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Southern Song dynasty. Four dragons in mists and clouds, detail. mid-13th century. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. All Rights Reserved

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston has contributed approximately 6,900 additional images* of works in diverse media across its broad and comprehensive collecting areas to the Artstor Digital Library. The extensive selection in Artstor features highlights from the encyclopedic collection including ancient works from different cultures; the arts of many countries across Asia; icons of western painting, both European and American; works on paper; sculpture and decorative arts; and the creations and artifacts of indigenous civilizations across the Americas.

Lucius Richard O’Brien. Northern Head of Grand Manan. 1879. Image and original data provided by the Art Gallery of Ontario | ago.net

The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) has contributed approximately 120 additional images of its diverse permanent collection to the Artstor Digital Library, bringing their total to over 600 images.*

John Frederick Peto. Books on a Shelf. c. 1854-1907. Image and original data provided by the Museo de Arte de Ponce. The Luis A. Ferré Foundation, Inc.

The Museo de Arte de Ponce has contributed nearly 100 images of its celebrated permanent collection to the Artstor Digital Library.* The selection includes many favorites from the museum best known for its European, Pre-Raphaelite, and Caribbean paintings.

Isidore of Miletus, Anthemios of Tralles. Hagia Sophia, interior: Apse. 532-537, image: July 2013. Photography by Media Center for Art History, Department of Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University.

Have you ever wanted a better understanding of how an artwork or architectural detail was originally intended to be viewed?

Artstor’s Virtual Reality Panoramas are a wonderful option for viewing works in situ–no travel required. These 360-degree panoramas of world architecture allow you to navigate the interiors of cathedrals, mosques, palazzos, libraries, castles, and more. Using Comparison Mode, you can study artworks alongside panoramic views of the spaces in which they are installed.

Each year we hold user group meetings at VRA and ARLIS (conferences focusing on art librarianship and the use of visual resources in education, respectively) to give our core community of librarians the latest Artstor news and answer their questions. This year, we met with groups from around the country in New York and Philadelphia to share updates about Artstor’s platform and collections, and engaged in lively discussions about the new site and what’s to come. For those unable to attend, we’re providing a roundup of our sessions.

Jean-Michel Basquiat. A Next Loin And/Or. 1982. Image and original data provided by The Menil Collection. © 2014 The Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat / ADAGP, Paris / Artists Rights Society, New York

Chiharu Shiota. Trace of Memory. 2013. Images and original data provided by The Mattress Factory. © 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

Robert Rauschenberg. Bicycle. 1963. oil and silkscreen ink on canvas in two parts. Image and original data provided by Glenstone. © Robert Rauschenberg Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY. This work of art is protected by copyright and/or related rights and may not be reproduced in any manner, except as permitted under the Artstor Digital Library Terms and Conditions of Use, without the prior express written authorization of VAGA, Tel.: 212-736-6666; Fax: 212-736-6767, email: info@vagarights.com.

Joán Miró. Femme assise (Seated Woman). 1935. Image and original data provided by Albright-Knox Art Gallery. © 2014 Successió Miró / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Artstor has released more than 7,000 new images* from leading modern and contemporary collections from across the U.S., bringing the total number for these six diverse collections already in the Artstor Digital Library to nearly 17,000.

William Holbrook Beard. The Bear Dance. c. 1870. Image and original data courtesy New York Historical Society Museum & Library.

Artstor will be attending the 2018 Visual Resources Association conference in Philadelphia, where we will be holding Artstor and JSTOR Forum user group meetings. Plus, our legal counsel will be joining a panel discussion about recent rights questions in museums and higher education. And finally, don’t forget to come by our table at Wednesday night’s happy hour for a chat over drinks!

I recently found myself exploring the amazing world of netsuke using Artstor’s new comparison mode to perform that timeless task: double-slide projection. Boy, has it ever gotten easier!

The new image viewer allows you to project up to 10 images together, with the ability to zoom in on details of any of the images and add or remove images as needed. You can view detailed brushstrokes, or pan across large blocks of text in one of the primary source documents in Artstor. Try this yourself by opening a lecture image group, viewing the first image full screen, and clicking “compare.”

a) Hannah Wilke. S.O.S. Starification Object Series (Back). 1974. Gelatin silver print. Work: © Marsie, Emanuelle, Damon and Andrew Scharlatt/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY. This work of art is protected by copyright and/or related rights and may not be reproduced in any manner, except as permitted under the Artstor Digital Library Terms and Conditions. Photograph: © The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York. b) William Constable. The Great Falls of the Genesee, Rochester, New York, with a Double Rainbow. Probably 1828-1830. Watercolor on paper. Image and data from New-York Historical Society: Museum & Library. c) Edmund V. Gillon, photographer. Onion domes of St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral, 15 East 97th Street, c. 1975. Image and data provided by Museum of the City of New York. d) John James Audubon. Three Eastern Gray Squirrels: Study for Plate 35 of “The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America”. 1842. Watercolor on ivory paper. Image and data from New-York Historical Society: Museum & Library.

Artstor has released more than 93,000* new images from four of New York’s leading cultural institutions. This eclectic release ranges across the history and built environment of New York City itself to art and artifacts from the Renaissance through the present day.

a) Yanaka Cemetery. Image and original data provided by Misun Ahn: Contemporary Architecture, Japan and South Korea; b) Richard Upjohn. St. John Chrysostom Church. 1851-1856. Delafield, Wisconsin. Image: © Ralph Lieberman; c) Isfahan Jami: West Iwan. c. 771-1732. Buyid; Safavid; Seljuk. Eṣfahān, Eṣfahān (province). Image and original data provided by Alka Patel Archive. © 2011 Alka Patel; d) Restoration of the Open Chapel of Teposcolula, stone carving. 1994-1999. Mixtec, Teposcolula, Oaxaca, México. Photograph by Benjamin Ibarra Sevilla. Visual Resources Collection, University of Texas at Austin, School of Architecture.

Artstor has released more than 13,000 new images in Architecture from leading scholars and institutions. This wide-ranging release includes surveys of historic and modern sites, including medieval mosques, restored church architecture in Mexico, Yanaka cemetery in Tokyo, and structures and sculptures along New York City’s High Line.