What is this work art made of ?

                                                        From The National Gallery of Art

How to read a museum wall card: What is the art made of ?

Today I am going to show you how to read a museum wall card. This is information found next to a work of art that gives information visitors would like to know. A wall card is meant to convey information to the visitor about the art. It usually lists things like the title of the work, the name of the artist and when it was created. Why do museums have wall cards?

One reason is to reduce the visitor urge to touch the art.

I have chosen the National Galley of Art in Washington DC. The work linked below is in the public domain.

Usually, wall cards start off with the title of the work or the name of the artists. This 19th century oil painting titled Cat and Kittens and was painted in 1872. It shows a mother calico cat and her two kittens.

The medium is the material this work is made of, in this case it is an oil painting on mill-board.

In this case we do not know who the artist is. In this case we have the dimensions or size of the painting.

This wall card has something known as the credit line, this can list if the work is a gift or donation and usually lists the name of the doners or patrons.

The accession number has to do with the year the work was bought, gifted or otherwise obtained by the museum.

Museums have wall cards as a way of communicating information to visitors, everything from digital tablets to old fashions wall cards. Some museums might have apps on smart devices like The MET in NYC. If you need to see an online version vs an in person one, they can vary to some degree. The online version will possibly talk about its digital fair use. 

Sources:

https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.45859.html#history