Art Authority Blog
The Art Authority Gift Shop
If you’ve been a fan of Art Authority apps, you probably know that we’ve pioneered a number of new features since debuting our award-winning virtual museum app along with the iPad in 2010 (and even earlier as iEnvision with the iPhone in 2008). SmArt Resolution, Art Near Me, Art Real Size, and Art Like This to name a few.
Today we’re happy to announce another one: the Art Authority virtual museum (100,000 works and counting) now includes a real Gift Shop. As we hinted out when we acquired 1000Museums.com we have integrated that site’s museum-approved archival reproduction capabilities directly into the iPad and iPhone versions of Art Authority.
Now Open: The 1000Museums Gift Shop! Real-world, physical prints in five sizes with custom framing options. Top quality. Museum-approved. 1000Museums has been providing these products through their (now our) web site for a decade, and now you can get them through our apps too.
The Gift Shop can be easily accessed from within the Art Authority museum in three different ways:
- From the lobby of the museum, just tap the Gift Shop sign. Going in through the lobby gives you access to the full 1000Museums Gift Shop, which includes tens of thousands of works. On the iPad, you can even browse some of the 1000Museums all-time favorites before entering the full Gift Shop.
- By viewing the “Art you can buy” show in the main directory, and each period room’s directory (on the iPad). These shows include all works in the Art Authority museum (or the specific room) that are available in the Gift Shop too.
- When viewing individual museum works, just tap the “Available at 1000Museums” or “BUY” button to view and purchase reproductions of the work within the Gift Shop.
One of the main reasons we acquired 1000Museums is because our missions were so closely aligned: bringing all the world’s art to all the world. Now our apps and web sites are closely aligned too. And just in time for the holidays!
Going National
Art Authority LLC and the National Gallery UK today announced a major new relationship to make museum-quality archival prints of key National Gallery artwork available to US customers through Art Authority’s 1000Museums print-on-demand technologies. The center point of the relationship is the site FocusOnNationalGalleryUK.com. The site, available today, makes dozens of all-time favorite National Gallery works available in five print sizes, with multiple framing options.
As with other 1000Museums “Focus On” sites, FocusOnNationalGalleryUK.com offers a unique curated collection of archival reproductions of works by major artists and institutions, in this case National Gallery works by European masters including Canaletto, Monet, Turner and Van Gogh. Art Authority and the National Gallery worked together to design and curate the site. Additional works and products will be added in the near future.
Vincent van Gogh
1889
National Gallery London
“To make prints of the National Gallery’s paintings more accessible to customers in the United States, we have chosen to partner with Art Authority and their 1000Museums brand, due to the high quality of their reproductions and knowledge of our collection, as well as their long-established relationships with the art world” said Douglas Gilmore, Trading Director at the National Gallery Company. “We look forward to a long and productive collaboration.”
“We are proud and honored that such a venerable institution as the National Gallery chose us to bring their works to the U.S.” said Stanley Smith, Chief Museum Officer for Art Authority. “We are particularly gratified by their recognition of our commitment to quality and our cutting-edge technologies.”
Art Authority has worked with a number of other institutions and artists’ estates on similar “Focus on” sites including:
• Focus on Frank Lloyd Wright – FocusOnFLW.com
• Focus on Mark Rothko – FocusOnRothko.com
• Focus on Henri Matisse – FocusOnMatisse.com
• Focus on Library of Congress – FocusOnLibraryOfCongress.com
• Focus on Latin American Masters – FocusOnLatinAmericanMasters.com
The full 1000Museums line of fine-art reproductions is available at 1000Museums.com.
Focusing on Latin America and L.A.
In concert with the opening of the multi-site art event “Pacific Standard Time:LA/LA,” through our 1000Museums brand, we are proud to announced “Focus on Latin American Masters,” a site devoted to major Latin American artists of the 20th century. The site at FocusOnLatinAmericanMasters.com supplements the “far-reaching and ambitious exploration of Latin American and Latino art in dialogue with Los Angeles” that is PST:LA/LA.
