digital archives – PAFA’s Collections Blog

Newly Digitized Collection Available Online: The PAFA School Catalogs

February 3, 2025February 3, 2025admin

Contributed by Sharon Yoon, Museum Collections Assistant

The PAFA School Catalogs are valuable archival records that help provide insight into over 130 years of school operations. Historically known as “Circulars”, the school catalogs provided students and prospective students with information such as school policies, programs, scholarships, schedules, fees, prizes, and instructors. After 1908, the catalogs included illustrations of classes, work by students, and exhibitions of student work. Catalogs from the 1920s show many views of classes and grounds at the Chester Springs campus. From 1940, photographs of faculty and their work were prominently featured.

The catalogs provide important details on the curriculum, the instructors, and the overall artistic training environment at the Academy, making the collection particularly useful to those interested in 19^th and 20^th century American Art education.

Online view of 1891 Circular (https://pafaarchives.org/s/digital/item/165026#lg=1&slide=0)

For this digitization project, collections staff continued using a DSLR/copy stand setup that was outlined from our pilot project in April 2024 (Testing a new method to digitize archival collections) .

As there were over 100 catalogs (and nearly 4,000 pages!) to digitize, using a flatbed scanner for this project would have been time-consuming and inefficient for staff. Moreover, since the text was the most important aspect of the records, we were less concerned about the overall “image quality”. However, as mentioned in the previous blog post, a large obstacle that presented itself during this project was post-processing. Each image needed to be individually rotated, cropped, and color corrected. Afterwards, all the pages had to be converted and combined into a PDF file. These files were then organized by year and run through OCR software, which recognizes and converts text within images to be machine readable. Finishing this step resulted in 118 digital reproductions of the Academy’s school catalogs that are now freely available online: https://pafaarchives.org/s/digital/item-set/29807

For more information on the school’s history, please see “School History” here: https://pafaarchives.org/s/digital/page/historicalresources

Newly Digitized Collection Available Online: The Morris Gallery photographs

October 25, 2024October 31, 2024admin

Contributed by Sharon Yoon, Museum Collections Assistant

We’re excited to announce that the digitization of the Morris Gallery photographs is complete. You can browse the images on PAFA’s Digital Archives: https://pafaarchives.org/s/digital/item-set/159894 or view our dedicated Morris Gallery page here: https://pafaarchives.org/s/digital/page/morrisgallery

In 1978, PAFA established the Morris Gallery on the ground level of the Furness-Hewitt building with the specific intent of exhibiting contemporary work by living artists with Philadelphia ties. The Gallery has housed numerous exhibitions by influential artists such as Robert Ryman, Vik Muniz, Nan Goldin, Laylah Ali, Virgil Marti, Alyson Shotz, and Emil Lukas, among many others.

In addition, more conventional exhibitions focusing on art associated with the Academy or its traditions helped spread knowledge of the institution’s heritage and collections. As the program continually developed through the decades, it served as a showcase for a diverse array of artists from the Philadelphia region and beyond.

In Our Academy, PAFA Newsletter 1978 (RG.05.04)

Named after Harrison S. Morris (1856-1948), the turn-of-the-century secretary and managing director of the Academy from 1892 to 1905, the Gallery was located on the ground floor of the Furness-Hewitt building; the space was restored by Catharine Morris Wright, in memory of her father.

To read more about Harrison S. Morris, please see: https://pafaarchives.org/s/digital/page/timeline

The Morris Gallery assumed the function of the Peale House galleries, which had originally featured works by both European and American artists. The broad focus of the Peale House galleries shifted in the early 1970s to highlight the work of younger, talented but unrecognized artists with special consideration given to those living or working in Philadelphia. The transfer of these exhibitions to the newly renovated and larger space of the Morris Gallery consolidated the Academy’s exhibition programs to one building and reaffirmed the institution’s continuing interest in contemporary art. From its inaugural exhibition in March 1978 (John Dowell: Recent Paintings), the Gallery has been a space for art of a range of mediums: drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, performance, and site-specific installations.

John Dowell: Recent Paintings (1978)

Steve Powers: The Magic Word (2007-08)

Woofy Bubbles performance (1984)

Lynn Denton: Sophia’s House— An Installation (1983)

After a series of part-time curators, the Academy hired a full-time head for the Morris Gallery program and for other contemporary exhibitions. Judith E. Stein held this position from 1983 until 1994. She was advised by the Morris Gallery Committee, consisting of board members, local artists, and Academy staff. In 1994, the gallery space was converted to a video and orientation theater. As a result, exhibitions were held in the main galleries for two years. The program resumed exhibitions in the original ground floor location in 1998. Subsequent Morris Gallery and Contemporary Art curators have widened the scope of this program, and the Morris Gallery Committee has been discontinued.

