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Blog Category: Collection release

May 31, 2022

New: Global Art and Culture from Art Resource

Zhao Mengfu. Autumn Colors on the Qiao and Hua Mountains, detail. Yuan Dynasty. Long scroll. © National Palace Museum / Art Resource, NY.

A collection of world art has been added to the Art Resource collection in Artstor: approximately 1,500 images from the National Palace Museum, Taipei, The Rubin Museum of Art, Mingei International Museum, and The Newark Museum of Art. The selection features art from China, the Himalayas, Latin America, and Africa. The collections are presented in high-resolution images from Art Resource, the world’s largest stock photo archive of fine art, as well as a licensor for museums across the world.1

Castiglione, Father Giuseppe. One Hundred Horses, detail. 1728. Long scroll. © National Palace Museum / Art Resource, NY.

We invite you to uncover the treasures from this collection–these are just a few of the highlights. The selection includes nearly 600 images of Chinese art from the National Palace Museum, with important examples of scroll paintings and calligraphy displayed both in full views and in comprehensive details. Among these are the One Hundred Horses scroll, 1728, by Father Giuseppe Castiglione, who distinctively blended western and Chinese techniques in fully differentiated depictions of 100 equines, as well as the beloved mountainscape scroll of Zhao Mengfu, Autumn Colors, that combines calligraphic and painterly skills.

Tsang Province, Tibet. Lama Gyalwa Lhachog Senge. 17th century. Ivory. © Rubin Museum of Art / Art Resource, NY.
Nepal. Mongoose. 16th century. Bronze. © Rubin Museum of Art / Art Resource, NY.
Buddhist lineage, Tibet. Naga King. 14th century. Metal. © Rubin Museum of Art / Art Resource, NY.
Mongolia. Tsiu Marpo, Worldly Protector. 19th century. Wood with pigments. Rubin Museum of Art / Art Resource, NY.

From The Rubin Museum, an eclectic range of Buddhist works offers a minutely crafted ivory figure of a 15th-century abbott, Lama Gyalwa Lhachog Senge; a tiny bronze mongoose, 17th century, a likely fragment from a Ganesha sculpture; a formidable and ornate Naga King, 14th century, a spirit both human and snake; and a wooden carving of the Tsiu Marpo, 19th century, a protector deity enshrined in flames.

Tairona Culture. Shell Pendant. 1000 - 1600 CE. Gold. © Mingei International Museum / Art Resource, NY.
Chimu-Inca Culture. Ceremonial Sprinkler with Lobster Effigy. 1430 - 1540 CE. Blackware. © Mingei International Museum / Art Resource, NY.
Nayarit, Mexico. Pintura de Estambre. 20th century. Yarn, beeswax and wood. © Mingei International Museum / Art Resource, NY.

Mingei Museum takes its name from the Japanese mingei, meaning art of the people. The selection in Artstor comprises approximately 300 works of folk art, decorative arts, jewelry, and fashion from communities in the Americas and the Caribbean, and Asia. The exceptional gold work of the Tairona people is exemplified by a refined shell pendant, 1000 – 1600 C.E.; a hybrid blackware pottery style of the Chimú and Inca people of Peru is displayed in the Ceremonial Sprinkler with Lobster…, 1430 – 1540 CE.; and the artistry of an unknown creator shines in the brilliant lines and colors of the Pintura de Estambre (yarn painting), 20th century, from Nayarit.

Senufo People. Bird finial. 20th century. Wood, metal. © Newark Museum of Art / Art Resource, NY.

Ashanti People. Ring. 20th century. Gold. Newark Museum of Art / Art Resource, NY.

A limited sampling is also offered from the Newark Museum of Art, providing a diverse array of works by Indigenous artists from North America, as well as art from south and east Asia, and Africa–notably a finial from the Senufo people, and a gold ring from the Ashanti, both dominated by striking birds.

View the entire collection on JSTOR

—Nancy Minty, collections editor


1Artstor also includes other collections provided by Art Resource that are highly valued by our community, including Erich Lessing Culture and Fine Arts Archives and Réunion des Musées Nationaux (RMN), both of which focus primarily on western art.

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April 28, 2022

New: 5,000 images from Magnum Photos

Bruno Barbey. Hong Kong. Cheung Chau Bun Festival. 2015. Photograph. © 2022 Bruno Barbey / Magnum Photos / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New
York / SAIF, Paris.

An additional launch of 5,000 shots from the Magnum Photos collection provides a panorama of events across the world and brings the Artstor corpus from the cooperative to more than 130,000 photographs. At Magnum, dozens of photographers and photojournalists are perpetually seeking out stories and offering their visions: the unique perspectives of many members are reflected in the content published by Artstor this year including global manifestations of climate change raging across the planet; refugees seeking shelter and safety; celebrations and concerns around racial, cultural and sexual identity and, domestically, the collision of COVID, and the constitutional crisis at the Capitol on January 6.

