Arts
The Arts
![Roman Dial and his son Roman regularly took adventure trips together. "I kind of hoped that he would be an outdoors partner for me for life," Dial says of his son.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/chapter-20_paro-takstaug-monestary-bhutan-2012_wide-979bad7bf756bd9b3de44e124fcc20d541d49835-500x500.jpg)
In New Book, A Father Recounts His Search For The Son Who Vanished In Costa Rican Wilderness
Roman Dial hoped his son would be his outdoor partner for life. But that dream ended when his son disappeared in a Central American wilderness. Dial’s new book is The Adventurer’s Son.
![The Paxtons, who are intentionally drawn as faceless shadows, attack Conestoga Indiantown. Weshoyot Alvitre/Library Company of Philadelphia](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Conestoga-JPG-500x500.jpg)
How A Graphic Novel Resurrected A Forgotten Part Of American History At The Conestoga Massacre
In Ghost River: The Fall and Rise of the Conestoga, Native artists retell the events of a brutal massacre in pre-Revolutionary Pennsylvania and bring a painful history to life on the page.
![Anya Taylor-Joy stars the title character in director Autumn de Wilde's new adaptation of Emma. CREDIT: Box Hill Films/Focus Features](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/emma-photo-anya-taylor-joy-stars-as-emma-woodhouse-courtesy-of-box-hill-films_wide-7fe4faa9b7b6754b7bf459e973ddfe7f3344c2fc-500x500.jpg)
FILM REVIEW: New ‘Emma’ Is A Frosted Cupcake Come To Life (In A Good Way)
Autumn de Wilde’s adaptation of the Jane Austen classic is as clever and rich as its famous heroine — in part, because its actors are so good at finding fresh nuances in this timeless material.
![Counterpoint A Memoir of Bach and Mourning by Philip Kennicott](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/counterpoint-53e18cadf75fdad0d0cf463992ea93344bc627d0-500x500.jpg)
In ‘Counterpoint’ Bach Helps An Art Critic Mourn A Mother Whose Criticism Lingers
The Washington Post’s Philip Kennicott suffered his mother’s harsh words and actions throughout childhood. His book is partly a need to acknowledge her “sadness and anger and unaccountable rages.”
![John Trumbull's painting The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Peter Salem is thought to be the figure in the lower right. From the Boston Museum of Fine Arts](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/the_death_of_general_warren_at_the_battle_of_bunker-s_hill_custom-31505cd17c5d19d7a4ad94b0e50245a409b05f93-500x500.jpg)
Documentary Shows How ‘Black Patriots’ Were Heroes Of The Revolution, But Not History Books
Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the executive producer of a new documentary focusing on the lives of black Americans on both sides of the Revolutionary War, whose stories aren’t often told.
![Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus star in the new dark comedy Downhill. Fox Searchlight Pictures](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/downhill-downhill_digital_poster_1334x2000_fin_rgb_wide-a6bdee63a72f2870af8e787b737dcd37825ac720-500x500.jpg)
In ‘Downhill,’ Julia Louis-Dreyfus And Will Ferrell Are ‘Not Here To Play It Safe’
In the film Donwhill starring Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, a married couple barely escapes an avalanche during a family ski vacation and are forced to reevaluate their lives.
![Lady Liberty atop Lake Mendota, seen in February 2019. Photo by Jeff Miller. Photo courtesy of the University of Wisconsin–Madison.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Lady-Liberty-atop-Lake-Mendota-CREDIT-Jeff-Miller-courtesy-of-University-of-Wisconsin-Madison-500x500.jpg)
How A College Prank Turned Into A Public Art Tradition
The inflatable replica that rests on the lake’s solid surface isn’t a political statement, nor a throwback to the ending of 1969’s “Planet of the Apes,” but a decades-long tradition founded on a good laugh. The University of Wisconsin-Madison has staged the display at different times for more than four decades, starting in 1979 as a campaign stunt.
![Musicians perform a song from Slumdog Millionaire during the 81st Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2009, in Hollywood, Calif. The film won 8 Oscars including Best Picture that year — and had box office returns to show for it. CREDIT: Gabriel Bouys/AFP via Getty Images](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/gettyimages-84986300_custom-6e41c9db735db7aa1468fb5dcf9fa76211178527-500x500.jpg)
In An Age Of Streaming, ‘Oscar Bounce’ At The Box Office Is … Less Bouncy
Films used to get a boost at the box office from Academy Award nominations — and the bounce still exists for films hanging on at the multiplex. But changes in the industry are altering the calculus.
![Barnes & Noble has canceled its Black History Month plans to re-release classic novels with cover art depicting characters as people of color, following online criticism. TBWIA\Chiat\Day](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/diverseeditions_wide-dbd7dc49edea8f1d1bee8fa4166c88aa4428a78c-500x500.png)
Author L.L. McKinney Says Barnes & Noble ‘Diverse Editions’ Are ‘Literary Blackface’
Barnes & Noble suspended its campaign to reissue classic books with covers depicting protagonists as people of color after many authors, including McKinney, criticized the initiative.
![Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama stand next to their newly unveiled portraits during a ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery on Feb. 12, 2018. The portraits are set to go on a yearlong tour to five cities in June of 2021. Mark Wilson/Getty Images](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/gettyimages-917400006_custom-28001f417c5dc17a8ad284601602a5141559f05a-500x500.jpg)
Portraits Of Barack And Michelle Obama Going On Tour Next Year
The National Portrait Gallery unveiled the official portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama two years ago this month. Now it is sending them on a yearlong tour to five cities.
![Upright Women Wanted, by Sarah Gailey](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/upright-womenpm-81de849cb1bea11e17384a003454e11bb45cf21c-500x500.jpg)
BOOK REVIEW: In A Dark Future, These ‘Upright Women’ Bring Hope
Sarah Gailey’s new novella is set in a dystopian future where the United States resembles the Old West, and bands of women on horseback distribute government-approved media to distant villages.
!["I'm a student first in everything that I do," says Nnamdi Asomugha. "So it's always about: How can I get the edge mentally?" Asomugha, shown above on the sidelines of an Oakland Raiders game in November 2010, is now making his Broadway debut. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/gettyimages-107219799_custom-3d15ee5f53575cef8294ab82a07f7f2c1f99dd4b-500x500.jpg)
NFL Star To Broadway Star: Nnamdi Asomugha Says The Stage Is Another ‘Team Sport’
Nnamdi Asomugha, a four-time All-Pro NFL cornerback, is making his Broadway debut in A Soldier’s Play. It’s been “a pretty surreal journey,” he says.