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Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Joins eMuseum Network to Share Collections Globally

October 8, 2013 | In the Press
(212) 472-6947 | robyn@robynliverant.com

From Artfix Daily (http://www.artfixdaily.com/artwire/release/5027-colonial-williamsburg-foundation-joins-emuseum-network-to-share-c (opens in a new window))

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is proud to join the eMuseum Network to make its extensive collection more accessible to a global audience. This collaborative online networking platform, designed and hosted by Gallery Systems, enables member museums, libraries and cultural institutions from around the world to share their art and artifact collections. Through its participation in the eMuseum Network, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s collections in the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg and throughout the RevolutionaryCity will now become accessible to the public. The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg joins 55 other prominent institutions in the network, including the Dallas Museum of Art; High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Harvard Art Museums; International Center of Photography; J. Paul Getty Museum; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Rijksmuseum Amsterdam; The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Museum of Modern Art and Philadelphia Museum of Art. 

“We are delighted to participate with other prominent cultural institutions in the eMuseum Network so that we can broaden public access to our important collections of British and American fine and decorative art and American folk art,” said Ronald L. Hurst, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s vice president for collections, conservation, and museums and its Carlisle H. Humelsine chief curator. “Objects displayed at the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg and in our historic sites as well as those not on exhibit can now be studied from points around the world.” 

The site (www.eMuseum.net (opens in a new window)) offers direct links to participating museum websites and individual art and artifact records. From this single website, the public can easily and quickly search 1.5 million objects within or across collections from participating institutions, making it a powerful research tool for collectors, educators, researchers and students. Joining this collaborative and growing project enables the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation to make its collections broadly accessible to an international audience. Each of the Foundation’s 6,500 objects that appear on the site have been fully researched, catalogued and photographed by the curators of the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg. The number of objects displayed from the Foundation’s broad collection will continue to grow over time. 

About The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg

The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburginclude the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum and the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum. The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum is home to the nation’s premier collection of American folk art, with more than 5,000 folk art objects made during the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum exhibits the best in British and American decorative arts from 1670–1830. The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg are located at the intersection of Francis and South Henry Streets in Williamsburg, Va., and are entered through the PublicHospital of 1773. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. For museum program information, telephone (757) 220-7724. 

About The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation preserves, restores and operates Virginia’s 18th-century capital of Williamsburg, Va., as a 21st-century center for history and citizenship. Innovative and interactive experiences, such as the street theatre Revolutionary City® and the RevQuest: Save the Revolution! series of technology-assisted alternate reality games, highlight the relevance of the American Revolution to contemporary life and the importance of an informed, active citizenry. The Colonial Williamsburg experience includes more than 400 restored or reconstructed original buildings, renowned museums of decorative arts and folk art, extensive educational outreach programs for students and teachers, lodging, culinary options from historic taverns to casual or elegant dining, the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club featuring 45 holes designed by Robert Trent Jones and his son Rees Jones, a full-service spa and fitness center, pools, retail stores and gardens. Philanthropic support and revenue from admissions, products and hospitality operations sustain Colonial Williamsburg’s educational programs and preservation initiatives.

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The mission of ARCS is to represent and promote registrars and collection specialists, to educate the profession in best practices of registration and collections care, and to facilitate communication and networking.

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