Beinecke Library at Yale University is exhibiting Hughes's typewritten 1950 Christmas postcards, along with holiday cards he received from friends.
hyperallergic.com
December 25, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Christmas in 1950 was a low time for Langston Hughes. So instead of giving his friends Christmas gifts, he sent out typewritten postcards that expressed his financial state, and enduring holiday cheer.
From a nostalgic children’s tale that treats holiday stories with an artistic touch to a classic horror film, here are our offbeat picks for Christmas movies to help spark memories (or family feud) this season!
Five Offbeat Holiday Films to Keep It Weird This Christmas
Stop-motion animation, the poetic story of a snowman, and other picks highlight the artistic potential of the classic genre.
hyperallergic.com
December 24, 2025 at 10:44 PM
From a nostalgic children’s tale that treats holiday stories with an artistic touch to a classic horror film, here are our offbeat picks for Christmas movies to help spark memories (or family feud) this season!
The Art Tarotscope is customized to your astrological element to help you navigate this time of winter. For this winter solstice, we read with the Thaw, a special spread offered by the tarot platform Moonlight.
Hyperallergic’s Art Tarotscope for the Winter Solstice
After a long period of feeling frozen, the new year hints at signs of thaw and forward movement.
hyperallergic.com
December 24, 2025 at 9:37 PM
The Art Tarotscope is customized to your astrological element to help you navigate this time of winter. For this winter solstice, we read with the Thaw, a special spread offered by the tarot platform Moonlight.
Faith Ringgold’s words have rhythm. The late artist was a storyteller and visual artist in equal measure — her knack for prose and her herculean visual skills go hand in hand.
Faith Ringgold's Story Quilts Get to the Heart of Being Human
Through her creative lives as author, illustrator, painter, quilter, sculptor, and activist, Ringgold spoke to the urgency and vulnerability of life.
hyperallergic.com
December 24, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Faith Ringgold’s words have rhythm. The late artist was a storyteller and visual artist in equal measure — her knack for prose and her herculean visual skills go hand in hand.
Joseph Cornell longed for Paris, but ultimately never visited. A new devotional exhibition curated by Wes Anderson and Jasper Sharp recreates the late artist’s workspace at Gagosian gallery’s storefront in the city of love.
Wes Anderson Brings Joseph Cornell’s Studio to Life
The whimsical filmmaker recreated the Queens artist's home studio at Gagosian Gallery in Paris, the city Cornell longed for but never visited.
hyperallergic.com
December 24, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Joseph Cornell longed for Paris, but ultimately never visited. A new devotional exhibition curated by Wes Anderson and Jasper Sharp recreates the late artist’s workspace at Gagosian gallery’s storefront in the city of love.
Reactionaries like to grumble about a so-called War on Christmas, but what would these contemporary boot-lickers think of Botticelli’s politically radical “Madonna of the Magnificat” (c. 1483)?
The Egalitarian Vision of Nativity Scenes
In all its artistic iterations across millennia, the nativity remains inherently political in its depiction of God choosing to enter the world in marginalized circumstances.
hyperallergic.com
December 24, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Reactionaries like to grumble about a so-called War on Christmas, but what would these contemporary boot-lickers think of Botticelli’s politically radical “Madonna of the Magnificat” (c. 1483)?
Some publications worship the powerful. Hyperallergic stands by the powerless. Welcome to the 2025 edition of the Most Powerless People in the Art World, our antidote to the asinine lists of wealthy collectors, royals, and “tastemakers” that pervade market-driven art media.
The 20 Most Powerless People in the Art World: 2025 Edition
Hyperallergic’s annual antidote to the lists of wealthy collectors, royals, and so-called tastemakers that pervade the art media.
hyperallergic.com
December 24, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Some publications worship the powerful. Hyperallergic stands by the powerless. Welcome to the 2025 edition of the Most Powerless People in the Art World, our antidote to the asinine lists of wealthy collectors, royals, and “tastemakers” that pervade market-driven art media.
The British Museum has launched a long-term loans program that sent 80 Greek and Egyptian antiquities to India in “a rebranding exercise that preserves colonial power structures while pretending to dismantle them,” writes Emiline Smith.
British Museum Launches Farcical “Decolonizing” Loan Program
Long-term loans to former colonies are not restitution. They do not acknowledge historical wrongdoing, nor do they restore agency to source communities.
hyperallergic.com
December 24, 2025 at 3:43 PM
The British Museum has launched a long-term loans program that sent 80 Greek and Egyptian antiquities to India in “a rebranding exercise that preserves colonial power structures while pretending to dismantle them,” writes Emiline Smith.
