FAQ

Browsing the Online Collection

There are a few ways to browse the Online Collection:

Homepage/Collections

On the homepage, you can browse curated selections from our collection, such as Highlights.

Artists Page

On the artists page, you can browse artists, makers and cultures associated with objects in the collection, along with relevant biographies and objects.

My Gallery (Public)

On the public gallery page, you can browse user-created collections. You can add your own collections by registering on the site and creating collections that are marked "public".

Searching the Online Collection

Quick Search

Using the search box available on every page (quick search) you can enter terms that will search through different information in the collection (e.g. if you search for "portrait", this can return results that have "portrait" in the title or description).

Advanced Search

To search on specific criteria, you can use the advanced search to search within certain data fields. You can search using multiple criteria, such as the term "portrait" in the title + a date range of "1800-1900". If you are not getting any results with advanced search, try broadening your search by removing criteria.

Search Tips
  • You can use an * (asterisk) as a wildcard in searches, to match partial terms (e.g. draw* will return results for draw, drawn, drawings, etc.)
  • Use quotation marks to get more exact results - e.g. John Doe will return any results with John or Doe, but "John Doe" will return results with this exact phrase.

Viewing Search Results

Types of Results

There are different types of search results, such as object records and people records. When there is more than one type of result, you can click on these different tabs to view different types of records.

Filters

You can refine a result set by using filters to narrow down results. For example, you can filter to see only works that have images, or that are currently on view, within any result set. You can also clear each filter to revert to a larger result set, or clear all filters to get to your original result set.

My Gallery Panel

Once you've registered an account on the site, you can create your own collection sets and add artworks to them. You can multi-select artworks on each page by clicking the symbol, and this will open the collect panel so that you can add the objects to the collection set of your choice. You can also drag images into each collection set to add artworks.

Images

Why is an Image Not Available

An image may be shown as not available if it is not yet available in our database, or if it cannot be displayed for copyright reasons.

My Gallery

What is My Gallery?

My Gallery allows you to create your own collections from the artworks available on this site. You can share your collections with others, or create groups of artworks for your own viewing (created collections are private by default).

You can optionally add a description for each collection set, or add notes to individual artworks.

How Do I Use My Gallery?

To use My Gallery, you must first register and activate an account. Once you have activated your account, you can log in and start creating collection sets and adding artworks to them. You can add artworks to your collection set by clicking on the symbol while viewing objects, and selecting which collection set to add the artwork(s). You can also open the My Gallery Panel and drag images into the collections you've created.

How Do I Share a Gallery With Someone Else?

If you mark your gallery public, this collection will be visible to others in the "Public" section. The option to mark a collection as public is available when you edit your collection.

You can also view your collection set and copy the url link to share these objects with others. You can view your collection sets by logging in and going to the "My Gallery" page or by opening the My Gallery panel.