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The Scala Archives
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The Scala Picture Library - A Superb Fine Art Collection
SCALA ARCHIVES is the largest and most prestigious fine art image archive worldwide.
Transparencies and digital files of art works from around the world, covering every age
and every artistic genre, are available for licensing to all media. Italian art makes up
the core of the collection, but the Library contains thousands
of first-rate works from the rest of Europe, the United States, Russia, the Middle
and Far East and Africa (see Main
Museums). |
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To mention only a few among the many museums: The Italian and German State Museums, the
Vatican Museums, The Hermitage, The Pushkin Museum and The Russian Museum
of St. Petersburg, The Musée d'Orsay, The Louvre, The British Museum,
The Munch Museum, The Prado Museum, The Thyssen Museum, The Alte Pinakothek
in Munich, and the Kunsthistorisches in Vienna are only a few of the collections
and museums represented. Furthermore several US museums have chosen to grant worldwide exclusivity to Scala Archives.
Among them: the MoMA – Museum of Modern Art, NY, and, in Europe, the Smithsonian American Art Museum,
the Pierpont Morgan Library, The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, The New York Public Library etc. |
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The
Scala Picture Library includes 150,000 images representing as many works
of art and travel. Its founder, John Clark, could never have guessed that
his early dream would materialize into an art archive of this quality and caliber.
Scala is, in fact, considered the world's most important art image collection.
The quality as well as comprehensiveness of its holdings make it unique.
Furthermore the convenience of receiving assistance from a multilingual and
experienced staff, with offices in Florence and London,
as well as agents in NY city, Tokyo and Seoul is often praised.
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The web-site and art history searches
The archive's contents, span from Antiquity to Contemporary,
and from the decorative arts to sculpture and painting, photography and design,
architecture and archeology. The images have been entirely digitized and are available on-line.
All images are protected against unauthorized
use by traceable electronic watermarks. Customers can obtain free access
to the images by registering and logging into the site. Searches and
orders by e-mail are possible
from within the on-line search page and result pages. Digital image files are delivered to customers by e-mail, FTP, http.
HR download will be possible starting in 2007.
Customers may also use the free thematic search service provided by the Library's
expert staff (firenze@scalarchives.com). Thanks to Scala's experienced photo researchers as well as a proprietary
and highly sophisticated search program enabled with over 7000 keywords,
in depth and specific searches can be easily performed.
The on-line catalogue is updated weekly to include new photographic campaigns
and special acquisitions.
Access to the site is free of charge.
Scala’s History
1953
SCALA ISTITUTO FOTOGRAFICO EDITORIALE S.A.S. was founded in Florence
on the initiative of Roberto Longhi, the celebrated Italian art historian.
The mission was to professionally photograph works of art (painting, frescoes, architecture etc.) not only in black and white but also in color,
a technique which had only recently become available.
The goal was that of making such images swiftly available to both
the educational and publishing worlds.
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1957
Having photographed images from several predominantly local sites and having
received enthusiastic approval the experimental stage of the project is over.
In cooperation with the Italian Ministry of Culture, as well as public
administrations and private collectors, numerous additional major photographic
campaigns in Europe’s
museums are at this point set up and brought to completion.
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1958-67
Scala starts the production of projection slides. Predominately used in the fields of arts, sciences and tourism, this represents Scala’s
first major collaboration with European and US publishers.
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1968
Scala begins its publishing activity with a series of richly illustrated
monographs and museum catalogues. Most titles were and are available in several
languages.
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1986-89
Progressive acquisition of the company by its present shareholders.
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1993
Acquisition of ACTA S.p.A., a small IT company. This allows Scala to
be the very first fine arts library to go digital.
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1995-1997
Scala’s Visual Information System, a custom made and proprietary
software facilitating the convergence of digitization, indexing,
photo research, billing, statistics and delivery is created.
On-line low resolution display of all Scala contents is made avialble.
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1997-1998
Scala's laboratory starts scanning in HR at 1000 dpi, at a 1/1 scale, and
allowing colour corrected transparencies to be printed with a
Kodak film recorder.
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1999
- Scala Istituto Fotografico Editoriale merges with ACTA to create
Scala Group S.p.A.
- Creation of E-ducation.it S.p.A., whose goal is that of providing private
as well as public entities and corporations the tools and services necessary
for strategic planning, development and management of their intellectual property
as well as their human resources.
E-ducation.it is a partner highly qualified in planning and delivering
projects for distance learning, as well a content and knowledge management
and administration.
- Alongside its American agent Art Resource, Scala became the
European representative of several United States Museum, such
as the Pierpont Morgan Library, The Andy Warhol Foundation and
the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
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2002
- The Museum of Modern Art, MoMA, New York, selectes Scala as its
worldwide exclusive image rights representative
(the agreement was renewed in 2005). MoMA was the first museum to
offer only HR files for reproduction use; this accelerated the
publishing market's shift to digital workflow.
- The Italian Ministry of Culture appoints Scala as its agent for images
of artworks from over 600 museums and sites
(the agreement was renewed in 2006). A steady stream of new images and
restoration documentation for numerous artworks is thus ensured.
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2003-2005
- Scala signs an agreement with the Heritage Image Partnership, a
consortium of 12 illustrious UK museums, such as the British Library
and the British Museum.
- Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz, the German State Museums, Berlin,
signs a cross-representation deal with Scala in Italy, United Kingdom and Spain,
as well as a reciprocity agreement for Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
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2006
- Scala starts shooting with digital camera backs.
- Scala is selected as its worldwide exclusive Representative by
the Musée du quai Branly, Paris, the largest collection of the primitive
arts from four continent.
- ADAGP's Image Bank, Paris (the picture library created by France's National Rights Society)
selects Scala as its exclusive worldwide Representative.
- Scala has more than 5,000 customers in 50 countries, and 15,000
on-line registered users.
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2007
- The new web site is launched, HR download in real time is made available to registered users.
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