This Christmas season — defined by political division, xenophobic and draconian immigration policies, and displacement and genocides — the nativity scene has once again become an unlikely ground zero for dissent.
How a Nativity Scene Sent Europe Into a Tizzy
A controversial Brussels nativity scene begs the question: Should explicitly Christian imagery continue to be a part of Europe’s civic space, and if so, who has the authority to define it?
hyperallergic.com
December 24, 2025 at 2:32 PM
This Christmas season — defined by political division, xenophobic and draconian immigration policies, and displacement and genocides — the nativity scene has once again become an unlikely ground zero for dissent.
Families, even the godly ones, have been messy since Ancient Egypt. Allow us to walk you through the incestuous, murderous, and surprisingly relatable world of “Divine Egypt” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Messy Family Drama of Ancient Egyptian Gods
We walk you through the incestuous, murderous, and surprisingly relatable world of Egyptian deities at The Met.
hyperallergic.com
December 23, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Families, even the godly ones, have been messy since Ancient Egypt. Allow us to walk you through the incestuous, murderous, and surprisingly relatable world of “Divine Egypt” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In a new letter, the White House renewed its threat to withhold funding from the Smithsonian unless it hands over programming plans and other documents to be evaluated for their commitment to celebrating “American exceptionalism.”
White House Renews Threats to Smithsonian Institution
A letter to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch reiterates that federal funds are conditional on the organization turning over records, including exhibition drafts.
hyperallergic.com
December 23, 2025 at 9:37 PM
In a new letter, the White House renewed its threat to withhold funding from the Smithsonian unless it hands over programming plans and other documents to be evaluated for their commitment to celebrating “American exceptionalism.”
Banksy’s latest mural in a quiet London neighborhood depicts a pair of bundled-up children stargazing — possibly a reference to the more than 100,000 unhoused children in the nation’s capital.
Banksy’s Latest Mural Is a Heartbreaking Christmastime Message
The elusive street artist’s latest stencil may reference the tens of thousands of unhoused children living in London.
hyperallergic.com
December 23, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Banksy’s latest mural in a quiet London neighborhood depicts a pair of bundled-up children stargazing — possibly a reference to the more than 100,000 unhoused children in the nation’s capital.
While an exhibition at the Morgan Library offers a beautiful and instructive display of manuscript artistry, it risks presenting a sanitized vision of the book's history, glossing over the fundamental power dynamics and conflicts inherent in medieval religious life.
Medieval Psalms Were Not For Everyone
An exhibition prioritizes the expensive, silent object over the lived, functional experience of the believer.
hyperallergic.com
December 23, 2025 at 4:42 PM
While an exhibition at the Morgan Library offers a beautiful and instructive display of manuscript artistry, it risks presenting a sanitized vision of the book's history, glossing over the fundamental power dynamics and conflicts inherent in medieval religious life.
Hildegard von Bingen’s visual idiom of the concept “viriditas” relied on certain shapes and colors, often conveyed through earthly green and celestial blue.
Hildegard von Bingen’s Eternal Garden
The 12th-century mystic continues to attract devotees among both Catholic clergy and New Age gurus, Christian traditionalists and radical feminists.
hyperallergic.com
December 23, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Hildegard von Bingen’s visual idiom of the concept “viriditas” relied on certain shapes and colors, often conveyed through earthly green and celestial blue.
Even in the down year of 1950, Langston Hughes’s Christmas Cards show his writing wit still bristling. For those who may have had a hard year leading up to these winter holidays, there’s some defiant joy to glean from his wry greetings.
Christmas Cheer from a Lean Year: The 1950 Holiday Cards of Langston Hughes
The Beinecke Library at Yale University is exhibiting Hughes's typewritten 1950 Christmas postcards, along with holiday cards he received from friends.
hyperallergic.com
December 23, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Even in the down year of 1950, Langston Hughes’s Christmas Cards show his writing wit still bristling. For those who may have had a hard year leading up to these winter holidays, there’s some defiant joy to glean from his wry greetings.
"Dear Mayor-Elect Mamdani: As you remake New York into a better home for all those forgotten by the politics of our city, remember this: Arts and culture are the very vehicles through which we express the power to shape our destinies." –Sami Abu Shumays, deputy director of Flushing Town Hall
Dear Zohran, Don’t Let Art Workers Down
Those of us in the cultural sector need you to enact a bold vision for the role of city government in fostering the arts and helping our communities thrive.
hyperallergic.com
December 22, 2025 at 10:44 PM
"Dear Mayor-Elect Mamdani: As you remake New York into a better home for all those forgotten by the politics of our city, remember this: Arts and culture are the very vehicles through which we express the power to shape our destinies." –Sami Abu Shumays, deputy director of Flushing Town Hall