Walters Art Museum Unveils New Design for Online Collections Site

Contact: Sydney Adamson, Communications Manager
[email protected]

Baltimore, MD—The Walters Art Museum is delighted to announce the launch of its newly redesigned collections website, art.thewalters.org. The art site gives users open access to search, navigate, and view images of more than 20,000 artworks from the museum’s permanent collection, accompanied by robust curatorial information including conservation and exhibition histories. Created in conjunction with Sizeable, a Baltimore-based web development firm, the site features enhanced mobile accessibility, updated capabilities, and a new visual design.

Using a dynamic publication model, integrated closely with the everyday workflow of the museum, the new site publishes findings and photography of collection objects through nightly updates, making the work of museum staff immediately available to virtual audiences. Additionally, the site now includes responsive design for improved user experience on mobile devices; enhanced compliance with current accessibility standards to make the site easier to use with assistive technologies such as screen readers for the vision-impaired; improvements to make the artworks easier to find using search engines; infrastructure upgrades for the web server and its software to provide greater speed, stability, and opportunities for future enhancements; and a contemporary design that better matches the museum’s visual identity.

“As a free museum, the online collection is an extension of our commitment to accessibility for all,” said Julia Marciari-Alexander, Andrea B. and John H. Laporte Director. “Our art site is an extensive resource for preK-12 and college students, educators, scholars, and art enthusiasts from around the globe. Our aim is to make the Walters collection widely accessible both locally and internationally, opening the collections to folks planning their visit, those unable to visit in person, and everyone in between.”

The Walters’ websites serve an online audience of more than a half-million individuals annually, in Baltimore and worldwide. Originally launched in 2009 with a set of 5,000 artworks, the art site was one of the first such resources in the country and was nominated for a Webby Award. The art site also publishes public domain information with downloadable digital images for free, unrestricted use under a Creative Commons Zero: No Rights Reserved license.

The art site redesign project was generously supported by a grant from the Richard C. Von Hess Foundation.

About the Walters Art Museum

The Walters Art Museum is a cultural hub in the heart of Baltimore, located in the city’s Mount Vernon neighborhood. The museum’s collection spans more than seven millennia, from 5,000 BCE to the 21^st-century, and encompasses 36,000 objects from around the world. Walking through the museum’s historic buildings, visitors encounter a stunning panorama of thousands of years of art, from romantic 19th-century images of French gardens to mesmerizing Ethiopian icons, richly illuminated Qur’ans and Gospel books, ancient roman sarcophagi, and serene images of the Buddha. Since its founding, the Walters’ mission has been to bring art and people together to create a place where people of every background can be touched by art. As part of this commitment, admission to the museum and special exhibitions is always free.

Visitor Information

Admission to the museum is free. The Walters Art Museum is located at 600 N. Charles St., north of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. For general museum information, call 410-547-9000 or visit thewalters.org.

Free admission to the Walters Art Museum is made possible through the combined generosity of individual members and donors, foundations, corporations, and grants from the City of Baltimore, Maryland State Arts Council, Citizens of Baltimore County, and Howard County Government and Howard County Arts Council.