For the first time in a generation, a publication has been dedicated to documenting the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’s world-renowned holdings of American paintings, along with those that represent the broader spectrum of the Americas.

The free digital publication features a selection of more than 400 paintings from its collection of nearly 2,000 (including new acquisitions,) and is available at www.mfa.org/americanpaintings.

Prominent American artists from the 17th to the 20th centuries are showcased, including masterworks by John Singleton Copley, Mary Cassatt, John Singer Sargent, Winslow Homer and Georgia O’Keeffe. The online catalog was produced to complement the MFA’s “Art of the Americas Wing,” and is a first of its kind for the museum.

The online catalog is user-friendly for both personal computer and iPad users.  It is organized in 12 easy-to-read chapters, with headings written by the MFA’s Croll Senior Curator of Paintings, Erica Hirshler. 

The chapters begin in 17th century New England with the Freake-Gibbs painter and take one through to post-World War II and Jackson Pollock. 

While much of the MFA’s 450,000 collection items can be viewed on the web, this catalog provides an in-depth view of almost 425 artworks, allowing for both full text and summary views.  The online catalog should prove to be an excellent research tool, as well as a way for visitors to tour the collection from afar.

(Report: Christine Bolli for ARTFIXdaily)