Art Beat

By Arts Desk

For most of the English-speaking world and certainly for this reader, Roberto Bolano was unknown only a few years ago. Since then, he's become a literary phenomenon--his novels read, reviewed, discussed, widely praised.

Robert Frank: An Outsider Looking In

By Arts Desk

In the late 1950s, a Swiss-born photographer named Robert Frank traveled America, documenting its days and nights. With a Guggenheim fellowship, Frank captured Americans in 48 states, on 767 rolls of film and almost 27,000 frames.

Highlights from the Manifest Hope:DC Party

By Arts Desk

The Manifest Hope:DC gallery space in Washington neighborhood Georgetown closed Monday night, the day before the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

For Howard’s Band, Showtime Is Here

By Arts Desk

Just about every night at a football field in Northwest, Howard University's marching band has been spending hours rehearsing around the track, preparing for its biggest event ever: Tuesday's inauguration parade.

Tim Gunn: Obamas Make It Work

By Lea Winerman

Fashion guru and Washington native Tim Gunn says that the capital city has been a "fashion desert" for decades. "For fashion, Washington's just a place that no one's wanted to be," says Gunn.

Painter Andrew Wyeth Dies at Age 91

Andrew Wyeth, one of the most famous figures in American art, died early Friday in his sleep at his home in the small town of Chadds Ford, Pa. He was 91.

Dodge Foundation Cancels Poetry Festival

The largest poetry festival in North America has just become the latest victim of the financial crisis. The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation announced Friday in a letter to supporters that it will cancel the next Dodge Poetry Festival.

Previews of Next Week and a Mideast Trip

By Arts Desk

We continue to receive many wonderful comments and responses to specific stories and to the entire Art Beat effort. But the news is not always good.

Conversation: Peter Matthiessen

By Arts Desk

Peter Matthiessen, a 2008 National Book Award winner, is best known as both a novelist and non-fiction writer, but he's also an environmental activist, American Indian rights advocate and former C.I.A. recruit.

Preview for Next Week

By Arts Desk

I'm sure our regular NewsHour viewers will understand when I say that, first and foremost, we are "news people." One of our goals in starting Art Beat was to make sure we stay on top of the news in the…