As with the various other 1000Museums “Focus On” sites, FocusOnLatinAmericanMasters.com makes available a unique curated collection of archival reproductions of works by major artists and institutions, in this case Latin American Masters of the 20th century including Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and José Clemente Orozco. As with other “Focus On” sites, Art Authority has worked directly with the institutions involved, in particular the San Diego Museum of Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), both of which have shows as part of PST:LA/LA.
Frida Kahlo, Girl from Tehuacán, Lucha María or Sun and Moon, 1942, Coleccion Perez Simon, Mexico
“Focus on Latin American Masters” and all Art Authority’s Focus On sites feature their established 1000Museums brand, known for the latest in print-on-demand technology, top-quality archival reproductions, and broad set of museum and cultural institution relationships. Other “Focus On” sites include:
• Focus on Frank Lloyd Wright – FocusOnFLW.com
• Focus on Mark Rothko – FocusOnRothko.com
• Focus on Henri Matisse – FocusOnMatisse.com
• Focus on Library of Congress – FocusOnLibraryOfCongress.com
Focusing on Rothko and Matisse
Fresh on the heels of “Focus on Frank Lloyd Wright” we are pleased to announce “Focus on Mark Rothko” and “Focus on Henri Matisse.”
As we hinted at when we launched our Frank Lloyd Wright focus site, we’ve been working with top names in the art world to bring focus to their collections and help you view and purchase archival reproductions from those collections in new ways.
Mark Rothko pioneered color field art, and “Focus on Rothko” at FocusOnRothko.com lets you browse and select his works by color. Or more traditionally by title or time period. We’re also pleased to be working with our neighbor the Portland Art Museum to support the new Rothko wing they are building to honor one of Oregon’s native sons.
Mark Rothko, Ochre and Red on Red, 1954 (oil on canvas, 92 5/8 x 63 3/4 in.) The Phillips Collection, Washington DC, acquired 1964. © 1998 Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Albert Barnes was one of the earliest backers of Henri Matisse’s work, and we are proud the Barnes Foundation supported “Focus on Matisse” at FocusOnMatisse.com by making available a number of rarely seen works by the leading Fauvist (check out the three “Three Sisters” works in particular). You can browse and select Matisse works by style, including cutouts, portraits, still life and line drawings.
Henry Matisse, Codomas, plate XI from the illustrated book “Jazz, 1947” (pochoir, 16 5/8 x 25 5/8 in.) Indiana University Art Museum, 65.23.11. © 2013 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Speaking of support, purchases from Focus On sites support both those who created these classic artworks and those who care for them. Portions of every purchase go to the artists’ estates and the works’ owners. So you can give back and enjoy great art at the same time. That’s certainly what we do here. And of course all prints from Focus On sites are hand crafted here in Ashland, Oregon using the same museum-quality materials and processes you’re used to with the 1000Museums brand.
There’s much more to come too. We’re particularly excited about our soon-to-be-announced work with the Library of Congress and with a similar institution “across the pond.” So definitely stay tuned.
Focusing on the Future (and Frank Lloyd Wright)
It’s been almost a year since we announced our first major art acquisition, 1000 museums worth of art. Since that time, we’ve been integrating the acquisition with our core collection, and thinking about the future. Today we’re happy to announce that, with the help of “America’s greatest architect” Frank Lloyd Wright, we’ve brought that future into focus.
June 8, 2017 is FLW’s 150th birthday. We’re honored that the FLW Foundation chose our 1000Museums brand to design and make available a series of “Wright across America” commemorative prints for the year-long celebration (much more on those prints later). That honor crystalized our thinking about the future and provided us the first instance of that future as well.
So, without further ado, Art Authority is pleased to announce the first in a series of “Focus On” sites, “Focus on Frank Lloyd Wright.” The site includes a great collection of both time-limited commemorative prints and timeless reproductions of original Wright sketches and drawings. All have been approved by the Foundation, to which a portion of every sale goes. And all are of the museum quality for which the 1000Museums brand is known, printed on acid-free paper with inks rated at 200 years of permanence.
