National Gallery Research Articles

Building a collection for a nation: Mary Chamot, last London representative for New Zealand’s National Gallery, 1965–77

The National Gallery of New Zealand appointed two representatives in London from the 1950s to the 1970s, of which the second was Mary Chamot. She recommended and purchased works of British and European art that enriched to collection that became part of The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. This paper is both a history and an appreciation of the contribution Chamot made to that collection.

The Relationship Between the Development of the Art Industry and the Turnover of Economic Cycles

Abstract: In recent years, the area has grown significantly, creating a trend in art appreciation. This boom has led to a surge in the popularity of museums such as the National Gallery. This project aims to find out more about the economic contribution of art exhibitions. Using advanced time series analysis models including the intervention analysis model and vector autoregressive model, we obtained the following conclusions. First, the positive impact of low levels of economic development and high levels of government expenditure on the arts industry is obvious. Second, the growth of the arts industry has a small impact on most economic indicators. Third, the final impact of GDP on the arts industry is still uncertain due to the complex pattern of the model, with the possibility of a positive correlation with ln (art prices) being observed in the early stages of small GDP growth, while a quadratic pattern may be observed when the GDP index grows above a certain level and art prices fall Conclusion. Further research is needed to investigate the complex relationship between inflation and art prices. Our academic contribution mainly focuses on the multiple-way causal relationships between the economy, art exhibition, tourism, and education, which reveals the underlying mechanism of how art exhibitions promote the economy.

From Michelangelo to Callot: The Art of Mannerist Printmaking (National Gallery in Prague organised in collaboration with the Musée du Louvre, held at Waldstein Riding School, 17 May–11 August 2024). Catalogue by BlankaKubíková and AlenaVolrábová, eds. From Michelangelo to Callot: The Art of Mannerist Printmaking, exh. cat., trans. Jennifer Hejtmánková, Holly Hibbert, and Veronika Lopaurová. Prague: National Gallery, 2024. 421

From Michelangelo to Callot: The Art of Mannerist Printmaking (National Gallery in Prague organised in collaboration with the Musée du Louvre, held at Waldstein Riding School, 17 May–11 August 2024). Catalogue by BlankaKubíková and AlenaVolrábová, eds. From Michelangelo to Callot: The Art of Mannerist Printmaking, exh. cat., trans. Jennifer Hejtmánková, Holly Hibbert, and Veronika Lopaurová. Prague: National Gallery, 2024. 421

The Panhellenic student competition “Hack the Art: Yanoulis Halepas”: Extending art experience, communication, and learning through multimodal digital applications

This paper presents the case of an innovative national digital student competition for school groups of secondary education, entitled: “Hack the Art: Yanoulis Halepas.” Conducted remotely in Greece during the 2022 – 2023 school year, the competition was organized by the Onassis Foundation and the Onassis Library in partnership with the Teloglion Fine Arts Foundation, the National Gallery of Greece–Alexandros Soutsos Museum, the Cultural Foundation of Tinos, and the Cultural Center of Panormos-Municipality of Tinos. Accredited by the Hellenic Ministry for Education and Religious Affairs, it was realized under the aegis of the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy. This competition was the fourth iteration of this digital format since 2020. This time, we invited student teams from Greek high schools, both in Greece and abroad, led by at least one educator, to learn about the life and work of the great Greek sculptor Yanoulis Halepas and to communicate art by creating projects of augmented reality, virtual reality, digital storytelling, and 3D video games for PC and android devices. This innovative educational project enhanced students’ experience and conceptual understanding of art, motivating them to interact with cultural heritage and experiment with multimodal digital tools. Furthermore, it offered an alternative educational paradigm for teaching history, literature, visual arts, and technology by applying object-based learning, game-based learning, and project-based learning methodologies. According to the assessment results, this learning approach successfully integrated significant artworks into the school curriculum, extending their lifespan and visibility through digital transformations and reinterpretations.