Patrick Zachmann. Paris, Notre-Dame cathedral's reconstruction … frameworks under the vaults... Yves Macel, carpenter. March 4, 2021. Photograph © 2022 Patrick Zachmann / Magnum Photos / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SAIF, Paris.
Patrick Zachmann. Bercé's forest in la Sarthe. Cutting of oak trees … to rebuild the spire of Notre-Dame… 2021. Photograph © 2022 Patrick Zachmann / Magnum Photos / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SAIF, Paris.
Patrick Zachmann. Bercé's forest in la Sarthe. Cutting of oak trees … to rebuild the spire of Notre-Dame… 2021. Photograph © 2022 Patrick Zachmann / Magnum Photos / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SAIF, Paris.
Larry Towell. Vancouver Island, BC. Clear-cutting in the Fairy Creek region. Nov. 1, 2021. Photograph. © 2022 Larry Towell / Magnum Photos / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SAIF, Paris.

The proximity and exceptional access gained by the French photographer Patrick Zachmann epitomizes the reach of the members of the cooperative. Since the fire at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris in the spring of 2019, Zachmann has documented the extraordinary labor and skill that have gone into its reconstruction: more than 350 of his photographs in Artstor chronicle this process. As shown here, last year’s progress included the reconstruction of the wooden scaffolding in the vaults of the church, and the felling of ancient oaks in the forest of Bercé to rebuild the spire. The deliberate and selective culling of the tall trees contrasts here with the nearly simultaneous deforestation of the landscape in British Columbia recorded by Canadian photographer Larry Towell—a desecration.

Patrick Zachmann. Paris. The 26 works to give back to Benin are being removed from … the Museum of Quai Branly: the statue Behanzin, the sharkman. Nov. 2, 2021. Photograph. © 2022 Patrick Zachmann / Magnum Photos / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SAIF, Paris.

Patrick Zachmann. Paris, Museum of Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac. Four doors from King Glélé’s palace are moved …. Sept. 15, 2021. Photograph. © 2022 Patrick Zachmann / Magnum Photos / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SAIF, Paris.

Zachmann also provided witness to a triumphant act of repatriation that occurred in his native Paris. Twenty-six works from the Royal Treasury at Abomey, Benin were returned to Cotonou, West Africa in November 2021. They had been in Paris since the 1890s. Here we behold Behanzi, the sharkman and the doors of a royal palace as they began their journey home in gloved hands.

Guy Le Querrec. Neuilly. The American writer James Baldwin in his residence. July 21, 1970. Photograph. © 2022 Guy Le Querrec / Magnum Photos / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SAIF, Paris.
Guy Le Querrec. Algiers. First Panafrican Cultural Festival. Théâtre de l'Atlas. Concert of… Nina Simone. July 30, 1969. Photograph. © 2022 Guy Le Querrec / Magnum Photos / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SAIF, Paris.
Guy Le Querrec. Algiers. Charles Mingus, American bass player. 1970. Photograph. © 2022 Guy Le Querrec / Magnum Photos / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SAIF, Paris.
Guy Le Querrec. Paris, Studio des Buttes Chaumont… Shooting of the show "Deux sur la 2". Tina Turner. Jan. 26th, 1971. Photograph. © 2022 Guy Le Querrec / Magnum Photos / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SAIF, Paris.

The current launch also draws from the Magnum archives, notably on three artists all born around 1940. The South African photographer Ernest Cole is represented by about 600 photographs in Artstor, most depicting apartheid in his homeland, as recorded in his book House of Bondage. Guy Le Querrec whose specialization is portraying jazz musicians actually likened his own work to the syncopation and improvisation of their performances. He is represented by nearly 2,000 photographs in Artstor, including the portraits of the writer James Baldwin, singer Nina Simone, bassist Charles Mingus, and the inimitable Tina Turner displayed here.

Bruno Barbey. Sichuan province. Leshan. The foot of a Buddhist statue, …8th century… 1980. Photograph. © 2022 Bruno Barbey / Magnum Photos / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SAIF, Paris.

Finally, we added works by the Moroccan born French photographer Bruno Barbey who died in 2020. The new photographs span his 55 year career and raise the total in Artstor to nearly 4,000. Above, his Cheung Chau Bun Festival, 2015, represents the popular early May ritual and demonstrates Barbey’s painterly command of color – not to mention his abiding interest in China where he began working in the early 1970s. Barbey was also known for his courageous practice in conflict zones. As we celebrate World Press Freedom Day (May 3) and honor the rights and safety of photojournalists, Barbey’s shot of the foot of the great Buddha at Leshan, 1980, underscores a humbling message of peace.

— Nancy Minty, collections editor

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January 25, 2022

A.A. Schomburg: Collector of lost histories

Artstor has released more than 2,000 images from The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, a world-leading cultural institution devoted to the research, preservation, and exhibition of materials focused on African American, African Diaspora, and African experiences. The center was named after its chief early contributor, Arthur Schomburg. You can access this collection freely on JSTOR.

Photograph of Arthur Alfonso Schomburg. Is Hayti decadent? Issued: 1904. Image and original data from the New York Public Library. No Copyright – United States.

