The Courtauld Gallery’s collection launches online for the first time
The Courtauld Gallery’s collection, which comprises over 33,000 objects ranging from the Middle Ages to the 21st century and includes paintings, drawings, ceramics and sculptures, among others, is available to explore in its entirety online for free for the first time thanks to a new digital platform: https://gallerycollections.courtauld.ac.uk/
The new platform features high-definition images of the works of art in the collection, the vast majority of which have not been accessible online before. Most of the images will be available to download for non-commercial use. As a result of a major ongoing cataloguing project, some 5000 drawings will be accompanied by extensive information on provenance, exhibition history and other areas. With this new platform, The Courtauld also joins the growing community making use of the International Image Interoperability Framework (iiif) – https://iiif.io/
The Courtauld Gallery is home to one of the UK’s greatest art collections, including world-renowned Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces such as Édouard Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère (1882), Vincent van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear (1889), and the most significant collection of works by Paul Cézanne in the UK.
Ernst Vegelin van Claerbergen, Head of The Courtauld Gallery, said: “This new platform will make The Courtauld Gallery’s collection of masterpieces accessible like never before, enabling audiences globally to discover and enjoy the collection, as well as greatly enhancing the ways in which researchers, students, and art lovers can learn about our works of art. In addition to our exhibitions and public programmes, digital and cataloguing projects such as this are essential to The Courtauld’s mission to make great art accessible to everyone.”
The launch of the Courtauld Gallery collection online is part of a wider, ongoing programme to make the various collections at The Courtauld Institute of Art accessible to all. It follows the recent completion of a major five-year project to make the images in The Courtauld’s internationally renowned photographic libraries available online for free. For that project, The Courtauld worked with 14,000 volunteers to digitise over one million images from The Conway Library as part of the biggest public inclusion project in The Courtauld’s history: photocollections.courtauld.ac.uk/
The Courtauld Gallery’s new collection online platform has been provided by System Simulation Ltd https://www.ssl.co.uk
This project has been supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Bloomberg Philanthropies and the International Music and Art Foundation.
Thanks to National Lottery Players.
The Courtauld Gallery
Somerset House, Strand
London WC2R 0RN
Opening hours: 10.00 – 18.00 (last entry 17.15)
Weekday tickets from £10; Weekend tickets from £12
Friends and Under-18s go free. Other concessions available
MEDIA CONTACTS
The Courtauld
www.courtauld.ac.uk/gallery/press
media@courtauld.ac.uk
Bolton & Quinn
Erica Bolton | erica@boltonquinn.com | +44 (0)20 7221 5000
Daisy Taylor | daisy@boltonquinn.com | +44 (0)20 7221 5000
THE COURTAULD
Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN
www.courtauld.ac.uk/gallery
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NOTES TO EDITORS
About The Courtauld
The Courtauld works to advance how we see and understand the visual arts, as an internationally- renowned centre for the teaching and research of art history and a major public gallery. Founded by collectors and philanthropists in 1932, the organisation has been at the forefront of the study of art ever since. through advanced research and conservation practice, innovative teaching, the renowned collection and inspiring exhibitions of its gallery, and engaging and accessible activities, education and events.
The Courtauld cares for one of the greatest art collections in the UK, presenting these works to the public at The Courtauld Gallery in central London, as well as through loans and partnerships. The Gallery is most famous for its iconic Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces – such as Van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear and Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère. It showcases these alongside an internationally renowned collection of works from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance through to the present day.
Academically, The Courtauld faculty is the largest community of art historians and conservators in the UK, teaching and carrying out research on subjects from creativity in late Antiquity to contemporary digital artforms – with an increasingly global focus. An independent college of the University of London, The Courtauld offers a range of degree programmes from BA to PhD in the History of Art, curating and the conservation of easel and wall paintings. Its alumni are leaders and innovators in the arts, culture and business worlds, helping to shape the global agenda for the arts and creative industries.
Founded on the belief that everyone should have the opportunity to engage with art, The Courtauld works to increase understanding of the role played by art throughout history, in all societies and across all geographies – as well as being a champion for the importance of art in the present day. This could be through exhibitions offering a chance to look closely at world-famous works; events bringing art history research to new audiences; accessible and expert short courses; digital engagement, innovative school, family and community programmes; or taking a formal qualification. The Courtauld’s ambition is to transform access to art history education by extending the horizons of what this is and ensuring as many people as possible can benefit from the tools to better understand the visual world around us.
The Courtauld is an exempt charity and relies on generous philanthropic support to achieve its mission of advancing the understanding of the visual arts of the past and present across the world through advanced research, innovative teaching, inspiring exhibitions, programmes and collections.
The collection cared for by The Courtauld Gallery is owned by the Samuel Courtauld Trust.