Adopting multimedia techniques in art museums: the case of the national gallery of fine arts, Jordan

ABSTRACT Static exhibition techniques are used extensively in art museums in Jordan. Yet, new modern display technologies, such as virtual and augmented reality, digital and immersive installations, and interactive art displays implemented in international museums, significantly increased visitor numbers and enabled users to explore the museum’s extensive collection. This research explores opportunities to implement such new techniques in the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts. Spatial and environmental considerations were analyzed to recommend the most appropriate modifications following modern display technologies and multimedia requirements. The study results showed that each display method needs a certain degree of privacy and a specific illumination level based on the type of technology used. These results draw a new vision for art museums to attract more visitors, improve their experiences, offer learning opportunities, and increase accessibility to the arts.

Implementing an Adaptive Climate Control Strategy: Collection Monitoring and Sustainability Outcomes

ABSTRACT In 2022, the authors presented the first stage of implementing a revised climate control strategy at the National Gallery of Victoria, monitoring collection object response in collaboration with the Getty Conservation Institute using acoustic emissions (AE) monitoring. The research and education, motivating factors, and interdepartmental alignment required for adopting the Bizot Green Protocol (BGP) were discussed, as well as the experimental design and set-up of the AE system on a large Flemish altarpiece in an active gallery. This second and concluding paper presents the results of the AE monitoring study along with energy used by the HVAC system for the gallery housing the AE monitoring study, during the transition from traditional environmental parameters through to broadened parameters as defined in the BGP. The project highlights the importance of understanding individual gallery and building behaviour as well as the HVAC system in place. In the case of the gallery housing the AE study, the implementation of BGP parameters resulted in smaller environmental fluctuations than expected. That HVAC energy efficiency could be improved with a relatively low impact on the gallery environment was an unexpected but welcome outcome. This case study describes some common challenges faced when considering such a change operationally, including resourcing and communication needs. Identifying points of resistance, framing problems clearly, and identifying common goals were essential to making progress. In this case, sustainability has compelled many stakeholders into alignment and enabled a shift in institutional culture.

STRUCTURAL FEATURES OF ENGLISH PICTONYMS

The article is devoted to the study of structural features of English pictonyms — proper names of paintings. Pictonym is a subclass of imageonym, which is a subclass of artionym, which, in turn, is a subclass of ideonym. Proper names of paintings are an under-researched area of onomastics that attracts the attention of many scientists because proper names play an important role in the spiritual development of society and have their own unique features that distinguish them from other onyms. The purpose of the article is to examine the structural division of English pictonyms. The object of the research is English pictonyms. The subject of the study is the peculiarities of the structural characteristics of English pictonyms. The research material is a selection of 500 English pictonyms from the catalogues of the National Gallery located in London, the Royal Gallery located in Buckingham Palace (London), the Victoria and Albert Museum (London), the National Gallery of Art located in Washington, the Yale Center for British Art in downtown New Haven, Connecticut, and specialised art websites. During the study, a descriptive method was used to analyze the actual material, as well as a statistical method to count the number of English pictonyms analysed. Based on the general classification of M. M. Torchynskyy, pictonyms were divided into three groups: simple, complex and compound. It was found that the vast majority of the analyzed units belong to the compound type and structurally represent a group of word combinations. Phrases, combined abbreviations, word combinations, and sentences are followed by quantitative indicators. A smaller number of simple pictonyms, of which affixational and non-affixational ones are distinguished by their structural features. The smallest part consists of complex names, among which we are able to identify proper composites, affixational composites, and abbreviations.

Disparate Datasets and Data Squishiness: Growing Data Awareness at the National Gallery of Art

This article was based on a presentation that was given at the IFLA-Art Libraries Section Satellite Conference. In an effort to push toward a more multidisciplinary and holistic approach to the data generated throughout the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, staff have been investigating new ways in which to amass, organize, and use that data. Segueing from a GIS mapping initiative, one such project sought to amalgamate disparate kinds of data centering around pigment analysis. This led to a multidepartment team trialing software solutions, raising questions and identifying challenges about how the institution creates and standardizes its data, and what changes are needed as we look to the future.

