editor’s note: Data Science, Machine Learning and Art History are rabbit holes. The louise project is an ongiong exploration of the MOMA Collection that utilizes all three of these disciplines.
Please note that the data contained in this file emerged from a preliminary study of the subject. Further work is to be accomplished.
Information about the current MOMA collection:
The MOMA counts 159716 artworks by 15720 artists from 139 nationalities
The MOMA currently counts 8 departments with 40 different classifications and 22944 mediums
The earliest artwork dates back to: 1768 and latest: 2025
The earliest acquired entry dates back to: 1929-11-19 and latest: 2025-06-10
Examples of the data structures of the artworks database and artists database:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ConstituentID | 2981 |
| DisplayName | Vasily Kandinsky |
| ArtistBio | French, born Russia. 1866–1944 |
| Nationality | French |
| Gender | Male |
| BeginDate | 1866 |
| EndDate | 1944 |
| Wiki QID | Q61064 |
| ULAN | 500021093 |
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Standing and Falling Tower with Rider (Stehender und fallender Turm mit Reiter) |
| Artist | Vasily Kandinsky |
| ConstituentID | 2981 |
| ArtistBio | French, born Russia. 1866–1944 |
| Nationality | French |
| BeginDate | 1866 |
| EndDate | 1944 |
| Gender | Male |
| Date | 1911 |
| Medium | Woodcut from an illustrated book with eleven woodcuts |
| Dimensions | Composition (irreg.): 4 5/16 × 4 3/4 in. (11 × 12 cm) |
| CreditLine | Gift of Lucien Goldschmidt |
| AccessionNumber | 324.1958.1 |
| Classification | Illustrated Book |
| Department | Drawings & Prints |
| DateAcquired | 1958-12-19 |
| Cataloged | Y |
| ObjectID | 15658 |
| URL | MoMA record |
| ImageURL |  |
| OnView | — |
| Circumference (cm) | — |
| Depth (cm) | — |
| Diameter (cm) | — |
| Height (cm) | 11.0 |
| Length (cm) | — |
| Weight (kg) | — |
| Width (cm) | 12.0 |
| Seat Height (cm) | — |
| Duration (sec.) | — |
To establish an understanding of the MoMA's collection, we will focus on the following categories that will guide our research:
| Categories of Interest for Timeline Analysis |
|---|
| Date |
| DateAcquired |
| Classification |
| Department |
| Medium |
| Department | Count |
|---|---|
| Drawings & Prints | 81444 |
| Architecture & Design | 34592 |
| Photography | 33653 |
| Painting & Sculpture | 4067 |
| Media and Performance | 3224 |
| Fluxus Collection | 1683 |
| Film | 1022 |
| Architecture & Design - Image Archive | 31 |
| Classification | Count |
|---|---|
| Photograph | 34872 |
| 32905 | |
| Illustrated Book | 28264 |
| Mies van der Rohe Archive | 17109 |
| Drawing | 14262 |
| Design | 12341 |
| Architecture | 4305 |
| Painting | 2438 |
| Video | 2437 |
| Notebook | 1981 |
| Sculpture | 1793 |
| Multiple | 1184 |
| Periodical | 951 |
| Installation | 913 |
| Frank Lloyd Wright Archive | 869 |
| Audio | 794 |
| (not assigned) | 687 |
| Ephemera | 614 |
| Work on Paper | 394 |
| Collage | 189 |
| Film | 148 |
| Poster | 91 |
| Media | 41 |
| Textile | 34 |
| Performance | 33 |
| Wallpaper | 23 |
| Correspondence | 8 |
| Photography Research/Reference | 6 |
| Digital | 5 |
| Graphic Design | 4 |
| Software | 3 |
| Publication | 3 |
| Portfolio | 3 |
| Document | 3 |
| Moving Image | 2 |
| Film (object) | 2 |
| Furniture and Interiors | 2 |
| Fashion | 1 |
| Architectural Model | 1 |
| News Clipping | 1 |
| Medium | Count |
|---|---|
| Gelatin silver print | 17011 |
| Lithograph | 8656 |
| Pencil on paper | 7293 |
| Albumen silver print | 4839 |
| Pencil on tracing paper | 3279 |
| Oil on canvas | 2450 |
| Woodcut | 2200 |
| Graphite on paper | 1800 |
| Watercolor on paper | 1750 |
| Ink on paper | 1600 |
Now that we have a better understanding about the collection's data structure, let's dive into our first graphs focusing on Creation Date, Classifications and Date Acquired
And more Graphs!
