Harvard Art Museums Open Access: 250,000 Images from Three World-Class Collections

The Harvard Art Museums comprise three distinct museums housed in a single building in Cambridge, Massachusetts: the Fogg Museum, the Busch-Reisinger Museum, and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum. Together, they hold one of the most important and distinctive university art collections in the world, with particular strengths in German Expressionism, Byzantine art, and ancient coins that distinguish the Harvard collections from those of other major American art museums.

The Harvard Art Museums have made over 250,000 high-resolution images from their collections freely available online under a Creative Commons Zero (CC0) licence, providing an extraordinary resource for artists, researchers, and educators who want to study the specific areas of strength in the Harvard collections. The open access program reflects the museums' commitment to making their collections as accessible as possible to the broadest possible audience.

The German Expressionism Collection

German Expressionism is one of the most celebrated strengths of the Harvard Art Museums, with the Busch-Reisinger Museum holding one of the most important collections of German Expressionist art outside Germany. The collection covers the full range of German Expressionist practice, from the early works of the Die Brücke group through the later developments of Der Blaue Reiter and the Neue Sachlichkeit movement.

The Die Brücke works in the collection include major paintings and prints by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, and other founding members of the group. The Die Brücke collection is particularly valuable for artists and researchers who want to study the specific visual language and techniques of early German Expressionism, including the characteristic distorted forms, intense colours, and expressive brushwork that define the style.

The Bauhaus collection is another important aspect of the Busch-Reisinger's holdings, with major works by Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, László Moholy-Nagy, and other Bauhaus masters. The Bauhaus collection is particularly valuable for designers and artists who want to study the specific approaches to art and design that characterised the Bauhaus movement and that continue to influence contemporary design practice.

The Neue Sachlichkeit works document the development of German art in the 1920s and 1930s, with works by Otto Dix, George Grosz, and other leading figures of the New Objectivity movement. The Neue Sachlichkeit collection is particularly valuable for artists and researchers who want to study the specific visual language of this important but often overlooked movement.

The Byzantine Art Collection

Byzantine art is another area of exceptional strength, with the Harvard Art Museums holding one of the most important collections of Byzantine art in the United States. The collection covers the full range of Byzantine artistic production from the early Christian period through the fall of Constantinople in 1453, with major works in mosaic, ivory carving, metalwork, and manuscript illumination.

The Byzantine icons in the collection are particularly celebrated, with major examples of Byzantine icon painting that document the full range of this distinctive artistic tradition. The Byzantine icons are particularly valuable for artists and researchers who want to study the specific visual language and techniques of Byzantine icon painting, including the characteristic gold backgrounds, stylised figures, and specific iconographic conventions that define the tradition.

The Byzantine metalwork collection includes major examples of Byzantine goldsmithing and enamel work, with objects that demonstrate the extraordinary technical skill of Byzantine craftspeople. The metalwork collection is particularly valuable for jewellers and metalworkers who want to study the specific techniques and aesthetic conventions of Byzantine decorative arts.

The Ancient Coins Collection

Ancient coins are one of the most distinctive aspects of the Harvard Art Museums' collections, with the Arthur M. Sackler Museum holding one of the most important collections of ancient Greek, Roman, and other coins in the United States. The coin collection is particularly valuable for artists and researchers who want to study the specific visual language of ancient coinage, including the specific portrait conventions and symbolic imagery that characterise coins from different periods and cultures.

The Greek coins in the collection include major examples of the extraordinary artistic achievement of ancient Greek coinage, with coins that demonstrate the specific approaches to portraiture and symbolic imagery that characterise the best ancient Greek coin design. The Greek coins are particularly valuable for artists who want to study the specific visual language of ancient Greek art in a format that is often overlooked in favour of larger-scale works.

The Roman coins document the development of Roman portraiture and imperial imagery across several centuries of Roman history, with coins that provide a direct visual record of the specific appearance of Roman emperors and the specific symbolic imagery associated with Roman imperial power.

The European Paintings Collection

European paintings are covered with considerable depth in the Fogg Museum's collection, with major works by leading figures of European painting from the medieval period through the twentieth century. The collection is particularly strong in Italian Renaissance and Northern European painting, with major works that document the full range of European painting traditions.

The Italian Renaissance works include major paintings by Fra Angelico, Pontormo, and other leading figures of the Italian Renaissance, providing access to the specific techniques and approaches of Italian Renaissance painting in high resolution. The Italian Renaissance collection is particularly valuable for artists who want to study the specific approaches to colour, composition, and figure painting that characterise this period.

The Search Interface

The Harvard Art Museums' online collection search provides an excellent interface for browsing and searching the open access collection. The search allows filtering by museum, artist, period, medium, and other parameters, making it possible to find images relevant to specific research or creative needs.

The API access allows developers and researchers to access the collection data programmatically, enabling the creation of tools and applications that use the Harvard collections' data. The API is one of the most comprehensive and well-documented available from any art museum, reflecting Harvard's commitment to making its collection data as accessible and reusable as possible.

The Bottom Line

The Harvard Art Museums Open Access program provides free, unrestricted access to over 250,000 high-resolution images from three world-class collections, with particular strength in German Expressionism, Byzantine art, and ancient coins that distinguish the Harvard collections from those of other major American art museums. For artists, designers, researchers, and educators who want to study these specific areas, the Harvard Art Museums' open access collection is an essential and genuinely valuable resource.