{Art} The 4 Best Apps for FOF Art Lovers

Used to be, if you wanted to see Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” up close, you had two options: fly to Amsterdam and visit the Van Gogh museum or buy a $50 coffee table book with a great printing.
Oh how times have changed. Thanks to a group of brilliant new apps, you can view thousands of major works of art, in exquisite detail, right on your ipad or computer.

We recently discovered Art Authority, a new app from Open Door Networks that lets you browse through a virtual museum with 55,000 works by over 1,000 of the western world’s greatest artists. Browse by category (Romanticism, Impressionism, Modern) or by artist and tap a painting twice to see it super close up.

Once you start, it’s completely addictive–you can easily get lost (in a good way) as you search through Seurat’s body of work or discover some of the lesser known Romantics. Each work is linked to an authoritative description or Wikipedia entry. The picture quality is stunning–every brush stroke is visible when viewed on an iPad.

Other art apps we love:
The Explorer App for The Museum of Natural History,
The MOMA Books iPad app (Read all of MOMA’s beautifully curated art books on your iPad–even the out-of-print ones.)
The Musee de Louvre app (The next best thing to a trip to the famous Paris museum.)
The American Museum of Natural History app (Ok, it’s not quite “art”, but this brilliant museum app let’s you chart your own course through one of America’s great institutions.)

5 lucky FOFs will win the Art Authority app (value $9.99) for their iphones, ipads or Mac computers. To enter, tell us in the comments below: Who is you favorite fine artist?

Thank you for entering. This contest is now closed.

(See all our past winners, here.) (See official rules, here.) Contest closes October 13, 2011.

0 Responses to “{Art} The 4 Best Apps for FOF Art Lovers”

  1. drz says:

    I’m drawn to different artists at different times. Right now I’m enjoying Georgia O’Keefe.

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  2. Lorraine says:

    I would have to say Eugene Delacroix. I especially loved his paintings reflecting his time spent in North Africa.

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  3. gail says:

    Claude…nobody does it better!

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  4. bedford1tom1 says:

    Leonardo DaVinici

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  5. juliemiler says:

    Next to my son who is a gifted artist, I really admire Michaelangelo’s work.

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  6. begil_2000 says:

    Davinci!!!

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  7. rjcard123 says:

    I do not have just one and the list is so long. I like styles

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  8. drsusan32 says:

    My favorite is Michealangelo.

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  9. khiskey says:

    My favorite artist is Matisse.

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  10. Sheila Chaffins says:

    Vincent Van Gogh of course!

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  11. Murphy says:

    My favorite artists were my children when they were little. I still display their artwork.

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  12. JuliaW says:

    My favorite is a Charleston artist, Betty Anglin Smith. Her color selections are incredible and evoke the wild beauty of the Lowcountry.

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  13. Art by Karena says:

    Amazing apps! I can really hardly name just one, I have so many favorites. I will say Picasso though!

    Karena
    Art by Karena

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  14. Joanne Van Genderen says:

    My favorite artist is Camille Passarro. He is known to many as the father of Impressionism. Not only do I admire Passaro for his impressionist landscapes and rendering of common people just doing what they do (in the fields, at the market, on the farm), but also for being so dedicated to his political views. Passarro believed that food should go from farmer to the people without government intervention. I also am grateful to this artist for he trained other great impressionists including van Gough. Pissarro’s significant impact on art at the turn of the century makes him a rockstar in my book.

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  15. Joanne Van Genderen says:

    My favorite artist is Camille Passarro. He is known to many as the father of Impressionism. Not only do I admire Passaro for his impressionist landscapes and rendering of common people just doing what they do (in the fields, at the market, on the farm), but also for being so dedicated to his political views. Passarro believed that food should go from farmer to the people without government intervention. I also am grateful to this artist for he trained other great impressionists including Picasso and Monet. Pissarro’s significant impact on art at the turn of the century makes him a rockstar in my book.

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  16. Shari says:

    Monet! Gotta love his colors and textures.

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  17. Lauren J says:

    having the privilege to walk through Monets garden and home in Givenchy, I have to admire this impressionists work the most…

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  18. kaydee says:

    my favorite is Vincent van Gogh

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  19. Margarida says:

    My favourite artist is Monet!

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  20. Heather van hereweghe says:

    I have to go with Monet also!

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  21. Mary Bouchard says:

    James McNeil Whistler — his later work

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  22. Naomi says:

    That’s easy! My husband: http://bobburdetteart.com

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  23. Jade says:

    do you have any art app suggestions for android phones? love my evo!!

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  24. mmimilinda says:

    I love Monet’s paintings, and I love Mary Seurrat, and I love Edward Hopper, completely different look.

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  25. dmhsny says:

    I am so enthralled with Monet; for my entire life I have been drawn to the phases of his life by his depiction of finer images. The colors, the change in sharpness with the onset of his blindness illustrates to me the softening of life as you age gracefully.

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  26. Chef Karen says:

    Andrew Wyeth for his simplicity of complicated lives. Claude Monet is my second favorite for sheer beauty through his eyes.

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  27. ann says:

    I have to say van Gogh because of the pain he suffered and still brought so much beauty to our lives. I was brought to tears when I saw his retrospective show at the National Gallery years ago.

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    • Paloma says:

      17/06/2009 3:28 pm Your blog is amazing, i first ladend to another post but then get interested and thought, i will just look a little more arround to see what else i can find out about such stuff 🙂

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  28. krispy9 says:

    So hard to choose but I’ll go with Monet.

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  29. susan says:

    My absolute favorite is Gustav Klimt!!

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  30. gatortater says:

    My favorite fine artist is Jackson Pollack.

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