When you think of ballpoint pens, your mind probably goes to office supplies, not great works of art. But even the lowliest and most ubiquitous of writing utensils can make breathtaking masterpieces ...

In the autumn of 1948, Marcel Bich, owner of a company located north of Paris that produced ink cartridges for fountain pens, pushed a wheelbarrow in his garden in the village of Rhuis. He considered ...