Art History

It's been four years now since our last encounter with Robert Langdon, the be-tweeded hero who has Da Vinci'd and Demon-ed his way through three previous Dan Brown page-rippers. Brown's last book, " The Lost Symbol ," came out in 2009, smack in the vortex of a Brownado — a whirling era of "Da Vinci Code" European tour packages and Tom Hanks's second cinematic turn as the lank-haired Harvard symbologist. "The Lost Symbol" seemed of the moment and of particularly heightened American interest, set as it was in D.C. Tuesday marks...

Jacqueline E. Lawton 's "The Hampton Years" is about as local as local can get: The D.C.-based playwright's world premiere got its start at Theater J's first Locally Grown Festival . Lawton's world-premiere play follows the Austrian Jewish professor Viktor Lowenfeld and two of his students at the Hampton Institute in Virginia who went on to become iconic African American artists: John Biggers and Samella Lewis . Lawton talked to Backstage...

Heidi L. Berry, 65, an arts patron who wrote a column on the arts market and antiques collecting for The Washington Post's Home section in the 1980s and 1990s, died Jan. 25 at her apartment in Manhattan, N.Y. She had multiple myeloma. Mrs. Berry was a granddaughter of Sam Lehrman, a founder of Giant Food, and the grocery chain's Heidi baked-goods sections were named after her. Her husband, Max Berry, a lawyer and Democratic fundraiser, said the bakery connection brought her a slight twinge of embarrassment when it was...

There's something slightly unruly and diffuse about the National Gallery of Art 's new exhibition of 19th-century French works on paper, " Color, Line, Light: French Drawings, Watercolors, and Pastels From Delacroix to Signac . " Part of it is the art, diverse in form, style and ambition; but part of it is the exhibition, which is devoted not to an argument, or a comprehensive overview, but to the generosity of the man who collected it, James...

The Class of 2007 was the last to finish college before the recession hit. Five years later, those graduates are returning to alma maters for their first milestone reunion — and reflecting on cruel economic times. Here at Dickinson College in south-central Pennsylvania, at open bars and formal dinners, they swapped stories about the challenge of establishing careers and lives when great jobs are so hard to find. "When we graduated, we were all chomping at the bit to get out of here and change the world," said Katie Fox, 27,...

At 10 a.m. on Aug. 11, Kathryn Cornelius will wear a white gown and walk toward her betrothed to exchange vows before a crowd of assembled guests. An ordained minister will officiate, then the pair will drink champagne, cut the cake and gaze into each other's eyes as they dance their first dance. And then they will divorce. At 11 a.m. she'll do it all over again with someone new. And at noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and every hour on the hour until she has wed and divorced seven people.

Jacqueline E. Lawton 's "The Hampton Years" is about as local as local can get: The D.C.-based playwright's world premiere got its start at Theater J's first Locally Grown Festival . Lawton's world-premiere play follows the Austrian Jewish professor Viktor Lowenfeld and two of his students at the Hampton Institute in Virginia who went on to become iconic African American artists: John Biggers and Samella Lewis . Lawton talked to Backstage...

The next time you consider building or buying a house, consider this: rather than clear trees from a plot of land and pour a foundation into the ground, tap into your childhood imagination and build your house in the trees. " Tree Houses: Fairy-Tale Castles in the Air ," by Philip Jodidio invites readers to tour 50 tree houses from around the world. Jodidio, who studied economics and art history at Harvard University, served as editor-in-chief of the Connaissance des Arts for over 20 years and is...

Alma Eanet, 87, a singer who performed in nursing homes, hospitals and other venues in the Washington area for six decades, died April 10 at Sibley Memorial Hospital in the District. The Chevy Chase resident had multiple myeloma, said her daughter Patricia Eanet. Mrs. Eanet, a soprano, sang at institutions that included the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington, the Pilot School for the Blind and the Children's Inn at the National Institutes of Health. She was a soloist at Temple Sinai in Washington, where she sang in the choir and...

CORRECTION: The Galleries column about D.C. art dealer Leigh Conner said she owns the Northeast Washington building that houses her gallery, Conner Contemporary Art. The building is co-owned by Conner and her partner, Jamie Smith. Word of advice: Art dealer Leigh Conner is many things -- well-connected, a powerhouse, the District's top gallerist -- but one thing she isn't is laid-back. Never, ever cross her. Trust me, I know. Conner is the public face of Conner Contemporary Art, the Trinidad gallery she runs...