From top left to bottom right:
| Timeline | Description |
|---|---|
| Entries Created By Decade | Timeline of artworks based on their creation decade. |
| Creation Date Overlayed With Date Acquired | Comparison of when artworks were created vs. when they entered the collection. |
| Most Represented Classifications | Distribution of classifications most frequently represented in the collection. |
| Most Represented Classifications By Date Acquired | Timeline showing when different classifications entered the collection most frequently. |
Timeline showing the popularity of different classifications in the collection.
Values represent the relative distribution of classifications by year (heatmap) within the collection.
- Color scale:
- Light (≈14) → Higher than average occurence
- Dark purple (≈2) → More common / frequently represented
The stacked area charts provide insight into the museum’s acquisition history, hightlighting shifts in trends.
Lineplots showing comparaisons between Modern and Post-Modern art. These arbitrary boundries of time and classifications help us identify trends.
Looking at the period 1880-1900 in this graph, we can clearly see a sudden growth in the artworks present in the MoMA's collection:
-
Between 1768 and 1890 there was an averge of 34 artworks created per year.
-
After 1890 and until 2025 there was an average of 1112 artworks created per year
-
Between 1880 and 1890 there was a total of 570 artworks against 2744 between 1890 and 1900
What happened between 1880 and 1900? How can data science help us make sense of this?
The difference between the two is quite striking and we could easily suppose that this is due to society's growing adoption of industrialisation.
Lets take a look at the different classifications of the artworks to see if this could give us more insight.
| Classification | Count |
|---|---|
| Photograph | 235 |
| 131 | |
| Illustrated Book | 85 |
| Periodical | 63 |
| ... | |
| Photography Research/Reference | 1 |
| TOTAL | 570 |
| Classification | Count |
|---|---|
| Photograph | 900 |
| 755 | |
| Illustrated Book | 667 |
| Design | 189 |
| ... | |
| Architecture | 6 |
| TOTAL | 2744 |
We can observe the overall stability of Photographs, Print and Illustrated Books.
We must note the clear emergence of design.
Further reinforced by the following graph which clearly shows the sudden popularity of design created during the early XXth century within the MoMA's collection.
Let's take a look to see if design was a major classification to be acquired by the museum
Design remains one of the most important acquired classifications as shown by this graph.
Yet, the following tables indicate that design made between 1880 - 1900 was not necessarily acquired in large quantities by the museum (in opposition to photographs and illustrated books).
| DateAcquired | Classification | Date | Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Illustrated Book | 1889 | 71 |
| 1937 | Photograph | 1884 | 47 |
| 1967 | Photograph | 1885 | 41 |
| 1989 | Photograph | 1888 | 32 |
| 1944 | Photograph | 1884 | 29 |
| DateAcquired | Classification | Date | Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Illustrated Book | 1893 | 402 |
| 1968 | Photograph | 1899 | 239 |
| 1965 | Photograph | 1899 | 152 |
| 1989 | Photograph | 1893 | 147 |
| 1968 | Photograph | 1898 | 128 |
We will conclude this case study by affirming the following:
During the last twenty years of the XIXth century was characterized by the emergence of design which would then go on to become increasingly popular classification in the MoMA's collection. The emergence of design led to a spike in overall artwork production during the XXth century prefiguring the impact of industrialisation on contemporary art.
- Install Python
- Install UV
- Run
uv sync - Run
make get-general - Run
make get-visualisation
Shield:
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