Last seen in 1945, the Amber Room is the world’s most valuable missing piece of art, valued as highly as $500 million. Looted by the Nazis after Operation Barbarossa, this “Eighth Wonder of the World” once symbolized peace and unity. Today, it instead represents one of art history’s greatest mysteries.
Today's Artwork: The Amber Room. Catherine Palace/Tsarsk ... Show More
Sep 2025
Free as a Verb: Art, Speech, and Conflict in Antebellum America
What did “free speech” mean before the Civil War...and what did it cost? Today, I'm exploring how Americans have debated the meaning of liberty through words, images, and even violence beginning with Samuel Jennings’s 1792 painting 'Liberty Displaying the Arts and Sciences' in 17 ... Show More
44m 27s
Aug 2025
The New Modern: The Post-Impressionists
In the final installment of our Impressionism primer, we meet the artists who broke away from light and surface to paint something deeper. From Van Gogh’s turbulent skies to Gauguin’s mythic Tahitian scenes, Cézanne’s geometric still lifes to Seurat’s scientific dots, the Post-Im ... Show More
1h 17m
Nov 2016
Episode #8: What Happened to the Amber Room? (Season 1, Episode 8)
One of the most awe-inspiring sights in and around St. Petersburg, Russia, is the Catherine Palace, a rococo summer residence for the imperial family of yore. Up until World War II, The Catherine Palace housed something so incredible, so coveted, and so gorgeous that for hundreds ... Show More
49m 24s
Oct 2017
Episode #26: Hitler's Führermuseum (Season 2, Episode 6)
Today, we’re digging into the story behind one of the most significant museums never built-- Hitler’s Fuhrermuseum-- what was his obsession with art, and was his “World’s greatest museum” really going to be as great as it purported to be? LEARN MORE: Artcuriouspodcast.com SUBSCRI ... Show More
27m 49s
Apr 2023
Shiva Nataraja, Lord of the Dance
<p>In today's episode of Metropolitan Masterpieces, I'm examining a stunning statue of Shiva in the guise of Nataraja, Lord of the Dance. </p>
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<p>For images and sources: <a href="https://www.accessiblearthistory.com/post/podcast-episode-87-statue-of-shiva-nata ... Show More
8m 47s