Every painting at Carnegie Museum of Art has a story involving artists who created them, collectors who cherished them, donors who entrusted them to the museum, and curators and conservators who have cared for them. Created, Collected, Conserved shows how extensive research and new technology can uncover fascinating stories.

This gallery installation focuses on seven paintings that share a common origin: all were part of the Northbrook Collection in England, which was mainly assembled in the 19th century. The collection was largely dispersed and sold by the late 1930s.

An interactive map anchors the gallery, tracing the paths of nearly 200 paintings in the Northbrook Collection. The map uses Art Tracks, a set of digital provenance tools developed by Carnegie Museum of Art. Visitors can see the paths of each artwork from their creation to current locations, often traveling thousands of miles between owners. Carnegie Museum of Art’s paintings, for example, arrived from five different donors, and over the course of 70 years.

The installation also highlights recent and ongoing conservation work through several additional paintings, and the conditions and histories leading to the care that they are receiving at Carnegie Museum of Art.

Explore the life stories of paintings, and consider the ways that history shapes culture.