Norman Rockwell Museum Joins Google Art Project

(STOCKBRIDGE, Mass.) – The Norman Rockwell Museum has gone global, courtesy of Google and the Google Art Project, the company’s online art database. Via the Internet, art lovers the world over will be able to log in and view samples from the museum’s collection, including early Rockwell works and related materials.

The partnership is part of a major global expansion of the Google Art Project, which now counts 151 partners in 40 countries. In the United States alone, 29 partners in 16 cities are participating, ranging from regional museums to university galleries.

Through Google Art Project, art lovers are able to view high-resolution images of paintings, sculpture, street art, and photographs. Creations from a wide variety of cultures and civilizations are represented, including Brazilian street graffiti, Islamic decorative arts, ancient African rock art, and now the work of beloved American illustrator, Norman Rockwell.

“Norman Rockwell Museum is pleased to be a global participant in the Google Art Project,” said museum director/CEO Laurie Norton Moffatt. “The Museum has invested over ten years in digitizing more than 30,000 images from its Rockwell collection and expanding collection of American illustration art. This collaboration allows us to share the art of Rockwell and other American illustrators with millions of viewers and scholars who may not have the opportunity to visit our Museum in Stockbridge. During his career, Norman Rockwell’s art was viewed around the world at the turn of a page, and it is fitting that the Google Art Project is making it possible, once again, for the artist’s imagery to be seen and enjoyed by worldwide audiences.”

 

A detail from Norman Rockwell's 'No Swimming' as seen on the Google Art Project

Norman Rockwell Museum’s featured images on Google Art Project chronicle Rockwell’s formative years as a visual storyteller, as well as offer important works by other noted American illustrators who created influential art for the printed page — from illustration giants Howard Pyle, Charles Dana Gibson, and James Montgomery Flagg to Rockwell’s beloved teacher, Thomas Fogarty.

 

All told, more than 30,000 high-resolution objects are accessible on Google Art Project. A wide range of institutions, both large and small, is represented – from art museums to less traditional settings for art.

Users may browse the content by the artist’s name, artwork, the type of art, the museum, the country, collections and time period. Google+ and video hangouts are integrated on the site, allowing viewers to create even more engaging personal galleries. Street View technology allows users to move around a select group of galleries virtually.

The ‘Create an Artwork Collection’ feature allows users to save specific views of any artworks and build their own personalized collection. Comments can be added to each painting and the whole collection can then be shared with friends and family. The resource is a useful tool for students or groups to work on collaborative projects or collections.

Google Art Project supports the Android platform, with an iPad version available soon.

 

 

 

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