Over the past 100 years, the work of many History of Art faculty has helped the Visual Resource Collection become what it is today: over two million images that serve as a center for scholarship and an international resource for images of art.

As a way to honor the life-long work of several emeriti faculty, the VRC is naming the collections after the individuals who built them. By doing so, we hope to recognize the importance of our innovative and prolific faculty and the scholarly value of this imagery. Below is a synopsis of the phenomenal content of these collections.

Photo by Diane Kirkpatrick: Boccioni, "Forms in Space" from 1913

Prof. Richard Edwards
Years at Michigan: 1960-1987

Professor Edwards not only managed to create a permanent home for The Palace Collection (b&w and color photographs take of the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taiwan), he also donated thousands of images of his own from his travels to Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. He was also instrumental in encouraging Dr. Kozo Sasaki to donate his collection of teaching imagery to the VRC.

Prof. Ilene Forsyth
Years at Michigan: 1961-1998

Ilene Forsyth created the Romanesque Collection of 5500 study photographs illustrating the French monuments focusing on Romanesque sculpture. This browsing collection allows students and scholars to compare the intricate details of these landmark pieces. She also supports the on-going research in her late husband George Forsyth's ground-breaking documentation of the 1700-year-old St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai Peninsula.

Prof. David Huntington
Years at Michigan: 1966-1990
Tens of thousands of slides taken by the late David Huntington document his research on Frederic Edwin Church. He was also instrumental in the saving of the Church estate, Olana, which is part of the artistic hub in the Hudson River Valley. His skillful and detailed shots being made widely available will provide much scholarly research for years to come.

Prof. Diane Kirkpatrick
Years at Michigan: 1968-2000
This collection, painstakingly identified by Kirkpatrick, represents the best of the modern art field at its critical expansion of art and technology. The images are richly taken and were created through her personal relationships in the art world. The images are interdisciplinary and provide research in other areas, such as Judaic, African-American, and Women’s Studies. The more than 30,000 images are currently being processed for greater access.