Odd Fellows: Marcel Dzama, Michael Dumontier, and Andrew Jeffrey Wright (2003),

Nannette Clark and Scott Rothstein: Recent Work (1994)

Charles Burns (1999)

Toshiko Takaezu: Recent Work (1992)

Various Morris Gallery exhibition programs (RG.02.06.05)

Throughout the years, over 1,000 photographs were taken of exhibitions held at the Morris Gallery between 1978 and 2009. All images have been digitized and organized by Museum staff and can now be viewed as part of the archive’s digital collection. Please also see the finding aid here: https://pafaarchives.org/PAFA-DigitalArchives/FindingAids/Photographs/PC.01.12_MorrisGallery.pdf

Testing a new method to digitize archival collections

April 3, 2024April 3, 2024admin

Since much of our archival collections are digitized by work study students or interns, the archives has always relied on flatbed scanners to perform the work. The most obvious benefits for the department include reducing user-errors as well as reducing technical training—digitizers would input the correct settings and basically scan the item. The major downside for scanning archival collections is the time required to scan at preservation level standards. Depending on the size of the record/object, the scan could take anywhere from one to three minutes per item. The minutes surely add up for very large collections.

PAFA is very familiar with using digital cameras to digitize collections—the museum has used cameras to digitize/document its permanent art collection and exhibitions since 2007!

Since we had a spare DSLR camera and copy stand, we thought it would be interesting to test out this new method. We selected a small collection to pilot this digitizing method. The work was completed by Annie Thompson (MFA), the archives’ long-term work-study student.

The pilot project allowed us to get a better sense of the speed and image quality to formulate a baseline to compare to the scanning workflow. While cultural institutions typically focus on creating high-quality reproductions, we kept our expectations low since the technical skills required to use a DSLR with all its settings properly was a huge learning curve.

The obvious benefit of using a camera to digitize collections is the sheer speed—it takes literally a few seconds to create a digital capture. One major hurdle we faced with this new approach was the post-processing time. All digital captures required straightening, cropping, and color adjustments. Some workstations in the archives were too slow to use some software, which made post-processing time consuming.

The pilot project selected the Miscellaneous Photographs collection of cartes-de-visite to photograph. Browse the collection here: https://pafaarchives.org/s/digital/item-set/121443

New Digitized Collections

April 1, 2024April 3, 2024admin

We are excited to announce that the archives has completed digitizing a few more photograph collections. The work was completed by Victoria Black (MFA), the archives’ winter work-study student.

The first collection consists of 679 photographs that document the various prizes that students compete for, typically at the end of the school year. These prizes are sometimes referred to as the Spring Scholarship and Prize Competitions.

You can browse the Student Prizes photograph collection here: https://pafaarchives.org/s/digital/item-set/119251

The second collection consists of 149 photographs that document the Edmund Stewardson Prize in Sculpture. The annual prize is competed for by students of the Academy. The subject for the competition is a full-length figure from life, in the round.

You can browse the Edmund Stewardson Prize in Sculpture photographs here: https://pafaarchives.org/s/digital/item-set/121144

Digital Treasure Trove: Macro Photography

November 2, 2023November 16, 2023admin

Contribute by Zoe Smith, Project Museum Collections Assistant

PAFA’s collection primarily consists of paintings, works on paper, and sculpture. There are some more unique objects in the collection such as medals! PAFA has a discrete collection of medals that were sculpted for the many prizes it awarded artists during its Annual Exhibitions. These objects are much smaller in comparison to the typical objects that we have photographed for the past year. Because of their size, the photography workflow needed to change to obtain a preservation quality image. The project team added a lightbox and new Helicon Focus software. Together, these dramatically improved our capabilities and efficiency.

One of the benefits of using this workflow with the medium format camera is once the photograph is completed, you can zoom in on miniscule details, showcasing the precision and skills of the artist.

The miniatures in the collection are even smaller than the medals–smaller than a quarter! The focus stacking technique allows us to capture stunning details throughout each piece. Using this technology to photograph these objects brings a new life to each piece. This detail from a Temple Trust Fund Medal is less than 2 inches and shows an amazing rendering of PAFA.

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Digital Treasure Trove: Parallel projects-John Rhoden sculptures

October 13, 2023March 29, 2024admin

Contributed by Adrian Cubillas, Photographer and Digital Collection Coordinator & Zoe Smith, IMLS Project Museum Collections Assistant

PAFA’s Digital Treasure Trove project and the exhibition Determined to be: The Sculpture of John Rhoden both embody the institution’s mission by expanding the stories of American art. The grant project preserves and makes artworks more accessible to the public, while the exhibition showcases the work of an artist whose contributions challenge conventions and broaden the understanding of American art. Together, these projects reinforce our commitment to inspiring and educating through its world-class museum and school. For the Rhoden exhibition, Dr. Brittany Webb, Evelyn and Will Kaplan Curator of Twentieth Century Art.

