ROM brings its artifacts onto Google Art Project

ROM brings its artifacts onto Google Art Project

Over 300 artifacts from Museum’s collection available for digital visitors to enjoy

ROM collection launches on August 20, 2014

TORONTO, August 20, 2014:  The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is making its collection available on the Google Art Project, creating a virtual experience that shares the Museum with visitors around the world. Included are over 300 of the ROM’s artifacts captured in extraordinary detail in more than 460 images that allow people to see objects in greater detail, virtually tour galleries and curate their own digital collections.   

The ROM’s Google Art contributions offer a taste of its vast collections with a particular focus on its iconic Canadian works such as Paul Kane’s Fishing by Torch Light.  One of the Museum’s best known pieces, the Death of General Wolfe which captures a pivotal moment in Canadian history, has been photographed in extraordinary detail using the “gigapixel” technology. Visitors can study in unprecedented detail the painting’s brushwork and patina.  In addition, visitors can use the Street View feature to tour the ROM’s Sigmund Samuel Gallery of Canada and the Daphne Cockwell Gallery of Canada selecting objects of interest and clicking on them to learn more.

Also featured are notable pieces from the Museum’s collections such as The Paradise of Maitreya wall-painting and the Kunti sculpture, commonly referred to as the Blue Lady.  The resolution of the digital images, combined with a custom-built zoom viewer, allows visitors to discover minute aspects of the artifacts that they may never have seen before.

“We’re delighted to share our collections and in particular artifacts from ROM Canada with a global audience of visitors in an interesting and interactive way. We hope that it inspires even more people, wherever they live, to explore the Museum – especially during our Centennial year – in new and amazing levels of detail,” said Janet Carding, the ROM’s Director and CEO.

The ROM’s contribution to Google Art Project is its second collaboration with Google. Last fall the ROM hosted an exhibition featuring the winning designs in its Canadian Doodle 4 Google contest which challenged students to design a logo for Google’s homepage.

The ROM’s Google Art Project is available at http://goo.gl/xII48y