Beyond FLW, we’re also announcing plans for future Focus On sites for a number of other venerable American icons:
- The Library of Congress (founded 1800)
- The Boy Scouts of America (founded 1910), and their quintessential American painter Norman Rockwell (born 1894)
- Popular Russian-American artist Mark Rothko (born 1903)
- American abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock (born 1912)
These sites should be available this summer, with many of the works available now directly through 1000Museums.com.
As you can see, with the help of 1000Museums and Frank Lloyd Wright, our focus on the future is clear.
Art Authority Summer Intern Program Year 7
Today we are announcing year 7 of our very successful summer intern program. As we’ve discussed a number of times on this blog, the Art Authority Summer Intern Program offers art and art history majors a 21st century alternative to traditional art docent internships. By working on our cutting-edge app and database, technology-focused students gain experience with and exposure to a set of tools they’ll need as “art goes digital.” This year, after our acquisition of 1000Museums.com, interns can also gain experience working with a major e-commerce site as well as in the field of fine art reproduction (high-end print-on-demand).
We here at Art Authority have learned a lot over the past seven years, both as far as how to run the intern program and as far as what’s needed to keep our app line evolving. Students have learned a lot too, gained credit towards their major, and even found jobs as a result of the program (a couple of them have worked here, one being our current intern manager). We’re really looking forward to another great and meaningful summer for all concerned.
If you or anyone you know is curious about the program, please check out the Summer Intern Program Web site for more information and an application form. The number of spaces are limited, so anyone interested should apply as soon as possible.
Adding our Art Acquisition
As mentioned previously, we recently acquired 1000 museums worth of art through our purchase of 1000Museums.com, the go-to site for top-quality fine art reproductions. We’re pleased to announce that we’ve now begun the integration of that site with our flagship Art Authority for iPad app. Art Authority for iPad 4.10.3 is now available through the App Store, and it includes the ability to purchase prints of a number of major works of art directly from 1000Museums.
When browsing through art in the app, simply look for the “Available at 1000Museums” button to access the purchase page for that work directly from the app. You can choose five sizes (up to 32″ x 40″) and four high-end framing options. You can also select additional works from the site at the same time. One of the many great aspects of 1000Museums is that portions of your purchase price go back to the artist and museum involved with the work itself, so you’re getting a great piece of art for your wall and giving back to the art community at the same time.
With over 100,000 works of art in Art Authority for iPad, as you can imagine only a small percentage can currently be purchased directly from the app. But 1000Museums has tens of thousand of works available too, so expect a whole lot more to be added to the app in the months ahead. And of course that’s only the beginning. As we say in the app, we have big plans for Art Authority + 1000Museums!
Our Major Art Acquisition
Art Authority is pleased to announce our first major art acquisition. If Art Authority were a traditional art institution, we might well be announcing that we had obtained a rare painting by a renowned artist like Rembrandt or van Gogh. Instead, this being the 21st century, we’re announcing that we have obtained 1000 museums worth of art!
To be specific, Art Authority has acquired the digital portfolio of 1000Museums, Inc. Both Art Authority and 1000Museums have been pioneers in connecting art museums and art communities in new ways. 1000Museums’ particular strengths have been their relationships, their museum partners, and their web-based capability to affordably provide art lovers with high quality reproductions of works from those museums.
1000Museums’ relationships and print capabilities complement our own, combining with our award-wining mobile app line to greatly advance our mission of making the world’s art accessible to all the world. We can now look forward to working with not just one thousand, but many thousands of museums, helping them use Internet-era tools to connect them and their collections with the rapidly expanding community of art lovers, art students, and art creators around the world.
