About this project

A BIG Thank You to everyone who has contributed! We're very grateful. And of course exceeding our goal would allow us to provide even deeper and broader coverage of art's history!

WHAT IS SMARTHISTORY? Smarthistory.org is a Webby-award winning, free and open educational resource for the study of art history. Smarthistory was created by two art historians, Beth Harris and Steven Zucker, each with twenty years of teaching experience, who saw an opportunity to use conversation and the web to make art history accessible to their students. The Smarthistory website currently covers more than 300 works of art and is fast becoming a viable alternative to the commercial textbook. Visit Smarthistory.org. WHO USES SMARTHISTORY, AND WHY In 2010, Smarthistory.org was visited more than half a million times by visitors from more than 150 countries. Nearly one hundred universities, libraries and museums now recommend Smarthistory and instructors are increasingly adopting it in place of the expensive survey textbook. Even if you’re not a college student, Smarthistory is a great resource, and we want to keep it that way. WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP We have so much great content -- but we need to create at least 100 more videos in order for Smarthistory to be a truly viable alternative to the survey textbook. Every $100 contribution from you makes one more video possible. And because Smarthistory.org is a 501(c)3 organization, your contribution may also be tax-deductible (please consult your tax advisor). WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT SMARTHISTORY Some recent press... Brainpickings Democratizing Art History. Traditionally, the study of art history has belonged to the privileged. Tuition-rich courses, overpriced textbooks, trips to museums (often across vast oceans) — they all cost a pretty penny. [...]Smarthistory is perhaps the most centralized effort to make art history an accessible field. The Huffington Post Given the efficiency of the site's schematic and the wellspring of accurate and interesting information it provides, it's easy to understand why Smarthistory.org is rapidly becoming a favorite of would-be art historians on college campuses everywhere. Chronicle of Higher Education Smarthistory, begun in 2005, gets about 65,000 visits a month, up about 60 percent over last year. It won the Webby award for best education Web site in 2009. It has been used or recommended by dozens of colleges, including Princeton, the University of Texas at Austin, and Vassar. See what people are saying about Smarthistory on Twitter Watch our five-word acceptance speech at the 2009 Webby Awards WHAT YOU CAN DO 1) Make a tax-deductible donation to Smarthistory, a 501(c)3 organization, and get some fantastic gifts in return (please consult your tax advisor to determine the tax deductibility of your gift) 2) Use Twitter, Facebook, and other social media networks to spread the word about our campaign 3) Write a blog post about us 4) Interview us for your blog Visit Smarthistory.org.