A Characterisation of the Protrusions on Liu Kang’s Boat scene (1974) from the National Gallery Singapore

This paper investigates the oil on canvas painting Boat scene (1974) by Liu Kang (1911–2004), belonging to the National Gallery Singapore (NGS). The focus is on disfiguring paint protrusions in a specific area and colour in the composition. Moreover, in search of the possible factors responsible for the creation of the protrusions, the structure and composition of the paint layers were determined. Three possible reasons were put forward to explain this phenomenon: deliberate textural effects, the expansion of metal soaps and unintentional paint contamination during the artistic process. Investigative techniques such as technical photography, digital microscopy, optical microscopy (OM), polarised light microscopy (PLM), field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM-EDS) and attenuated total reflectance micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR μ-FTIR) were employed to analyse paint layers, including protrusion samples. The analyses revealed that the protrusions resulted from an unintentional contamination of the oil paint during the artistic process by dry fragments of different pigment mixtures bound in drying oil. Zinc soaps were found in significant concentrations within the protrusions and other parts of the painted scene. Nevertheless, the metal soaps do not pose a direct risk to the integrity of the paint layers at the time of this research. The analyses highlight the potential challenges caused by the protrusions that conservators may face while caring for the painting. The research contributes to our ongoing comprehension of the artist’s working process.

Slow art plus: developing and piloting a single session art gallery-based intervention for mental health promotion via a mixed method waitlist randomized control trial.

The current study builds on the expertise of National Gallery Singapore and Nanyang Technological University Singapore (NTU) in developing and piloting an enhanced version of the Slow Art program, namely "Slow Art Plus" for mental health promotion. A single-site, open-label, waitlist Randomized Control Trial (RCT) design comprising of a treatment group and waitlist control group was adopted (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT05803226). Participants (N = 196) completed three online questionnaires at three timepoints: baseline [T1], immediately post-intervention/s baseline [T2], post-intervention follow-up/immediately post-intervention [T3]. Qualitative focus groups were conducted to evaluate program acceptability. A mixed model ANOVA was performed to understand intervention effectiveness between the immediate intervention group and waitlist control group. The analyses revealed a significant interaction effect where intervention group participants reported an improvement in spiritual well-being (p = 0.001), describing their thoughts and experiences (p = 0.02), and nonreacting to inner experiences (p = 0.01) immediately after Slow Art Plus as compared to the control group. Additionally, one-way repeated measure ANOVAs were conducted for the intervention group to evaluate maintenance effects of the intervention. The analyses indicated significant improvements in perceived stress (p < 0.001), mindfulness (p < 0.001) as well as multiple mindfulness subscales, active engagement with the world (p = 0.003), and self-compassion (p = 0.02) 1 day after the completion of Slow Art Plus. Results from framework analysis of focus group data revealed a total of two themes (1: Experiences of Slow Art Plus, 2: Insights to Effective Implementation) and six subthemes (1a: Peaceful relaxation, 1b: Self-Compassion, 1c: Widened Perspective, 2a: Valuable Components, 2b: Execution Requisites, 2c: Suggested Enhancements), providing valuable insights to the overall experience and implementation of the intervention. Slow Art Plus represents a unique approach, offering a standardized, multimodal, single-session program that integrates mindfulness and self-compassion practices, as well as reflective and creative expressions with Southeast Asian art. It demonstrates potential in meeting the mental health needs of a wide range of individuals and could be readily incorporated into social prescribing initiatives for diverse populations.

The export of Old Masters from Poldi Pezzoli’s Milan to international museums

Abstract The mid-and later nineteenth century saw the creation and enrichment of some major international museum collections alongside the development of connoisseurship. In this process, Milan was an important hub for the supply of major works of art. This essay offers new insights into Milan’s art market of the period through the methodical examination of export documents; analysis of the unpublished manuscripts of two great exponents of international connoisseurship of this period, Giovanni Battista Cavalcaselle and Joseph Archer Crowe; and new sources from the archives of the National Gallery in London. A number of case-studies are presented in chronological order, focusing on examples of works of art imported from Milan by the National Gallery, the Musée du Louvre in Paris, the Royal Museums in Berlin and the Imperial Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. The conclusions that emerge from this study pave the way for a comparative investigation of other Italian cities in the same period.

