Betye Saar Dies at 99; Trump Targets Smithsonian

Betye Saar, the visionary assemblage artist who transformed discarded objects into monuments of Black resilience, died in Los Angeles four days before her 100th birthday. Her obituary, written by Associate Editor Lisa Yin Zhang, celebrates a career that opened portals between worlds. In parallel, the Trump administration escalated its pressure on the Smithsonian Institution: the president ordered warning signs installed outside the National Museum of American History (NMAH) cautioning visitors about "extreme political activism." Ed Simon published an urgent opinion piece arguing that no previous president has vandalized taxpayer-funded museums with such billboards. Separately, Staff Writer Rhea Nayyar ranked the most absurd questions from a recent congressional hearing, including Texas Republican Congressman Brandon Gill asking NMAH Director Anthea Hartig, "Is Mickey Mouse racist?" The newsletter also reports that Elon Musk plans to use his AI platform Grok Imagine to create a full-length version of The Odyssey by year's end, and the European Central Bank revealed ten shortlisted designs for new euro banknotes, one featuring Leonardo da Vinci. A critic reviews "Self-Made" at the Folk Art Museum, an exhibition that lets self-taught artists speak for themselves. A member comment defends David Hockney's iPad paintings, and the archive highlights a monograph on painter Lois Dodd.