Hidden within the Syracuse University Art Museum’s collection are ancient Etruscan vessels, contemporary photographs, Renaissance paintings and modernist sculptures — more than 45,000 objects waiting to be discovered.
The museum ranks as one of the top 10 academic art collections in the country by collection size, spanning media such as painting, prints, photography and sculpture. It is not uncommon for museums with large collections to display only a fraction of their holdings at any given time, and many have made strides toward digitizing collections to increase accessibility on a global scale.
Since 2019, the Syracuse University Art Museum has hosted a free-to-use online platform called eMuseum: a living repository of information and imagery about our collection. Assistant Registrar Abby Campanaro updates the database daily, and along with Registrar Victoria Gray and graduate collections assistants, more of the museum’s collection is becoming visible online.
Within the eMuseum, visitors can search by artist, exhibition, collection or keyword. For researchers or the hyper-curious, an advanced search function allows you to narrow down the collection to display, for example, only oil paintings made between 1960 and 1980. The eMuseum will also generate a list of similar artworks to the one you are viewing, allowing for further discovery of pieces you may not have found otherwise.
“The eMuseum is an exciting, innovative tool that really opens the doors to our collection,” Campanaro says. “Whether someone is a student looking for a topic for their next essay or just a curious art lover, there’s something for everyone to discover.”
Ready to explore? Visit the Syracuse University Art Museum eMuseum at onlinecollections.syr.edu to start your journey through thousands of artworks from around the world and across the centuries. The collection is free to search and available 24/7.
Taylor Westerlund ,
Communications & Outreach Specialist,
Syracuse University Art Museum