Beautiful Works Right at Your Fingertips

by Maria F. Aldana — March 31, 2008

If you don't live close to an art museum, there is another alternative to viewing past and present collections. Visiting an art museum online can be as educational as actually going to one in person. Of course, seeing a piece of art in person is more impressive, but if you don't have easy access or time, this is an excellent alternative. Most major museum Web sites have a collection database that enables you to search for a specific artist or piece of art. They also include the latest exhibitions, podcasts from artist lectures, and fun interactive activities related to specific artists. As almost every person ends their day at the gallery in the museum store, this is also available online. One of my favorite galleries is the Victoria and Albert museum in London. Now that I'm thousands of miles away, it is bookmarked in my browser. Consider perusing one of these online galleries:

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York at http://www.metmuseum.org
• Victoria and Albert Museum in London at http://www.vam.ac.uk
• The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles at http://www.getty.edu/
• San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco at http://www.sfmoma.org
• National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. at http://www.nga.gov
• Louvre in Paris at http://www.louvre.fr
• Uffizi Gallery in Florence at http://www.virtualuffizi.com