In the winter of 1886, the neighborhoods of Paris were transformed by an unusually heavy snowfall that lingered on the branches of trees and captured the imagination of the artist Berthe Morisot.
Ceramics student Lindsay Savoie subverts traditional hierarchies that value painting and sculpture more highly than utilitarian art forms like pottery and photography.
The RISD Museum collection application program interface (API) lays out how our website’s search function operates, aiding discovery of the museum’s collection and allowing collection data to be used in innovative ways.
Aaron Douglas was inspired by ancient and contemporary architecture, visual art and poetry. By exploring his painting and finding connections to poetry, what can we learn about how artists use different artistic styles and art forms to represent the many kinds of work it takes to build societies, both in the past and today?
Why is contemporary English artist Paul Scott interested in a ceramic technique and imagery from the 1700-1800s? How does he work with transferware to comment on environmental issues and systemic racism in the United States?
Curatorial intern Sam Nehila uses collage to create abstracted forms and explore the trans experience of engaging with the museum’s collection of male nude bodies.
The American and European jewelry collection at the RISD Museum, part of the Decorative Arts and Design Department, is made up of more than 800 works, including necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and rings from the medieval period to present day.
A student dismantles the outdated terminology and practice of “master copies” by constructing a series of copies that works to bolster underrepresented artists and subvert the pervasive presence of white males in the Western art canon.
The handmade object has a tendency to prompt memories from the craftsperson who made it. In this reflection on an embroidered purse from the 1970s, Ariel Wills and Kate Irvin are joined by maker Christina Bevilacqua for a dynamic conversation that demonstrates the narrative qualities embodied in material culture.
As the world bears witness to the recent tragedies of George Floyd’s death, the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the countless numbers of Black people before them, it’s difficult to feel like I have anything new to say on a subject that I should meet with respectful listening, but as the director of this institution it is my job to lead both in words and in deeds.
A student in a RISD course on pan-African aesthetics contemplates a vinyl record pictured in a Sanlé Sory photograph in the collection, and imagines the songs it contains.
Juxtaposing Iké Udé’s photography with Sun Ra’s notions of "mythocracy" and Black Utopia, Ann-Maree Quaynor seeks to reclaim Black Dignity and Existence.
Faculty member Rosa Weinberg reflects on the relevancy of art analysis as a starting point for exploring form in design and as a powerful habit of mind for beginning designers.
Digital Initiatives intern Ariel Hirschhorn explores the “Maker” field in the museum’s database to examine the collection from a programmer’s perspective