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Blog
New: The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute
What’s new in the Artstor Digital Library? The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute
Contributor:
The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute
Content:
The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute has contributed 5,000* images of additional works for their Artstor Digital Library collection. These include a recent acquisition, the iconic Brutus Condemning His Sons to Death, selections from their prized decorative art objects, as well as numerous historical prints and photographs.
The Clark also supplied new photography for most of the works previously published in their Artstor collection. These updates, with the additional submissions noted above, mean users will enjoy nearly 10,000* new images from the museum.
Relevance:
Art, culture, and history from around the globe, notably America, Asia, and Europe
*Totals may vary depending on domestic or international release.
Summer is for stargazers: Astronomy in Artstor
Summer solstice brings us the longest, sunniest days of the year. The season also sparkles with starry nights, and getaways in July and August provide an escape from the urban glare, enhancing our appreciation of stellar skies. In homage to the stars, we have mined the resources of Artstor to present some outstanding celestial subjects across the ages.
Vincent van Gogh. The Starry Night. 1889. Image and data provided by the Museum of Modern Art.
Starry Night, 1889, by Vincent van Gogh, exemplifies the genre of the nocturne. The artist’s unique style might lead one to believe that the entire scene is imaginary, but researchers have identified many of the planets depicted; to name one, Venus shines white above the horizon at left. Nonetheless, the painter took liberties with the moon, rendering it as a crescent when in fact it would have been a fuller waning gibbous on that night, June 18. In a letter to his sister written the previous year, van Gogh articulated his observation of star fields: “certain stars are citron-yellow, others have a pink glow, or a green, blue and forget-me-not brilliance… putting little white dots on a blue-black surface is not enough.” [1]
A mini history of the tiny purse
From our friends at JSTOR Daily
Bag (reticule). British. First quarter 19th century. Image and data courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The purse has always been political, a reflection of changing economic realities and gender roles. Blame the Balenciaga IKEA bag. When the $2,145 luxury lambskin version of the familiar blue plastic shopping bag appeared on the runway in June 2016, it was the beginning of the end of a glorious era of capacious hobo bags, boat totes, and bucket bags. The upscale counterfeit triggered a backlash against fashion’s flirtation with so-called poverty chic, but also against gigantic bags in general. From a 19-gallon capacity, there was nowhere to go but down.
American art at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields
Dr. Kelli Morgan, Associate Curator of American Art at the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) at Newfields introduces us to some of the American gems in the IMA’s collection.
The American collection at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields (IMA) is an encyclopedic group of brilliant objects that span U.S. history from the Colonial period to the 1970s. The collection is well known for its American Impressionism, modernist painting and sculpture, and of course Indiana’s own Hoosier School. Yet, IMA’s American collection is comprised of such a diverse array of objects that it offers an alternative look at the American canon.
New: Bowdoin College Museum of Art
What’s new in the Artstor Digital Library?
Bowdoin College Museum of Art
Contributor:
Bowdoin College Museum of Art
Content:
The Museum has contributed 2,000 additional images of its historic teaching collection of world art, bringing the total in Artstor to nearly 6,000.* Highlights include varied antiquities, European paintings and works on paper, American colonial painting, the arts of Asia and a notable collection of medals and plaquettes from the Renaissance to the 20th century.
Relevance:
Art, culture, and history from around the globe, notably America, Asia, and Europe
*Totals may vary depending on domestic or international release.
Artstor celebrates the earth: Flora, fauna, and natural phenomena
The Artstor Digital Library is replete with images from nature: arks of animals, a plethora of plants, and the dazzling spectacles of the earth. Meticulous renderings of animal and botanical species from classical times through the onset of photography may be studied alongside striking contemporary photographs. Illustrations of animal, plant and mineral specimens are also available as well as records of scientific fieldwork, and larger ecosystems.
New: Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields
What’s new in the Artstor Digital Library?
Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields
Contributor:
Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields
Content:
The Museum has contributed 4,254 additional images of its encyclopedic collection, bringing the total in Artstor to nearly 6,400.* 5,000 years of global history illustrated by works of art, design, and ritual objects, as well as views from the Newfields campus: gardens, landmarks, and contemporary installations.
Relevance:
Art, culture, and history from around the globe, notably Africa, America, Asia, and Europe
*Totals may vary depending on domestic or international release.
Behind the lens of Frank Cancian, in his own words
Frank Cancian. Shooting back, Juan Vásquez (Pig) family (Another Place). 1971. Black-and-white photograph. © Frank Cancian. Image and data provided by University of California Irvine Libraries.
Photographer and anthropologist Frank Cancian has been documenting international communities for more than fifty years. His recent contribution to the Artstor Digital Library, in collaboration with University of California Irvine Libraries, traces his fieldwork from the Italian hill town of Lacedonia during the 1950s to the Maya of Zinacantán, Chiapas during the ’60s and ’70s, and to domestic workers in Orange County, California from 2000 to 2002.
New: Frank Cancian Documentary Photograph Archive
What’s new in the Artstor Digital Library?
Collection:
Frank Cancian Documentary Photograph Archive
Contributor:
University of California Irvine Libraries, Photographer/anthropologist Frank Cancian, Professor Emeritus, UC Irvine
Content:
Approximately 175 photographs spanning Cancian’s career:
The work documents communities in California, Mexico, and Italy, including house cleaners in Orange County (2001-2002); the Maya of Zinacantán, Chiapas (1960-1971), and the townspeople of Lacedonia, a hill town in Avellino (1957).
Relevance:
Economic Anthropology and Social History, Immigration and Human Geography, Photography