Sarah Lilley

In the past, we used to rely on artists to bring us into the mysterious world of biology. In the 1500s Leonardo da Vinci revealed the glories of human anatomy. And around 1900, a German biologist named Ernst Haeckel used his incredible drawings of microbes and larger creatures ...

The German poet Goethe was 23 years old when he wrote his first novel, which he composed almost entirely of letters. The Sorrows of Young Werther spoke to readers, especially young men, in a way no book had ever done before. It inspired a crazed following and a rash of ...

In the 1940s and '50s, American composer Conlan Nancarrow used an old-fashioned tool to create music no human could have played or heard before. To write his compositions, Nancarrow used mind-bending mathematical formulas to cut extremely complex rolls for the player piano. Produced by Sarah Lilley

Frieda Hughes was only two years old when her mother, Sylvia Plath, committed suicide. She was raised by an equally famous poet — her father, Ted Hughes. Frieda herself became a poet, and she has had to jostle with her parents' reputations and 40 years of ...

What happens when an artist drops out at the pinnacle of her artistic success? In Lee Bontecou’s case, she kept working, and her art got even better. Bontecou abandoned stardom in the New York City scene of the 1970’s, to work in seclusion in rural Pennsylvania. ...

The life of the average artist is not known for its sense of security. Most will experience little money, or fame, or recognition. They may dream of these things, but what many artists should be yearning for more than anything is… health insurance. Sarah Lilley explains why.

The artist Stephen Dolmatch paints urban industrial landscapes in gorgeous precise detail. He paints in watercolor, even though he finds it far less forgiving than oil or acrylic paints. Sarah Lilley talked to Dolmatch about the challenges and happy accidents of painting in this tricky medium.

From Rocky to The 'Burbs, there are all kinds of ways the street gets featured on film. Sarah Lilley explores how the street on the screen becomes, for the viewer, much more than a just scenic backdrop.

Perfumers generally design complicated scents to stimulate a fantasy or a mood, not to match any one particular thing. But one small fragrance company in New York called Demeter takes a different approach. Demeter bottles the smell of celery, or of a gin and tonic, or of snow. Sarah Lilley went to find ...

In the 1940s and ‘50s American composer Conlan Nancarrow used an old-fashioned tool to create music no human could have played or heard before. To write his compositions, Nancarrow used mind-bending mathematical formulas to cut extremely complex rolls for the player piano. Produced by Sarah Lilley

What happens when an artist drops out at the pinnacle of her artistic success? In Lee Bontecou's case, she kept working, and her art got even better. Bontecou abandoned stardom in the New York City scene of the 1970's, to work in seclusion in rural Pennsylvania. ...

Many performances have been created for unusual locations, and choreographer Noemie LaFrance has found one of the least likely. She created her dance "Descent" to take place in the dingy, faded grandeur of a city court building in Lower Manhattan. While the dancers wrap and sway around a 250 foot ...

Perfumers generally design complicated scents to stimulate a fantasy or a mood, not to match any one particular thing. But one small fragrance company in New York called Demeter takes a different approach. Demeter bottles the smell of celery, or of a gin and tonic, or of snow. Sarah Lilley went to find out ...

Most musicians are drawn at some point to write about angst, melancholy, pain. And many are known for it. Think of Tori Amos, The Cure, Billie Holiday, Robert Schumann. Most of those artists add some brightness for contrast, but not Death Metal bands. These musicians and their fans bask in ...

A show at the Whitney Museum in New York gathered works by nearly 50 artists from 30 countries. It's called The American Effect. Sarah Lilley went to find out exactly what that means.

In India hundreds of years ago, tiny paintings the size of a leaf held political and social and spiritual meaning. Now, Shahzia Sikander, an artist in New York City, has taken the genre and turned it into something looser, but still small and jewel-like. Produced by Sarah ...

Sometimes an artist's inspiration can come from miles — and centuries — away. The Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit, “Manet/Velazquez: The French Taste for Spanish Painting” shows how some great painters looked for ideas from artists who lived 100 years before them. Produced by Sarah Lilley.

Most musicians are drawn at some point to write about angst, melancholy, pain. And many are known for it. Think of Tori Amos, The Cure, Billie Holiday, Robert Schumann. Most of those artists add some brightness for contrast, but not Death Metal bands. These musicians and their fans bask ...

Those strips of wood or metal around works of art are doing a lot more than we realize. Produced by Sarah Lilley.

In India hundreds of years ago, tiny paintings the size of a leaf held political and social and spiritual meaning. Now, Shahzia Sikander, an artist in New York City, has taken the genre and turned it into something looser, but still small and jewel-like. Produced by Sarah ...