Discoveries: A Library Blog

Black-and-white photograph of a light fixture.
Alfred Cook's "Progress Photographs"
From 1931 to 1935, Alfred Cook, a footman to the Frick family, documented the transformation of the Frick’s Gilded Age mansion into a public art gallery and research center in a series of evocative “progress photographs.”
Tempera painting on poplar panel of Saint Lucy dressed in blue holding a martyr's palm
Curating the Visual Landscape of Our Digital World
Screenshot of a 3D model of an ancient Zapotec vessel.
Re-viewing Digital Technologies and Art History

Photoarchive staff was involved in the publication of a special issue of The Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy: “Re-viewing Digital Technologies and Art History."

Black and white photograph of a monumental wall tomb
Looking Closely

Scholars celebrate photo archives for providing access to little-known works of art housed in private collections or in circulation on the art market. A feature of photo archives such as the Frick’s that is less often appreciated, however, is how comprehensively they document famous works of art on public view.

Sketch of deer antlers.
Mind the Antlers

The story of the "overzealous" restoration of a family portrait as related by the painting's current owner illustrates how crucial this type of personal information is to the documentation of the Photoarchive.