Telephone 212 751 7200 Fax 212 751 7220
Via Angelo Masina 5 00153 Roma ITALIA
Telefono 39 06 58461 Fax 39 06 5810788
The Photographic Archive of the American Academy in Rome consists of several
valuable and specialized collections of photographs on
archaeology, architecture and art, as well
as landscape architecture and gardens. It
also includes special collections important
to the history of the Academy.
In addition to its own collections, the American Academy also houses the
Fototeca Unione founded by Ernest Nash in 1957. All these collections have
artifactual value for the history of photography, as well as documentary
value for the study and research of their specific subject.
The photograph collections of the American Academy were acquired over the
years mainly through donations. They represent an exceptional document of
the activity of considerable personalities, master photographers as well
as scholars, active from the second half of the 19th century
(Parker collection), to the beginning of the 20th
century (Moscioni, Van
Deman and Askew collections), and more recently
(Masson and Bini collections).
Some of the collections have a particular historical and archaeological
significance because the photographs record excavations and monuments from
the early years of modern archaeology.
Special collections include the Berman collection
of scenography and theater costume design. The Fellows'
Work collection is of great value for the Academy's institutional history;
it documents the individual and collaborative projects of Fellows and Visitors
in the School of Fine Arts at the American Academy in Rome
(1910-1958).
The Fototeca Unione began with the donation of
Nash's own archive to the International Union of Institutes of Archaeology,
History and History of Art. It is a growing collection focusing on the
architecture and topography of the Roman world.
Use of the Collection
The Photographic Archive of the American Academy in Rome is open to the public Tuesday and Thursday by appointment (call 06-5846281) or write to photoarchive@aarome.org. Reproductions for study and publication are available for a fee (for orders contact:
photoarchive@aarome.org).
Many of the photographic collections have been cataloged in the database
of URBS (Unione Romana Biblioteche Scientifiche), an on-line network that
links the American Academy, most foreign Academies in Rome, and the Vatican
Library
[www-urbs.vatlib.it].
The Askew, Parker, Van Deman, Moscioni, Masson and Fellows' Work collections
are on line. Other collections are available through the inventory lists.
The original Nash donation and some subjects of the Fototeca Unione, such
as ancient Rome and Ostia, are also cataloged on line. The rest of the Fototeca
Unione is accessible through a card catalog and the published microfiche
edition: Ancient Roman Architecture: Photographic Archive on Microfiche
(1979-1982).
Individual images in the Parker and Masson collections are available in digital
form.
Publications
Fotografia Archeologica. 1865 - 1914 (exhibition catalog edited by
Karen Bull-Simonsen Einaudi), De Luca Editore, Rome 1979
Esther B. Van Deman. Images from the Archive of an American Archaeologist
in Italy at the Turn of the Century (exhibition catalog edited by Karen
Bull-Simonsen Einaudi), Rome 1991
Ernest Nash - Ernst Nathan, 1898-1974. Photographie: Potsdam, Rom, New
York, Rom (exhibition catalog edited by Maria R. -Alföldi and Margarita
C. Lahusen), Berlin 2000.
Esther Boise Van Deman: An archaeologist's eye. Images from the Photographic
Archive, American Academy in Rome (exhibition catalog by Alessandra
Capodiferro), New York 2001
Georgina Masson, 1912-1980: Selections from the Photographic Archive =
Selezioni dall'Archivio Fotografico (exhibition catalog edited by Alessandra
Capodiferro and Cornelia Lauf). Milano 2003.
Current Funding
Samuel H. Kress Foundation
U.S. Department of Education
For further information: Contact the Programs Office (tel. +39-06-5846459)
American Academy in Rome
Via Angelo Masina 5
00153 Rome, Italy.
© 1999-2008 American Academy in Rome
Send questions and comments to: info@aarome.org
The Temple of Vesta in the Forum (Rome, Italy) (VD.577)
Villa Melzi (Bellagio, Italy) (Masson 1392)
(Parker 2158)
"Woman and Child", sculpture by Harry Poole Camden(FAAR '27) (FW 1062)
Northeastern gate and city wall (Volubilis, Morocco) (FUN.16420)