Photoarchive

A black-and-white photograph of a Renaissance wall tomb set in a Venetian church.
Analog Facial Recognition

Beginning in 1925, Helen Clay Frick hired the Italian photographers Mario Sansoni and Oreste Nesti to traverse Italy documenting in situ sculptures, paintings, and frescoes that other firms such as Anderson, Alinari, and Brogi had neglected to capture. On several occasions, staff of the Frick Art Reference Library requested photography of objects specifically related to works in The Frick Collection. See more at frick.org/blogs/photoarchive/analog_facial_recognition

Two photographs of a small devotional altarpiece of the Madonna and Child
Kress Foundation Grant for Image Analysis Toolkit

The Frick Art Reference Library Photoarchive recently received a $25,000 grant from the Kress Foundation to support the creation of a toolkit that will perform computer vision analysis on digitized art historical photo archives. This toolkit will be a groundbreaking application of technology that will transform the way photo archives are used.

A restored half-length painting of the Virgin Mary wearing a veil holding the Baby Jesus.
A Byzantine Madonna in Italy

The third and final entry in a series of three blog posts focusing on conservation "interventions" as recorded in the holdings of the Frick Art Reference Library Photoarchive is this mysterious devotional image in the church of San Martino in Velletri, Italy.

A woman holding a young child and a small spaniel on her lap.
Lost and Found

The second of a series of blog entries focusing on conservation “interventions” as recorded in the holdings of the Frick Art Reference Library Photoarchive is this problematic portrait of an engaging young woman, her son, and their serene spaniel attributed to Sir William Beechey (1753–1839).

Half-length portrait of a young woman dressed in a short-sleeved white dress and a shawl in a chair.
Art and Fashion

The first in a series of blog entries focusing on conservation “interventions” as recorded in the holdings of the Frick Art Reference Library Photoarchive is this elegant portrait of Mrs. William Bedlow Crosby attributed to Eliab Metcalf (1785‒1834), which underwent substantial restoration before 1940.

Group portrait of four young brothers and their young sister seated around a table.
The Bannard Family Leaves Brooklyn

The Photoarchive recently received a gift of three reproductions of portraits of Brooklyn’s Bannard family, including a charming group portrait of the five Bannard children.

A view into a large study room featuring round tables and skylights.
Art Historical Connections: The Hague and New York Meet Again
Corner of a room with a section of fresco depicting the head and shoulders of a young blond man.
Piero della Francesca's St. Julian In Situ

In 1956, Thomas Hoving, the former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, traveled to Sansepolcro, Italy, to study and photograph works by Piero della Francesca (ca. 1415–1492), including a recently discovered fresco in the church of Santa Chiara (formerly Sant’Agostino).

A half-length painting of a young woman wearing a crown and holding an arrow and a standard.
A St. Ursula by Valentin de Boulogne?

A painting of St. Ursula originally attributed to Jusepe de Ribera (1591–1652) is more likely a work by another Caravaggesque master, the French artist known as Valentin de Boulogne (1591–1632).

Group portrait of twenty-four people standing in a garden.
The Future of Photoarchives

In late January 2013, the representatives of fourteen photoarchives based in Europe and the United States met for two days to discuss future plans for their collections.