The King’s English
To write about King George VI, Sally Bedell Smith was granted exclusive access to royal archives that included his World War II–era diaries and love letters to Queen Elizabeth
Fake It Till You Make It
Two exhibitions open featuring works by Johannes Vermeer. There’s just one catch—the paintings aren’t real
Creative Matriarchs
Far from rock ’n’ roll, a new exhibition of Mary McCartney’s photographs in London is innocent and intimate
You Mess with the Buller, You Get the Horns
With its dedication to gluttony and vandalism, and its inclusion of two disgraced British P.M.’s, Oxford’s Bullingdon Club has a deservedly bad reputation. But it’s not going anywhere
Death Becomes Her
Classic Hollywood movies have played a central, if ambiguous, role in the paintings of Cecily Brown
Bidding Wars
Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Phillips are scrambling to dominate Hong Kong’s art market. But are cafés and handbag sales the answer?
Staying Gold
A new book of rare and previously unseen photos marks the 40th anniversary of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Outsiders, based on the 1967 novel and starring Hollywood stars in their early years, from Tom Cruise to Diane Lane to Patrick Swayze
Susanna Moore Isn’t Done Running Away
The author has never been one to stay put. Her new book is no exception
Where to Go This Summer
On this week’s podcast, Alexander Lobrano reveals a new jewel on the French Riviera
Hoedown on Broadway
An unheralded new musical is bringing crowds flocking back to New York’s theaterland
Sam Ezersky
The twentysomething mechanical engineer behind The New York Times’s Letter Boxed word game wants the solutions to “feel fun and human”
Sight Majeure
On the centenary of his death, the French engineer behind the Eiffel Tower is finally receiving an honor befitting his accomplishments
Matters of Form
The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston displays a sprawling survey of Simone Leigh’s sculptures
Yuja Wang’s Rach Marathon
Most pianists call it a night after any one of these “warhorses”
Dial “Midwife” for Murder
The little-known story of a 1920s midwife who supplied women with arsenic to kill their abusive husbands
Fine-Tuning
In an interview, the pianist Víkingur Ólafsson discusses his affinity for Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto, which he’s playing around Europe
Solid Sender
A new immersive production of Guys and Dolls in London is an all-around delight
Catherine Lacey
The author discusses her latest novel, a fictionalized biography of a “Frankenstein’s monster of 20 artists and 20 writers” whom she admires, from Kathy Acker to Susan Sontag