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The New Haven Green in another era, as seen in the New Haven Museum’s collection.
The New Haven Green in another era, as seen in the New Haven Museum’s collection.
Photo: William K. Sacco, New Haven Museum / Contributed Photo
The New Haven Green in another era, as seen in the New Haven Museum’s collection.
The New Haven Green in another era, as seen in the New Haven Museum’s collection.
Photo: William K. Sacco, New Haven Museum / Contributed Photo
Three top museums in New Haven have had to close until further notice due to the coronavirus, but their collections are available online and are being enhanced.
With the sudden restrictions and outbreak of the coronavirus emergency, the Yale University Art Gallery, Yale Center for British Art and New Haven Museum closed to visitors as mid-March approached, canceling tours and programs through April at least.
YUAG and YCBA news releases stressed, however, that you can browse and search collections online at artgallery.yale.edu and britishart.yale.edu. A release pointed out that during the closing, South African-born curator James Green is leading a major (and planned) reinstallation of African art in revamped galleries at YUAG.
At the British Art Center, officials are reminding folks that a mobile app offers an in-depth audio guide to works in the center’s collection as well as detailed information about its landmark building, designed (partly as a counterpoint to YUAG’s structure) by Louis I. Kahn. The app is an engaging audio guide where you can learn about the collection from curators, scholars, faculty, students and architects. For IOS devices, it’s at Apple under the YCBA name. For Android or desktop computers, there’s an app on the website.
The YCBA also announced Tuesday that Scott Wilcox, deputy director of collections, will retire in 2022 after more than 30 years at the center. From 1987 to 2014, Wilcox (who earned his Ph.D. in the history of art from Yale) served as the center’s in-house curator for photographic exhibitions.
The New Haven Museum is pushing for the eyeballs and attention of public and researchers, meanwhile, with its online catalog, featuring 5,000 works of art, artifacts, 1,400 photos and 400 documents. And NHM, based on Whitney Avenue and also operating the Pardee-Morris House in Morris Cove, is developing special online programming to better explore the city’s rich past.
Manager Mary Christ noted in the release that the online cataloging project is a work in progress, with more objects being added weekly. “Our database includes the object collection, the Whitney Library materials and photos, so it’s one-stop shopping.”
Viewers, for example, may also enjoy finding the story behind an Edward Candee photo of the West River and village or Civil War canteen. There’s also a weekly Facebook Education Challenge that highlights objects, paintings and documents for at-home students.