DON'T MISS You would expect an exhibition of the Pop art paintings of Roy Lichtenstein — best known for canvases inspired by comics — to be fun. And " Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective " certainly is. But the thorough and engaging show, which closes this weekend at the National Gallery of Art , also reveals the late artist to be a serious student of painting and art history, which will remember him as a major, if merry, figure....

The next time you consider building or buying a house, consider this: rather than clear trees from a plot of land and pour a foundation into the ground, tap into your childhood imagination and build your house in the trees. " Tree Houses: Fairy-Tale Castles in the Air ," by Philip Jodidio invites readers to tour 50 tree houses from around the world. Jodidio, who studied economics and art history at Harvard University, served as editor-in-chief of the Connaissance des Arts for over 20 years and...

Meredith A. Diness art professor Meredith A. Diness, 74, a professor at the University of the District of Columbia, where she had served on the faculty senate and chaired the visual and performing art departments, died of metastatic melanoma Aug. 30 at her home in Bethesda. The death was confirmed by her daughter, Marnie Rode. In 1968, Dr. Diness joined the faculty at Federal City College, a predecessor institution to UDC. She taught drawing, art history and other classes.

Okay, parents. Depending on how you look at it, this next week or so is either dreadful or golden. It's that lull between the end of camps and the start of school. That summer packed with promise is pretty much behind you, and the week or so before you is a wide-open, yawning black hole on your calendar. But let's be positive. This is your chance to really dig in and enjoy our diverse area full of free museums, beautiful parks, nice waterfront and endless possibilities. So don't dread, delight.

Robert Hughes, who brought a muscular, confrontational writing style to the genteel world of art criticism, and whose books and television programs on art and the history of his native Australia brought him a worldwide following, died Aug. 6 at a hospital in the Bronx. He was 74. His wife, Doris Downes, released a statement saying her husband "had been very ill for some time. " His health had been somewhat precarious since a near-fatal car accident in 1999. Mr. Hughes had wide-ranging interests and...

At 10 a.m. on Aug. 11, Kathryn Cornelius will wear a white gown and walk toward her betrothed to exchange vows before a crowd of assembled guests. An ordained minister will officiate, then the pair will drink champagne, cut the cake and gaze into each other's eyes as they dance their first dance. And then they will divorce. At 11 a.m. she'll do it all over again with someone new. And at noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and every hour on the hour until she has wed and divorced seven people.

There's something slightly unruly and diffuse about the National Gallery of Art 's new exhibition of 19th-century French works on paper, " Color, Line, Light: French Drawings, Watercolors, and Pastels From Delacroix to Signac . " Part of it is the art, diverse in form, style and ambition; but part of it is the exhibition, which is devoted not to an argument, or a comprehensive overview, but to the generosity of the man who collected it, James...

Forgive me, readers, for I have sinned. Whenever I've gone by Titian's great "Venus With a Mirror," sitting topless in the Renaissance rooms at the National Gallery of Art, or Canova's marble "Naiad," lounging a floor below in the no-kini of a classical goddess, carnal thoughts have come to me. If only I'd been keeping up with the latest scholarship, I'd have had a more up-to-date reaction: full-blown, panting lust. After well over a century of prim coverups, literal and metaphorical, of the sexual content of the greatest nudes in...

Barbara A. Bither, 58, who had worked as a museum curator and historical researcher at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing's Historical Resource Center, died June 29 at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington. She had Paget's disease of the bone. The death was confirmed by her husband, Marc Brenman. Ms. Bither joined the Historical Resource Center in 1997 and specialized in the history of currency papermaking and engraving. Over the years, she helped the Secret Service as an expert on counterfeit money.

The Class of 2007 was the last to finish college before the recession hit. Five years later, those graduates are returning to alma maters for their first milestone reunion — and reflecting on cruel economic times. Here at Dickinson College in south-central Pennsylvania, at open bars and formal dinners, they swapped stories about the challenge of establishing careers and lives when great jobs are so hard to find. "When we graduated, we were all chomping at the bit to get out of here and change the world," said Katie Fox, 27,...