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January 14, 2022

New: Open images from the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Open Artstor: Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture is now available in Artstor, featuring a selection of approximately 2,500 images under Creative Commons licenses. This is part of an initiative to aggregate open museum, library, and archive collections across disciplines on both resources. We are proud to present this content, along with the freshly published Open Artstor: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (New York Public Library) collection as part of an ongoing initiative to bring more African American resources to JSTOR.

Photographic postcard of soldiers in World War One at Verdun. July 1918. Image and data from the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Creative Commons: Free Reuse (CC0).

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June 1, 2021

Artstor images now discoverable on JSTOR

We are currently working on integrating Artstor on JSTOR. When you search JSTOR today you will find Artstor’s 2+ million images in your results, bringing together critical scholarship and high-quality images on one platform.

As the year progresses, we will be adding tools for working and teaching with images, making your experience even better. We have several ways you can follow our progress, or you can simply sign up to get updates in your inbox.

We are doing this because we believe that by combining images with essential scholarship, you’ll strengthen the depth and quality of your research, make innovative connections, and spark unexpected discoveries.

Browse the Artstor collections on JSTOR | Try an image search on JSTOR

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April 28, 2021

The Arthur Szyk collection

A landmark offering of 500 new images by one of America’s most celebrated political artists during World War II.

Drawing of Adolf Hitler appears on horseback, surrounded by skeletons, monsters, and corpses

Arthur Szyk, Walpurgis Night. New York, 1942. Pen, ink and colored graphite on paper. Image and original data provided by Irvin Ungar.

Watercolor painting of an artist drawing at his desk

Arthur Szyk, Ink and Blood (Self-Portrait). New York, 1944. Watercolor and gouache on paper. Image and original data provided by Irvin Ungar.

Scholar and author Irvin Ungar has recently contributed the Arthur Szyk collection to Artstor, consisting of 500 images by acclaimed World War-II era Polish-Jewish artist Arthur Szyk (b. 1894, Łódź, Poland – d. 1951, New Canaan, Connecticut). Below, Ungar and art historian Samantha Lyons, PhD, provide context on the artist’s life and career.

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March 31, 2021

Additional images from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD)

Victor Hugo. Vianden seen through a spider's web. 1871.

Victor Hugo. Vianden seen through a spider’s web. 1871. Pen, ink and wash over graphite and watercolor on vellum. Image and data from Allan T. Kohl, Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

Collection:

Minneapolis College of Art and Design Collection

Contributor:

Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD)

Content:
The Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) has contributed 1,350 additional images to their collection in Artstor, bringing the total to 2,800. The eclectic teaching collection includes iconic works present in art history curricula. All images were selected with the assistance of Allan Kohl, visual resources librarian.

Jean Delville. Portrait of Mrs. Stuart Merrill. 1892.
Jean Delville. Portrait of Mrs. Stuart Merrill.1892. Colored chalk on paper. Image and data from Allan T. Kohl, Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
Caspar David Friedrich. Owl in a Gothic Window. 1836.
Caspar David Friedrich. Owl in a Gothic Window. 1836. Pencil and sepia, black ink. Image and data from Allan T. Kohl, Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
Odilon Redon. Spirit of the Forest. 1880.
Odilon Redon. Spirit of the Forest. 1880. Charcoal and chalk on paper. Image and data from Allan T. Kohl, Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
Caspar David Friedrich. Owl on a Grave. 1836-1837.
Caspar David Friedrich. Owl on a Grave. 1836-1837. Pencil and sepia, black ink. Image and data from Allan T. Kohl, Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

The current launch provides an opportunity to highlight some esoteric selections in an intimate digital exhibition of 19th-century Symbolist and related works. From Victor Hugo, better known for his writings than his many renderings, Vianden seen through a spider’s web offers a veiled perspective of the Luxembourg town that sheltered him during his exile from France. The electrifying Portrait of Mrs. Stuart Merrill by Belgian artist Jean Delville, aptly titled La Mysteriosa, is the personification of the occult. Caspar David Friedrich’s majestic owls portend death, and between the two looms A Spirit of the forest, one of Odilon Redon’s beloved hybrid “monsters.” Finally, the lighter spirit of the American luminist movement animates an oil sketch by the Hudson River school painter Frederic Edwin Church.

Frederic Edwin Church. Hudson River Valley in Winter Looking Southwest from Olana. c. 1870-1880.

Frederic Edwin Church. Hudson River Valley in Winter Looking Southwest from Olana. c. 1870-1880. Oil and pencil on board. Image and data from Allan T. Kohl, Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

Relevance:
European, British, and American art and culture.

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March 9, 2021

Barbara Anello: Photographs of Khmer Sites and Monuments

Khmer. Bayon, Angkor Thom.

Khmer. Bayon, Angkor Thom. Late 12th-late 13th century. Sandstone, laterite. Image and data from Barbara J. Anello-Adnani.

Artist and art historian Barbara J. Anello has contributed more than 2,700 photographs of Khmer monuments and heritage, including current archaeological practice, to JSTOR. While the content is both culturally and historically significant, and the images arresting and revelatory, the collection is amplified by detailed descriptions.

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