and Claribel Cone, were two sisters, who over a period of 30 years
amassed one of the world's most acclaimed collections of early 20th
century French art. This "Cone Collection" with its incomparable
holdings of work by Henri Matisse and major examples of Picasso, Cezanne,
van Gogh, and Renoir, was donated to The Baltimore Museum of Art along
with most of the sister's possessions and furniture in 1950. During
their lives, however, the Cone Sisters lived with, and displayed their
collection in their apartments. They were passionate about collecting
and their apartments were full of items.
In November of 2000, the Imaging Research Center was approached by
curators at The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland, with
the challenge of augmenting the display of these historically important
impressionist paintings and to compliment the existing exhibition
without detracting from the meaning and beauty of the original art.
IRC directors Dan Bailey and Alan Price proposed that digital media
be used to provide a historical context for the artworks that is impossible
to replicate in a physical exhibition space. Using numerous historical
photographs of the sisters' apartments as a guide, the apartments
would be virtually reconstructed so as to let museum viewers see the
art work as the Cone Sisters curated themselves.