Gallery of the Louvre, S.B. Morse, 1831-33, Terra Foundation for American Art
Not that long ago, the only way art lovers could view the art they loved was by traveling to art museums in their local community and around the world, and the only communities art museums could draw on were their local ones and those art travelers. With our 1000Museums art acquisition, we here at Art Authority think we’ve taken a huge step in giving art lovers easy access to way more art, and art museums easy access to way more art lovers. We couldn’t be more pleased if we had acquired a Rembrandt ourselves!
The Art of Framing Art
Frames make beautiful art even more beautiful. Indeed, framing is itself an art form.
We here at Art Authority have been working with renowned framing authority Eli Wilner & Company to adapt their frames for use throughout the Art Authority museum.
Eli Wilner & Co. have designed a specific frame for each of our museum’s eight period rooms, and these frames are now available in the latest upgrade to Art Authority for iPad, version 4.10.2.
From the basic beauty of Early art, to the elegance of the Baroque, to the desire of Romanticism and the statements of Modern and Contemporary, we think Wilner frames are the perfect finishing touch to the paintings by over 1500 of the world’s greatest artists.
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- Early frame
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- Baroque frame
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- Romanticism frame
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- Modern frame
We look forward to additional work with Eli Wilner & Co. in the months ahead.
Introducing Art Authority for iPhone
We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of an iPhone version of our award-winning Art Authority for iPad app. Of course, some of you may be wondering: isn’t there already a version of Art Authority for iPhone? Well there was, but that version was not based on Art Authority for iPad (an experience unlike any other, according to the New York Times).
The original version of Art Authority for iPhone did use the same database of over 70,000 paintings and sculptures as the iPad version, but other than that it was quite a different animal. Long-time Art Authority fans may remember that the previous iPhone version was derived directly from our original day-one iPhone app, iEnvision. The iPad app, on the other hand, was a from-scratch re-design, specifically targeted for Apple’s new, magic iPad, and also available on day one of that device.
We have been quite busy since the iPad’s introduction over four years ago now. With help from our summer intern program, we’ve nearly doubled the number of works in the database, and added thousands of article links. We’ve pioneered many ground-breaking features, such as Art Real Size and Art Near Me. At teachers’ requests, we’ve come out with an iPad version specifically for the K-12 environment. Not to mention a Macintosh version and our related Art Alert app. And we’ve received many awards 🙂
We have not, over that time, devoted much effort to the original iPhone version, beyond minor updates for iOS 4, 5, 6 and 7. The iPad just seemed so much the better platform for looking at great works of art. Things changed significantly, however, with Apple’s recent introduction of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Although not quite a retina display iPad, these two phones are getting close to the iPad mini in terms of display and capabilities. And they clearly surpass the iPad in terms of mobility (one of the main focuses of the new Art Authority for iPhone).
To bring the iPhone app up to snuff, and to enable the addition of new mobility and iOS 8 features, a complete re-write was needed. The new Art Authority for iPhone app is based on Art Authority for iPad, with added mobility features mainly from our Art Alert app.
Here is an overview of what to expect:
- Access to the same 70,000+ works from 1000+ artists
- The same 8 periods, period highlights and shuffle by period
- The same access to in-depth information on each artist
- An improved gallery-like, scrolling thumbnail view
- NEW: Access by location (museum) as well as by period and artist
- NEW: Detailed location maps, address and other info on over 800 locations
- NEW: Art Near Me: find art wherever you find yourself
- NEW: Art Real Size: instantly see and understand the actual size of works
- NEW: Thousands of articles on specific pieces, and on all locations
- NEW: Search by title
- NEW: Save works to Favorites
- NEW: Keep track of works you’ve seen in real life
- NEW: Share works through AirDrop, mail and social networks
- Major speed improvements. including caching
Of course Art Authority for iPhone 4.0, which requires iOS 7.1 or later, is a free upgrade from the previous version, and is available immediately in the App Store (80%-off for the introduction this Thanksgiving weekend!). And we’re certainly not done yet. The new code base gives us plenty of room to grow. Art Authority for iPad fans may notice a few features still missing from the iPhone version. Look for these and other additional items in the months ahead.
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