Toledo Museum of Art Puts 300 Masterworks from Its Collection Online

Written by Victor Wilkes Wednesday, 15 June 2011 22:24

TOLEDO, OHIO.- Approximately 300 masterworks in the Toledo Museum of Art collection now can be explored online from anywhere in the world. Via the eMuseum link on the TMA website, users can search and browse the collection by object title, artist, material, date or type. Each entry features an extended description behind the work and, for many objects, users can zoom in and pan around images for highly detailed viewing.

Drawn from the Museum's 2009 publication Masterworks, these highlighted objects from the collection are arranged by geographical area and time period, such as American and European art from the 17th through the 21st centuries; art from Africa, Asia, and the Near and Middle East; and art from the ancient Mediterranean, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Each section integrates—as in the Museum's galleries—paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, jewelry, furniture, prints and photographs.

“The masterworks featured online honor more than a century of collecting at the Toledo Museum of Art,” said Director Brian Kennedy. “This selection is the first in an ongoing initiative to digitize and expand access to our collection for those planning a visit, and for those who can’t visit us in person.”

Since the launch, the 24 contemporary objects in the Welles Sculpture Garden have been added to the online database. The next area of focus will be to digitize TMA’s world-renowned glass collection. The Museum aims to have a large selection of its glass online by next spring when Toledo hosts the 2012 Glass Art Society international conference.

To access eMuseum, users can visit www.toledomuseum.org/collection and click on "Search Highlights of the Collection here." The launch of TMA’s online collection is the result of years of work by TMA staff. More than 100 museums worldwide use eMuseum to reach web-based audiences.

Since our founding in 1901, the Toledo Museum of Art has earned a global reputation for the quality of our collection, our innovative and extensive education programs, and our architecturally significant campus.

More than 30,000 works of art represent American and European painting, the history of art in glass, ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian works, Asian and African art, medieval art, sculpture, decorative arts, graphic arts, and modern and contemporary art.To accommodate the ever growing collection and demand for art education, the Museum campus has grown exponentially since its founding. From its humble first exhibition space in two rented rooms, the Museum has grown to cover approximately 36 acres with six buildings.

The main Museum building interior contains four and a half acres of floor space on two levels. It has 45 galleries, 15 classroom studios, the 1,750-seat Peristyle concert hall, the 176-seat Little Theater lecture hall, the Resource Center for Educators, the Family Center, the Visual Resources Collection, the Museum Café, and the Museum Store featuring Collector’s Corner.

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