@philipkennicott.bsky.social's astute observations on the Smithsonian's recently-ended exhibition, “The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture.” This show, singled out by the Trump administration for its ideas on sculpture and race, was an extraordinary success. wapo.st/4nJuDbo

Resonant essay by @philipkennicott.bsky.social in today’s WaPo. Great opening line: “Leni Riefenstahl remains a problem to be solved, not because there’s any doubt about who she was, but because we are uncertain as to who we are.” www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

The Smithsonian's Shape of Power exhibition, about race and American sculpture, was a particular target of the Trump administration. It was also exemplary as public education, history and curation. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

The eternal present of political narcissism, the way lies don't matter because there is no past to hold you to account and no future to judge the consequences. Riefenstahl tried to outrun her legacy, and she's running still. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Cannot recommend Philip Kennicott's article enough (in today's Style section of the Washington Post) on the history of a chilling, celebrated photograph and the government's possible attempt to remove it from display

Trying to erase this photo is a terrifying idea, writes @philipkennicott.bsky.social in a powerful column www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

That anyone in the administration could even broach the idea of censoring this image is stunning. Audacious and ignorant. This is extraordinarily worrying when it comes to the "content review" at the Smithsonian and other institutions. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

The administration's argument with art, playing out in its campaign against Smithsonian independence, also seems to be an argument with tradition, empathy and the core values of Christianity. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Experts I asked about the Oval Office ornamentation and gilding mostly just laughed. But there are serious issues at stake, not least: What will the new 90,000-square-foot ballroom look like, and will the process be open and transparent? www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Thinking about conspiracy theories, actual conspiracies and the troublesome problem of distinguishing between them. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Paranoia, trauma, ghosts and uncertainty: The Turn of the Screw at the @santafeopera philipkennicott.substack.com/p/brittens-t...

If people haven't been to the James A Garfield Memorial in Cleveland I highly recommend it. Architect George Keller designed a lavish and frankly bonkers Byzantine castle in the middle of a Cleveland cemetery, all to commemorate a president who's been completely forgotten by modern Americans

For your Fourth of July amusement, a look at how the United States commemorates its dead presidents. First, with modest grave markers, then with sumptuous mausolea and memorials, and now with giant theme parks cum libraries. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

The Met reopens its Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Why you should always read @philipkennicott.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

The Army dodged a crisis of image and messaging yesterday. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

So good to have the Frick back, with more to see in a more congenial home. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Speaking with the PBS Newshour about the Smithsonian and the Trump administration's efforts to fire the director of the National Portrait Gallery. www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

‘If the president succeeds in removing a key leader who is not accused of any professional or personal misconduct, he will effectively gain control over the content and mission of the entire Smithsonian.’ Via @philipkennicott.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

The Monday, June 9 meeting of the Smithsonian Board of Regents will determine the future independence of the Institution, and quite possibly the larger museum sector in the United States. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

So, the supposed financial problems at the Kennedy Center are real, and the result of the new leadership, not the leadership that was fired by Trump. "Mismanagement by the new leadership is becoming a real problem for the health of the organization..." www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

"Andy Warhol in Iran" sets up a potentially powerful set of conflicts. It offers a history lesson. And it wants a sharper edge. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

"Sargent wasn’t proposing just a portrait but a collaboration, in which both artists — one a painter, the other a performer on the social stage — would work together to advance each other’s interests." www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

A splendid exhibition, small images of small creatures with much larger implications. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Salome at the Met open.substack.com/pub/philipke...

"For decades, the United States has had the luxury of taking its robust civil society for granted. Now, we may learn what happens when you hollow it out. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Wednesday, we are hosting another of our popular series, At Issue: The Fate of America’s Cultural Institutions, featuring @washingtonpost.com's @philipkennicott.bsky.social & Award-Winning Producer Kitty Eisele. www.hillcenterdc.org/event/at-iss...

Lovely from @philipkennicott.bsky.social on Pope Francis' funeral -- on the balance of order and imperfection, and ceremony and setting www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

"Bernini imposed order on a site cluttered with history and violence, but it was an imperfect order of theatrical contrivance, not the Platonic perfection of ideal forms." www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Fascinating, from @philipkennicott.bsky.social, on the new National Public Housing Museum in Chicago www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

A young tenor, Kang Wang, gets a star turn as Rodolfo in the Washington Concert Opera's performance of Verdi's "Luisa Miller." www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

If the Smithsonian stands up, this could be a turning point in Trump's assault on the cultural infrastructure of America. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

The PBS Newshour just bleeped Trump saying that countries are calling him and "kissing" his "ass." I think that's malpractice. We need to know, and hear, the language our politicians are using. This is not an accidental f-bomb. This is essential evidence about the character of the President.

About that Thomas Kinkade documentary, which tries to suggest he's some kind of conceptual genius in the Andy Warhol mode, a latter-day descendant of Duchamp, etc.? Not buying a bit of it. It's a well-made film that makes a rubbish argument. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

What do these ancient churches in Rome have to do with the circular economy and building better, more climate sensitive buildings? It's all about recycling. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solu...

Chinese bronzes, or "late" bronzes, at the Met. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

This review made me run over to the NGA to see the exhibition: It is SO absolutely relevant and beautiful.

The National Gallery of Art opens its Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist exhibition in a radically changed world. Ordinary curatorial decisions are now fraught, and in this case, courageous. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Eviscerating the GSA's art program puts one of the great American art collections at risk, including damage, loss, theft and decay. Things are being done recklessly, with consequences that will last for generations. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

The scary, atavistic ideas about gender circulating in the Trump-era cultural world. It's not just about drag shows at the Kennedy Center. www.washingtonpost.com/style/2025/0...

Clear-eyed @philipkennicott.bsky.social on drag, the Kennedy Center, art that’s dangerous, and the dangers for art: www.washingtonpost.com/style/2025/0...

My colleague @monicahesse.bsky.social returns to the Post opinions pages with an important column. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Searing @philipkennicott.bsky.social column on the perils of a federal real estate fire sale — www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

On Tuesday, Trump's GSA proposed selling hundreds of federal buildings, including key parts of the monumental core of Washington. Is there precedent for this massive invitation to corruption? Yes, the privatization of the post-Soviet economy. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Moving forward. open.substack.com/pub/philipke...

Downbeat / convincing column by @WaPo longtime arts critic @philipkennicott.bsky.social on why Trump coup at Kennedy Center may blow a lasting hole in DC area's cultural scene Small potatoes, perhaps, compared w Ukraine/ DOJ/ USAID etc. But big civic effect www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Yes, writes @philipkennicott.bsky.social: Trump could destroy the Kennedy Center. Or worse. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...