John W. Rhoden (1916-2001). Three Headed Lion, 1954. Bronze, The John Walter Rhoden and Richanda Phillips Rhoden Collection, 2019.27.3

Zoe and I had the pleasure of attending the opening of Determined to be: The Sculpture of John Rhoden. We were lucky enough to walk through the exhibit as it was being installed with the curator Dr. Brittany Webb. Getting to see the behind-the-scenes as well as the final exhibit was a great experience that opened my eyes to how much goes into creating such a big show. We also had the amazing opportunity to make some gifs of the sculptures to promote the show! (see below). We loved being able to contribute to such a wonderful project.

Student Stories: Internship Experience

June 23, 2023July 25, 2023admin

Contributed by Catherine Wan, intern

I write many essays and never give much thought to the creation of the primary sources I use. The databases, articles, and journals are all simply online. However, this internship has allowed me to participate directly in the creation of a digital collection comprised of primary source documents and photographs.

The digital collection will showcase archived documents from Asian students who attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from 1917-1949. The work will help support PAFA’s initiative to highlight historically marginalized groups in the US. As a Chinese American, a history major, and someone interested in art, the chance to put a spotlight on these students is very important to me.

My work of scanning, formatting, and cataloging has allowed me to hold the delicate, aged papers these students once poured their hopes into. Each document describes their unique view of art and beauty, and their willingness to contribute to the field. The process of digitization ensures that this section of their life spent at PAFA will not fade nor remain hidden from the public. Instead, these newly digitized records will be preserved digitally and available freely online.

Like many general users, I didn’t realize all the necessary steps that were required to create digital collections. During my work in school, I never thought about how the digital records/collections came to be. Now, I was part of the creation process! I have the satisfaction of contributing a bit to the sea of online resources for users.

Intern Spotlight – Catherine Wan

June 1, 2023July 25, 2023admin

Contributed by: Hoang Tran, Director of Archives & Collections

The archives is excited to introduce this years summer intern, Catherine Wan. Catherine is currently an undergraduate student pursuing a history degree at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. For the summer internship project, she will help identify, digitize, catalog and research student academic files. Since Catherine has a strong interest in Asian history, the project will focus on students of Asian descent.

In typical PAFA fashion, Catherine jumped into the project and began working diligently. Digitizing and cataloging were the first part of the project.

Summer intern digitizing archival records.

The next phase of the project will be researching and analyzing the data to form new knowledge. This internship project contributes to the Archives’ hidden histories initiative by identifying and researching untold stories from underused areas of PAFA’s collections.

Digital Treasure Trove: The Watercolors of William Trost Richards

May 15, 2023May 8, 2023admin

Digital Treasure Trove: The Watercolors of William Trost Richards

Contributed by PAFA Museum Collections

For the last several photography sessions, the collections team has been working to photograph a unique set of small watercolor paintings by the artist William Trost Richards (1833-1905). With some slight variations, the dozens of paintings are each only a little larger than 3×5” and depict a range of beautiful wide-angle landscape scenes. The images are executed in striking detail for their scale and medium. Together, the works demonstrate a superior command of light and texture. It has been a pleasure to spend time photographing these works, and once the project is finished, they can each be viewed and enjoyed in significantly greater resolution.

William Trost Richards – Boats at Pier for Joseph Wharton’s Workmen, Conanicut Island (1883), Watercolor on paper, 3 3/16 x 5 1/8 in. (8.09625 x 13.0175 cm.). Gift of Dorrance H. Hamilton in memory of Samuel M. V. Hamilton, 2008.5.87

View more works by Richards on PAFA’s online database: https://www.pafa.org/museum/collection-artist/william-trost-richards

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Digital Treasure Trove: Recto//Verso

April 24, 2023September 1, 2023admin

Contributed by PAFA Museum Collections

As the collections team has been photographing some of PAFA’s framed paintings over the last several weeks, we have been able to enjoy documenting the rarely seen reverse side of these works.

In the museum world, we define recto as the front or main image and the verso as the back or reverse secondary image. So why may we want to photograph the verso?

Many paintings in our collection have a long exhibition and ownership history, and this provenance can be followed through various notes, labels, stickers, and other markings on the backs of frames. Pictured below are a few examples of works in the middle of being photographed showing the front side view (recto), followed by the corresponding reverse side of the painting (verso).