Digital Art History: A Community Assessment

Abstract

In 2011, the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, in conjunction with the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, sponsored a survey of the art history community to clarify the field's perceptions about digital art history and its impact on the discipline. The findings reveal uncertainty among community members about the value and role of digital art history and a reticence to embrace it as an emerging aspect of the discipline. The reasons for the uncertainty are embedded in the culture and tradition of art historical research, in infrastructure limitations, in digitization and access challenges, and in concerns about online publishing. Guiding the discipline toward greater acceptance of digital scholarship will require incisive action, starting with greater dialogue across the community about what art history should be in the twenty-first century, and the role that digital art history will play in that scenario.