Wecome to another edition of Prescriptions. Today is April 27, 2026. Today in history, English poet John Milton, blind and impoverished, sells the copyright of his epic poem Paradise Lost for 10 British pounds (1667); Ludwig van Beethoven composes his famous piano piece Für Elise (1810); U.S. President Abraham Lincoln suspends writ of habeas corpus to supress insurrection during the U.S. Civil War (1861); Charles Gounod’s opera Romeo et Juliette premieres at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris (1867); The Australian Labor Party under Prime Minister Chris Watson becomes the first Labor government in the world (1904); Sultan of Turkey Abdul Hamid II is overthrown (1909); Indian passive resistance in South Africa is suspended when General Jan Smuts enters into negotiations with civil rights activist Mahatma Gandhi (1911); Italian partisans capture Benito Mussolini in Dongo, near Lake Como (1945); Undefeated world heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano retires from the ring (1956); Mao Zedong resigns as Chairman of the People’s Republic of China after the disastrous failure of the “Great Leap Forward” (1959); Apollo 16 returns to Earth after lunar exploration, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean southeast of the island of Kiritimati (1972); Soviet authorities order the evacuation of the city of Pripyat the day after the Chernobyl nuclear accident (1986); Beijing students take over Tiananmen Square in China (1989); Construction begins on the Freedom Tower for the new World Trade Center in New York City (2006); Pope Francis donates 500,000 USD in support of Catholic projects across 16 dioceses for migrants blocked at the U.S. border fleeing violence in Central America (2019); Brazil’s Senate orders an official inquiry into President Jair Bolsonaro and government official’s handling of the COVID pandemic (2021); Former Vice President Mike Pence appears before the federal grand jury investigating Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss (2023).
Today is April 27th. On this day was born Irish poet Cecil Day-Lewis (1904) and Polish-born writer Martin Gray (1922). On this day died American modernist poet Hart Crane, who, at the age of thirty-two, returning to New York from Mexico on a steamship, jumped from the deck to his death (1932).
Welcome to the 173rd edition of Prescriptions. Here is our look at the current events in the arts.
The seagull’s wings shall dip and pivot him,
Shedding white rings of tumult, building high
Over the chained bay waters Liberty—
Then, with inviolate curve, forsake our eyes
As apparitional as sails that cross
Some page of figures to be filed away;
—Till elevators drop us from our day . . .
I think of cinemas, panoramic sleights
With multitudes bent toward some flashing scene
Never disclosed, but hastened to again,
Foretold to other eyes on the same screen.
–Hart Crane / from The Bridge
Hart Crane / Photo Walker Evans
Hart Crane
Hart Crane (1899–1932) was a major American modernist poet. His book-length poem, The Bridge, expresses in ecstatic terms a vision of the historical and spiritual significance of America. Like T. S. Eliot, Crane used the landscape of the modern, industrialized city to create a powerful new symbolic literature. Highly precocious, much of what we read from his earliest works saw their beginnings during his adolescent years.
Alex Kent, Columbia University Pro–Palestine Protests / 2026 Photo Contest – North and Central America – Singles
World Press Photo 2026
The mission of World Press Photo has expanded, and we draw on our experience to guide visual journalists, storytellers, and audiences around the world through this challenging and exciting landscape. Winners & Exhibitions announced. Various international exhibitions on view throughout 2026.
Sadie Cook & Jo Pawlowska
Circulation(s) 2026 / 16th Edition
A springboard for artists, festival Circulation(s) is the place to be and a reflection of the vibrant contemporary European art scene, as well as the must-see event for the photography of tomorrow. At Centquatre-Paris through May 17, 2026.
(LA)HORDE — Marine Brutti, Jonathan Debrouwer, Arthur Harel
BAM Winter/Spring 2026
BAM Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Winter/Spring season delivers a slate of innovative, full-tilt artistic visions, featuring major theatrical events like the National Theatre’s Hamlet and new works by American Opera Projects and V. Through June 2026.
Hossein Sadri Nobarzad, Untitled / Iran, Islamic Republic Of, Shortlist, Professional Competition, Environment, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
Sony World Photography Awards 2026
World Photography Organisation announces the 2026 Sony World Photography Awards winners/shortlist and exhibitions. This award is a leading global program dedicated to the development and advancement of photography. Exhibition through May 4, 2026 at Somerset House, London.
