2017-01-26

8475 - World-renowned George Eastman Museum collections now accessible online - Rochester

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The George Eastman Museum has launched a new platform that allows public online access to more than 250,000 objects from its world-class collections at eastman.org/collections-online. Objects from the museum’s photography, technology, and George Eastman Legacy collections are now searchable, and more objects from the museum’s vast holdings are being added on an ongoing basis. Objects from the moving image collection will become accessible in the coming months.
“The George Eastman Museum has a long tradition of making our unparalleled collections—encompassing several million objects in the fields of photography, cinema, and photographic and cinematographic technology, as well as objects related to George Eastman—physically accessible to scholars, curators, and the public through our study centers and library, traveling exhibitions, and object loans,” said Bruce Barnes, Ron and Donna Fielding Director, George Eastman Museum. “Online access to our extensive collections will transform the public’s understanding of our holdings and facilitate new forms of collaboration with creators, curators, scholars, and collectors. Whether you are conducting research on a particular subject or simply interested in seeing what works we have by your favorite photographer, you can now do so much more easily.”

Although not everything in the George Eastman Museum’s collection is available online, more than a quarter of a million objects are currently searchable by artist, collection, classification, and date. New objects from the collection are being added to the database on a weekly basis.

The museum recently announced a grant award of $148,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, to support the cataloging and digitizing of the museum’s Gabriel Cromer collection. Donated to the museum by Eastman Kodak Company, this is one of the seminal collections of early French photography and is considered the most important collection of such materials outside of France. The Gabriel Cromer collection will be fully accessible online by 2019.

“The launch of our online collection database has been truly transformative for the George Eastman Museum, allowing the world access to explore and discover the myriad wonders of our collection, enhancing the museum’s profile, our contribution to scholarship, and our collaborative capabilities,” added Barnes.