George Eastman House Joins Google Art Project

Founded in 1949, the George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film in Rochester, NY is the world’s oldest museum of photography and recently announced that it will be the first photography museum to join the Google Art Project:

So far, 50 high-resolution images from their collection—encompassing the birth of photography to the late 20th century—have been added to the Google Art Project website with zooming capabilities and robust cataloging information, and much of the object data was previously unavailable online. More photographs will eventually be added, and the GEH is also partnering with Google Maps Street View to provide 360º views of their galleries and grounds.

For more information, visit the George Eastman House in Google Art Project or read the GEH Press Release.

Via PetaPixel

Google Art Talks

Google’s ever popular Google Art Project has recently expanded its offerings by adding Google Art Talks on Google Hangout. The talks will feature museum directors, curators, historians, and educators to discuss works represented in the Google Art Project or other topics relevant to the art world today:

An excellent guide often best brings an art gallery or museum’s collections to life. Starting this week, we’re hoping to bring this experience online with “Art Talks,” a series of Hangouts on Air on our Google Art Project Google+ page. Each month, curators, museum directors, historians and educators from some of the world’s most renowned cultural institutions will reveal the hidden stories behind particular works, examine the curation process and provide insights into particular works or artists.

So far, there have been two Art Talks hosted, including one from MoMA (March 3) and one from the National Gallery in London (March 28). The videos of the Google Hangouts have been added to YouTube.

The next talk, on April 15 at noon, will be about Bruegel’s Tower of Babel, which can be viewed as a gigapixel image on Google Art Project.

Google mentions that they have talks planned with the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the Museo Nacional de Arte in Mexico and the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar.

Via Official Google Blog