DOYLESTOWN, PA — A celebrated mural among the 3,000 objects in the permanent collection of the James A. Michener Art Museum — A Wooded Watershed by Pennsylvania Impressionist painter Daniel Garber– is now the largest gigapixel painting captured to date with the Google Art Camera.
The 22-foot, lunette-shaped mural is featured along with 132 other objects in the Michener Art Museum’s collection in super high resolution on the Google Cultural Institute’s Art Project, which invites people throughout the world to explore paintings, sculptures, prints, and photographs online.
“We are profoundly honored that A Wooded Watershed, which has long been a focal point of our collection, is now the largest piece in the Google Cultural Institute’s Art Project captured with the Google Art Camera,” said Lisa Tremper Hanover, director and CEO of the Michener Art Museum. “This will allow us to share this remarkable work of art with millions of people around the world who might not be able to visit our galleries personally.”
“Through our partnership with the Google Cultural Institute, we are able to provide global access to the largest work in the Michener’s collection,” said Adrienne Neszmelyi-Romano, project director and director of interpretation and innovation at the Michener. “This is truly something special, and we are grateful to be part of this opportunity along with other major cultural institutions around the world.”
The Art Project is part of the Google Cultural Institute, which is dedicated to creating technology that helps the cultural community to bring art, archives, heritage sites and other materials online. The aim is to increase the range and volume of material from the cultural world that is available for people to explore online and, in doing so, democratize access to it and preserve it for future generations.
Each gigapixel image on the Google Cultural Institute’s Art Project contains seven billion pixels, allowing the viewer to study details of the brushwork beyond what is possible with the naked eye in a gallery. Using Google’s platform, the Michener offers 61 objects in gigapixel resolution to viewers. Visitors to the Art Project can browse works by artist’s name, artwork name, type of art, museum, country, collections and time period. Visitors can also utilize the Street View feature, where they can move virtually through the galleries of the Michener Art Museum and other institutions, clicking on select works of art to view them in high resolution.
To view the Michener Art Museum’s online gallery, visit www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta and search for the James A. Michener Art Museum.