Participatory presence – social connectedness through collaborative art practices

ABSTRACT In a post-Covid context, the term presence has become the subject of renewed academic focus, amplified by mass phenomena such as Zoom fatigue and online classroom teaching. The prism of new materialism allows for a new reading of relationships between technology and human sensing, physical and virtual presence and copresence, with possible design implications: Current research in public health and social-environment discourse is interested in the effect of presence on well-being. As a theoretical framework, new materialism provides a lens that foregrounds complex relations between affect and technology, enabling us, through interventions like the KIMA: Colour participatory artwork, to interrogate the broad discourse on mediated presence and social connectivity. This paper provides an overview of the AHRC-funded research project, 'p_ART_icipate!', which is a collaborative investigation led by the University of Greenwich, CNWL NHS Foundation Trust, and Brunel University. This paper describes one of the case studies within the project, ‘KIMA Colour’, a collaboration with the art collective Analema Group, the National Gallery and the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB). The case study explores the effect of collective cultural experiences and participatory art on a sense of social connectivity and copresence. In collaboration with RNIB and a group of visually impaired individuals, the team asked how we can design meaningful and accessible online interfaces that actively contribute to a sense of ‘participatory presence’. Findings suggest a possible link between the experience, presence and social connectedness. This research aims to contribute to our understanding of participatory art and to provide recommendations for accessibility and facilitation designc for participatory online interfaces.

Curating performances that speak all languages

ABSTRACT This contribution sheds light on PQ Performance as a non-competitive section of the Prague Quadrennial. It describes the process of curating the performance program created on the basis of an open call, for performance designers, directors, choreographers, performers, and artists of all career levels, without any age limit. The call was drafted in English, French and Portuguese and offered the possibility to reply in any of those languages. The 21 performances of the final program were presented in the Prague Market (Pražská Tržnice), the National Gallery (Veletržní palác), Štvanice Island and the streets of Prague. Ranging from physical to site-specific, walking, conceptual, visual, drawing, ritual, costume, puppetry, dance and participatory, all performances operated scenographically, crafting moments of exceptional presence. The article also recalls the epidemic context in which PQ23 was curated and produced, and how artists have, responded to the questions What needs to be performed urgently? How do we address the future of performance design? And how do we take it from here? Finally, the article draws attention to the diversity of cultures and genres that revealed the poetic and critical potentials of space across different expressions of performance and performance design as a language that speaks all languages.

“The Anamorphic Journey”: Jean‐Luc Marion on Revelation

AbstractIn part four of D'ailleurs, la Révélation (2020) Jean‐Luc Marion evokes the state of being seized by a saturated phenomenon, whether divinely revelatory or not, which guides one “across the desert on an anamorphic journey [parcours d'anamorphose].” The figure of anamorphosis is well‐known to anyone familiar with sixteenth‐century art, visual or literary; it comes directly from experiments with mirrors or perspective, giving rise with the latter to examples of affine transformation. Undoubtedly, Hans Holbein the Younger's double portrait “The Ambassadors” (1533) is the best‐known visual example: if one looks directly at the canvas in the National Gallery in London, one sees a diagonal blur across its bottom center, beneath Jean de Dinteville (1504‐1555), French Ambassador to London, and Georges de Selve (1508‐1541), Bishop of Lavaur and French Ambassador to the Republic of Venice. Only when one views the blur from a particular point—either low on the left‐hand side or high on the right‐hand side—can one see that it is a skull. The vanity of human achievement or, worse, human pride, is made manifest only when the artwork is viewed from a perspective that one is constrained to adopt. The sole sign of hope is a crucifix in the top left of the canvas.

Phenomenological Approach to Media Art Environments

Lectio praecursoria: Lorella Scacco’s art history dis­sertation “A Phenomenological Approach to Media Art Environments: The Immersive Art Experience and the Finnish Art Scene” was examined at the University of Turku on the 13th May 2023. The opponent was Dr, Museum Director Leevi Haapala (Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma / Finnish National Gallery) and the custos was Professor Tutta Palin (University of Turku).

