The American Studies group at the University of
Virginia has a long and distinguished history, and
during the past few years it has created this
online archive of materials related to the spirit of
the American experience in that tumultuous decade of
the 1930s. The material is divided into
thematic sections, such as "On Film" and "On the Air".
Within each section, visitors can view various
projects created by students studying in the
American Studies program. For example, the On Film
area contains such online exhibits and topical
examinations that include "Crime Pays: The Hollywood
Gangster from 1930-1938" and "New Frontiers in
American Film Documentary".
The section dedicated to American radio programming
during this decade is quite nice, as it affords users
the opportunity to learn about these shows
and listen to some of the old shows, including Little
Orphan Annie, Amos 'n'Andy, and Jack Benny. [KMG]
This entertaining site created by the Musée des
Beaux-Arts, Lille, and the Sterling and Francine Clark
Art Institute turns one of the primary tasks of
museum curators and archivists--establishing the
provenance of the works in their collections--into a
game. Using a group of late 15th century Dutch
paintings with an uncertain history that depict the
Virgin Mary and Christ Child, the game attempts to
answer four questions: What are the origins of
the paintings? How do the paintings relate to each
other? What did the paintings mean in the 15th
century? Who was the Master of the Embroidered
Foliage? (the paintings were attributed to the Master
of the Embroidered Foliage in 1926 by a German art
historian, Max Friedländer) The research
presented at the site reveals that probably all the
paintings were not created by the same artists, as
hypothesized in 1926, but still leaves tantalizing
questions unanswered. [DS]
Copyright Scout Report January 21, 2005
These links will be added to Incredible Art Resources.
