Philip Kennicott

Column | On a new banner, Trump evokes the shadow world of authoritarian icons A new Trump banner outside the Justice Department evokes authoritarian regimes and signals that it is now wholly loyal to the whims of the current president.

Trump has put his image on the Justice Department's building in Federal Triangle. It reminds me of a visit to Syria...
www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

Thank you Charles and @ionarts.bsky.social for the great and indefatigable work you do on behalf of music lovers.

Standing in line at the DMV with my elderly mother, crying. Crying for the Post. For the NSO. For the Kennedy Center. Crying out of appreciation for those who stand by them, their work, their history, their future, and for those who still stand by each other. Thank you, @philipkennicott.bsky.social

Column | At a broken Kennedy Center, the National Symphony begins a new journey The NSO is losing its home — after becoming a world-class orchestra

The National Symphony Orchestra performed for the first time since Trump announced he's closing the Kennedy Center for two years. It was a blistering aural indictment of chaos and unnecessary man-made misery. And a moment of hope... www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Column | An award-winning portrait asks Americans, ‘Who is human?’ The winner of the National Portrait Gallery’s prestigious portraiture competition paints a disturbing picture of America.

The winner of the National Portrait Gallery's triennial portrait contest paints a picture of New York in the 1960s and 70s that feels terribly similar to Minneapolis in the 2020s. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

"For more than 50 years, it has hummed, inside, to the delight of millions. Now, it will go silent, perhaps for two years, possibly forever, if someone doesn’t intervene and stop this madness"

A excellent overview on the crisis that Trump has created for Kennedy Center arts organizations -- and the larger agenda behind it. bsky.app/profile/phil...

Column | The grave risk of Trump’s Kennedy Center shutdown Even in the best-case scenario, the president’s plan will only strain the performing arts ecosystem required for the center to thrive.

A two-year closure could be existential for the Kennedy Center, and it's unnecessary for the repairs proposed. Is there a larger agenda, including repurposing the memorial to the 35th President to serve the needs of the 47th? www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Column | The abhorrent power of the photograph of a 5-year-old held by ICE An image like this could once change history. Can one still?

The image of Liam Ramos in ICE custody, staring at the back of a truck like we are all now staring into the abyss... it shocks the conscience. www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

Column | The abhorrent power of the photograph of a 5-year-old held by ICE An image like this could once change history. Can one still?

Read @philipkennicott.bsky.social on the photograph of a 5-year-old in ICE custody, and the moral revulsion images like this used to inspire www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

Review | In ‘Spectrum of Desire,’ the Met takes a nuanced look at gender fluidity An exhibition of medieval art at the Cloisters is small but potent.

At the Cloisters, an exhibition documenting the sexual diversity of the late Middle Ages, when the Church began to enforce its rigid categories of gender. It's an important exhibition during a terrifying moral panic against transgender people. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Disappointing...https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/art/2025/12/24/sixties-surreal-review/

Column | How to fix, remix or erase America’s most offensive monuments At a time when toppled statues are being remounted, an art critic and an illustrator examine, edit and unpack three controversial memorials.

How could America's most, erm, troublesome monuments be edited? @philipkennicott.bsky.social does it in this fascinating project: www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Column | How to fix, remix or erase America’s most offensive monuments At a time when toppled statues are being remounted, an art critic and an illustrator examine, edit and unpack three controversial memorials.

www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Column | Frank Gehry made us care about architecture. Even if you hated his buildings. The famous architect left a legacy that transcends mere beauty. He made us restless for a better built environment.

"Gehry’s architecture was never merely beautiful. His buildings work for a living and earn their keep. But at their best, they are surpassingly beautiful, and any experience of surpassing beauty has radical potential."

via @philipkennicott.bsky.social

Column | Frank Gehry made us care about architecture. Even if you hated his buildings. The famous architect left a legacy that transcends mere beauty. He made us restless for a better built environment.

wapo.st/48pn2K8

Review | The Studio Museum in Harlem is back, and newly dazzling A new building connects the museum to a vibrant neighborhood and history.

wapo.st/4ocycXr

Read @philipkennicott.bsky.social’s heartbreaking, infuriating piece
“The impact will go beyond the usual horsemen of the authoritarian apocalypse: suspicion, cynicism and apathy. At stake is our openness to the world, our engagement with others, our willingness to associate freely and…“

Column | Trump’s pressure on museums won’t stop at the Smithsonian The administration began with cultural institutions that rely on federal dollars. But it’s bigger than that.

