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Drew Friedman’s Sketchbook

The Most Expensive Artist You’ve Never Heard Of

Sanyu befriended Picasso and Giacometti yet died destitute. Today, he’s known as the “Chinese Matisse”

Publicity for the Devil

The Tortured-Writers Department

Sitting in the cafés frequented by Oscar Wilde and Ernest Hemingway to write a book about Paris sounds like a dream—until it’s time to put pen to paper

Miles Greenberg’s Guide to Montreal

The Canadian artist shares the spots that shaped his adolescence as an art-school dropout

Back to His Roots

David Downton’s Sketchbook

The World, According to Artists

Miloš Karadaglić

The reigning superstar of the classical guitar on recalibrating his priorities

Going Mad!

An exhibition at the Norman Rockwell Museum, in Massachusetts, offers a window into the mad, mad world of the historic humor magazine

Laughter in the Dark

In his new memoir, comedian Paul Scheer takes on his childhood abuse with humor and one-liners

Hollywood’s Hidden Genius

Elaine May was Mike Nichols’s comedic other half, and directed some of the last century’s quirkiest movies, from The Heartbreak Kid to Ishtar. Then she all but disappeared

Lunch with Kristen Wiig

On this week’s episode of Table for Two, the comedian and actress reveals that she couldn’t tell Bridesmaids was going to be a success until after shooting was over

Is the British Museum a Shill for Big Oil?

On this week’s podcast, Rebecca John explains how the oil industry uses the arts to buy our approval

Barry Blitt’s Sketchbook

Nuptials of the Rich and Famous

Things are a little different at celebrity weddings. There are certain rules

Directors’ Cuts

A new book zooms in on filmmakers’ on-set wardrobes, from Federico Fellini’s fedora on Juliet of the Spirits to John Ford’s serape on The Searchers and Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette uniform

Editor’s Picks

This week, don’t miss a novel set during the 1925 Scopes trial, a history of medieval magic, and a portrait of a World War II hero

Dreaming About Joni

Two Joni Mitchell biographers discuss their shared muse

Hans Ulrich Obrist’s Guide to Basel

The curator, critic, and artistic director of the Serpentine Galleries shares his favorite spots in the Swiss art town

Fish Tales

An exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum, in Massachusetts, highlights more than 40 delightfully illustrated editions of Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick

The Book Lover’s Guide to Dublin

With the Bloomsday and Dalkey literary festivals kicking off, this is the peak week to get lit in the Irish capital

Why We’ll Always Have Paris

On this week’s podcast, Linda Wells explains why Paris (Hilton) deserves a second chance

Been There, Dunne That

Griffin Dunne reflects on his sister’s horrific murder, the making of Scorsese’s After Hours, his friendship with Carrie Fisher, and a colorful life in New York and Hollywood