Metaverse Strategy And Planning At The National Gallery

This research examines the strategy and planning of metaverse in the National Gallery. The purpose of this research is to find out and learn the right strategy and planning in tourism, especially at the National Gallery tourist attraction. The research method used is the literature study method by collecting library data, reading and recording, and processing research materials. The results show that regarding the strategy of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technology that will be carried in the development of Metaverse and analysis of the use of information media, it can be summarized and concluded that Metaverse has considerable potential and opportunities as information media and the latest interactive educational media for the National Gallery.

Sir Charles Eastlake, the National Gallery and Milan

Abstract The first director of the National Gallery in London, Sir Charles Eastlake (1793–1865), was an Italophile. His favourite Italian city was Venice, where he once thought of buying a second home. The city he knew best, having lived there for fourteen years from 1816, was Rome. However, between 1854 and 1864, Eastlake made twenty-three trips to Milan, meaning that during his decade as director of the National Gallery from 1855, he visited Milan more often than any other place. This article suggests that Milan became a crucial hub for Eastlake, as the place where he connected with individuals who played important roles in several interconnected areas. Milan was significant, first, as an area rich in private collections, offering fertile ground for the discovery of potential acquisitions and a place from where it was relatively easy to export paintings because German-speaking Austria, which occupied north Italy and the Veneto until 1866, was comparatively lax about imposing export restrictions; second, as a place where art-historical knowledge and connoisseurship could be developed; and third, as a leading centre of picture conservation and framing.

Cold War “Cultural Safaris”: Canadian Art, Cultural Diplomacy, and the Asian Commonwealth Tour

In 1955, the National Gallery of Canada circulated an exhibition of Canadian art to the “Asian commonwealth”—Pakistan, India, and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Developed in tandem with Canada’s involvement in the Colombo Plan for Co-operative Economic Development in South and Southeast Asia, the tour was part of a wide-angled strategy of cultural engagement that, despite its humanitarian trappings, was grounded in Cold War politics. Featuring a small display of relatively unimportant works in venues of limited interest to the National Gallery, the tour nonetheless marks a significant juncture in the development of the Canadian cultural state—a turning point in the relationship between the gallery and Canada’s Department of External Affairs, which in the immediate postwar decades sought to coordinate with the National Gallery in pursuit of an active role in the information brokering and cultural work it identified in the gallery’s promotion of Canadian art abroad. In this article, we position the Asian commonwealth tour as a case study that reveals the inherent tension in the relationship between the cultural and policy spheres of the state that informed Cold War mobilization of the liberal values art was thought to express.

Tropical Modernism(s), Miscegenated Art and Modernity

Abstract: Tropical: Stories from Southeast Asia and Latin America opened on 18 November 2023 and ran at the National Gallery Singapore (NGS) until 24 March 2024. NGS’s website states that the exhibition is “the first large-scale museum exhibition to take a comparative approach across two regions united by their shared struggles against colonialism”, comprising over 200 paintings, sculptures, prints and installations. The exhibition proceeds not always via direct formal or informal engagements between artists but by “an alchemy of shared narratives” (Teo Hui Min). Tropical endeavours to complicate the essential link between modernism and modernity by reflecting on how the “accursed European and American influence” is “absorbed” (Hélio Oiticica) into the local and indigenous, resulting in what might be called miscegenated art .

Pesellino: A Renaissance Master Revealed (London, The National Gallery, 7 December 2023 –10 March 2024). Catalogue by Laura Llewellyn (ed.), with contributions by Jill Dunkerton and Nathaniel Silver. London: National Gallery Global Limited, distributed by Yale University Press, 2023. 80 pp., illus. col., ISBN 97818570971081052658.

Pesellino: A Renaissance Master Revealed (London, The National Gallery, 7 December 2023 –10 March 2024). Catalogue by Laura Llewellyn (ed.), with contributions by Jill Dunkerton and Nathaniel Silver. London: National Gallery Global Limited, distributed by Yale University Press, 2023. 80 pp., illus. col., ISBN 97818570971081052658.