The demolition in the museum, arts and culture sector is happening more slowly than at the White House, but will be just as profound. A look back to 9 months of threats, surveillance and intimidation. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Column | Demolition is part of Trump’s master builder image By Thursday, the White House’s East Wing was gone. The speed of destruction, and the projection of power, are part of the strongman playbook.

It’s all about speed, and the projection of power. wapo.st/3Whz4OX

Column | Demolition is part of Trump’s master builder image By Thursday, the White House’s East Wing was gone. The speed of destruction, and the projection of power, are part of the strongman playbook.

Trump wants to be a master builder. Master builders demolish. From @philipkennicott.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Review | The Dutch Golden Age was women’s work, too A new show at the National Museum of Women spotlights major talents “from Antwerp to Amsterdam.”

Don't miss the astonishing cut-paper works of Johanna Koerten at the National Museum of Women in the Arts exhibition, "Women Artists From Antwerp to Amsterdam: 1600-1750." They are miraculous, fragile and rare, with only about 15 surviving. Three are on view. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Review | The Dutch Golden Age was women’s work, too A new show at the National Museum of Women spotlights major talents “from Antwerp to Amsterdam.”

Review of a new show on "Women Artists From Antwerp to Amsterdam: 1600-1750" at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington DC, by @philipkennicott.bsky.social: wapo.st/4o25hFw [gift link] #earlymodern

The 101 greatest movies, songs, books, artworks (and more!) about Washington, D.C. Introducing the D.C. Canon, starring Chuck Brown, Olivia Pope, George Washington, Leonardo da Vinci, Duke Ellington, Rites of Spring and — who could forget? — Gort.

More than a cheap metonym, deeper than a swamp... The Washington Post offers its 101 essential things (music, art,architecture, movies...) of, about or from Washington D.C. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Column | An exemplary survey of race portends trouble for the Smithsonian President Donald Trump singled out “The Shape of Power” for criticism, but the show was a success.

@philipkennicott.bsky.social's astute observations on the Smithsonian's recently-ended exhibition, “The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture.” This show, singled out by the Trump administration for its ideas on sculpture and race, was an extraordinary success. wapo.st/4nJuDbo

Column | More than two decades after her death, Leni Riefenstahl is still lying A new documentary offers bracing lessons about demagogues and the people who serve them.

Resonant essay by @philipkennicott.bsky.social in today’s WaPo. Great opening line:

“Leni Riefenstahl remains a problem to be solved, not because there’s any doubt about who she was, but because we are uncertain as to who we are.”

www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Column | An exemplary survey of race portends trouble for the Smithsonian President Donald Trump singled out “The Shape of Power” for criticism, but the show was a success.

The Smithsonian's Shape of Power exhibition, about race and American sculpture, was a particular target of the Trump administration. It was also exemplary as public education, history and curation. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Column | More than two decades after her death, Leni Riefenstahl is still lying A new documentary offers bracing lessons about demagogues and the people who serve them.

The eternal present of political narcissism, the way lies don't matter because there is no past to hold you to account and no future to judge the consequences. Riefenstahl tried to outrun her legacy, and she's running still. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Cannot recommend Philip Kennicott's article enough (in today's Style section of the Washington Post) on the history of a chilling, celebrated photograph and the government's possible attempt to remove it from display

Column | Erasing this indelible image of slavery is a terrifying idea The Trump administration’s reported effort to censor one of the iconic images of American history is a five-alarm fire.

Trying to erase this photo is a terrifying idea, writes @philipkennicott.bsky.social in a powerful column www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...