They helped to make Vincent van Gogh among the most famous and influential painters in the history of art. Why did sunflowers ...

The history of the raised fist, a global symbol of fighting oppression. The forceful salute is intertwined with some of the 20th century's most tumultuous events, including conflicts with fascism.

Columbus monument as an early-20th century response to bigotry. Mussolini, who — though popular among Italian Americans — had stunned the world with his invasion and occupation of the Greek ...

In the 20th century, women played key roles in politics, science, art, ... Frida Kahlo was a Mexican artist whose work became a symbol of the feminist movement and Mexico's national identity.

Foraging for the future: If much of his imagery feels rooted in the early 19th century Romantic era in which Victor Hugo grew up, the treatment often looks forward to late 19th century symbolism ...

There is some hubris in daring to define the key features of a century’s worth of novels, but Edwin Frank admits his book isn’t — and indeed can’t be — comprehensive.

An ambitious new book sees hidden currents linking writers as disparate as Colette, Thomas Mann, D. H. Lawrence, Virginia Woolf, Ralph Ellison, and Chinua Achebe.