Visual Resources Blog

Last year, the VR blog at Wheaton pointed out a site called Asian Historical Architecture which concentrates on pictures of buildings from the Eastern past. Since that time the site has undergone a complete overhaul that contextualizes the shots with a lot more information about the structures–and they have as well expanded the range of images available on the site. An incredibly valuable resource that continues to grow, this site is one of the better places on the web to lookfor pictures of older buildings from that part of the world.

Inspired by the recent demolition of a modernist house by architect Paul Rudolph as well as the nearby location of Philip Johnson’s seminal Glass House, The National Trust for Historic Preservation has partnered with the New Canaan Historical Society to do a survey of modern homes that grace that particular town. Some of America’s best architects from the modernist period built buildings here, and the hope is that by preserving them digitally and disseminating the information broadly will help to stave off future destruction of these irreplaceable pieces of American architecture. Pictured above is the Bremer house by Eliot Noyes.

For today’s post here at the Visual Resources blog, we thought we’d point out an interesting site related to an upcoming class–since it’s the first day of classes and all. The site is called New York Architecture, and it’s a collection of digital images from many places and buildings in New York. This dovetails nicely with the upcoming Art History 398 course entitled Picturing New York, Professor R. Tripp Evans’ course which will “explore artists’ attempts to capture the essence of New York City, from its origins in the 17th century to the 9/11 period and beyond”. Pictured above is Eero Sarinen’s iconic TWA Building. Those interested may also want to note the November 10, 2009 to January 31, 2010 show devoted to the architect that is upcoming this fall at the Museum of the City of New York.