visual arts - The Atlantic

visual arts

The Atlantic Daily

A Novel That Skewers Meritocracy

August 10, 2025

empty classroom

The Woman Who Perfected Flower Painting

September 2025 Issue

detail from still-life oil painting of flowers and grapes with butterfly and stone arch in background

Photos of the Week: Alligator Dip, Steeplechase Stumble, Friendship Day

August 8, 2025

Soldiers fire a large anti-aircraft gun from the back of a truck in a sunflower field, at night, the muzzle flash illuminating the sunflowers.

Homes Still Aren’t Designed for a Body Like Mine

July 28, 2025

illustration of a house in the middle of a maze

Photos of the Week: Trust Jump, Canyon Lightning, Chuck-Wagon Race

July 18, 2025

A performer leaps, avoiding a charging bull in a bullring.

Weird, Wonderful Photos From the Archives

July 17, 2025

A goat peers over a gate; hands are on the gate on either side of its head, giving the appearance that the goat has human hands.

Photos of the Week: Sea Bull, Rainbow Fortress, Sand Shogun

July 11, 2025

A reporter holds their microphone up to a cat that is lying comfortably on pavement in front of 10 Downing Street in London.

Photos: The Scale of China’s Solar-Power Projects

July 10, 2025

An aerial view of solar panels covering several hillsides

Photos: Deadly Flooding in Texas

July 7, 2025

Search-and-rescue workers dig through debris alongside a recently flooded riverbed.

Photos: Europe Swelters Under a Heat Dome

July 2, 2025

Women look on as a man stands in a fountain to cool off on a hot summer day.

A Photo Appreciation of Life in Our Oceans

July 1, 2025

A bottlenose dolphin swims beneath a crashing wave.

The Cure for Guilty Memories

June 27, 2025

A faded image of a house that's turning into dust, superimposed on a blurry image of a woman's face

Photos of the Week: Treetop Walk, Camel Bath, Moose Move

June 13, 2025

A close-up of several hands wearing rubber gloves holding a fox while feeding it medicine through a syringe.

Book Recommendations

What to Read When You’re Ready to Say No

June 9, 2025

A painting of a woman sitting on a bed looking out the window

Looking Up

Tyler Austin Harper

July 2025 Issue

black-and-white photo of person looking into lens of telescope with reflected image lighting up the iris of their eye

Photos of the Week: Ox Racing, Bat Research, Smart Whale

June 6, 2025

A memorial made of life-sized silhouette cutouts of soldiers standing in a field of flowers

How to Look at Paul Gauguin

July 2025 Issue

Painted stylized self-portrait of man's face with dark hair and mustache, surrounded by vines, fruit, and orange and yellow fields of color.

The Artist Who Captured the Contradictions of Femininity

May 30, 2025

Black-and-white photo of artist Christina Ramberg seated in her studio with a cat in her lap.

Photos of the Week: Dragon’s Teeth, Witch Convention, High Plateau

May 23, 2025

A woman wearing a protective helmet poses in front of a line of riot police during a protest.

Scenes From Eurovision 2025

May 19, 2025

A singer performs on a broad stage in front of a huge video image of a burning tree.

Photos of the Week: Harness Race, Obelisk Vista, Cheerleading Businessmen

May 16, 2025

A hairless cat closes its eyes while being judged.

The Crisis of American Leadership Reaches an Empty Desert

May 12, 2025

Picture of refugees who fled the Zamzam camp in Sudan’s Darfur region

Photos of the Week: Mud Race, Met Gala, New Pope

May 9, 2025

A newborn child rests on the chest of a person playing a traditional stringed instrument.

Photos of the Week: May Day, Fire Festival, Finger Wrestling

May 2, 2025

Two musicians perform onstage, with the one on the left playing a gigantic 17-string bass guitar.

The ‘Profound’ Experience of Seeing a New Color

April 23, 2025

A yellow figure floats up to the top of a glass box surrounded by color and darkness.

Time-Travel Thursdays

The Problem With Abe Lincoln’s Face

April 10, 2025

A blue-tinted image of Abe Lincoln with an orange filled-in beard

Dwyane Wade’s Greatest Challenge

photo of Dwyane Wade smiling and sitting with arms crossed, wearing gray collared jacket, against purple background

Time-Travel Thursdays

Susan Sontag’s Vision

March 27, 2025

An image of Susan Sontag at her desk in front of an illustration of Mao Zedong

Three Very Different Ways to Live Honestly

March 24, 2025

An illustration with two half-open doors in a brick wall, one red and one blue.

How to Avoid the Creative-Narcissist Trap

Arthur C. Brooks

March 13, 2025

A smiling figurine being painted in an artist's palm

The Man Who Owned 181 Renoirs

April 2025 Issue

photo of the backs of two people looking at a wall of symmetrically arranged paintings including Seurat's "Models" and Cézanne's "The Card Players"

Let Them Eat Art?

Laura Barrón-López

February 28, 2025

Abstract image of painting frames and a U.S. embassy

My Mom’s Guide to the Art of Living

Arthur C. Brooks

February 27, 2025

An illustration of a man holding up a tinted lens to see better.

Shipwrecked in the Amazon

March 2025 Issue

photo with aerial view of dried riverbed stretching into the distance, marked with dozens of smaller channels

The Man in the Midnight-Blue Six-Ply Italian-Milled Wool Suit

Gary Shteyngart

March 2025 Issue

Gary Shteyngart stands in front of a tailor, both looking toward the camera. Shteyngart half-smiles, wearing a suit covered in tailor's-chalk marks.

The Trump Faithful Return to D.C.

Andres Kudacki and Russell Berman

January 21, 2025

Turning Point Inaugural Eve Ball