Search results for

The courts will decide who gets to keep the Picasso painting "Femme en Blanc," now in a private collection in Chicago. It first belonged to a Jewish couple in Berlin, but was taken by the Nazis. The last living descendant of the original owners has sued to recover the artwork. NPR's Jason DeRose reports.

Steven Spielberg's new caper movie, Catch Me If You Can, stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank Abagnale, Jr. who, at 17, became the youngest person ever to make the FBI's Most Wanted List. Tom Hanks plays the agent assigned to catch him. Bob Mondello has a review.

The creators of the offbeat comedy Being John Malkovich have a new film out: Adaptation. Nicolas Cage stars as a screenwriter who struggles to adapt a non-fiction book into a screenplay. Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper also play key roles. Pat Dowell reports.

Leif Inge, an artist based in Oslo, Norway, has a new take on Ludwig van Beethoven's venerable Symphony no. 9.

In his book Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling, author Ross King says the artist saw his commission to paint the Sistine Chapel as an attempt by enemies to set him up for failure. NPR's Michele Norris talks to King.

The much-examined life of Christian spiritual giant Francis of Assisi is explored anew in a biography by theologian Donald Spoto. Reluctant Saint draws on a wealth of new material, including an ecumencial meeting in 1219 in Egypt between Francis and the leader of Muslim forces in the Fifth Crusade. Spoto speaks with NPR's Liane Hansen.

"Art Inside Out," now at the Childrens' Museum of Manhattan, highlights three distinctive art forms: large, bright Elizabeth Murray canvases that can look like puzzles; William Wegman's well-known photos of his dogs; and Fred Wilson's displays of museums themselves. Karen Michel reports.

In January 1940, Irving Berlin, the most popular songwriter in America, raced into his office and asked his musical secretary to take down a new song. NPR's Susan Stamberg reports on the history of "White Christmas," a song Berlin said was the best he — or anyone — ever wrote.

The second installment in the Lord of the Rings story opens in movie theaters Wednesday. Frodo and Gandalf are back in The Two Towers, and NPR's Bob Mondello has a review.

National Book Award Finalist Look at Me is a complex tale of intersecting lives, at the center of which is a successful fashion model. NPR's Renee Montagne speaks with author Jennifer Egan about a major theme in the novel, the dark side of America's "image culture."