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Aurora Borealis in High Latitudes by William MacKenzie

Aurora Borealis in High Latitudes by William MacKenzie

ABOUT THIS COLLECTION  

Named for the Roman goddess of dawn, the aurora is a mysterious and unpredictable display of light in the night sky, commonly seen at high northern and southern latitudes. While usually a milky greenish color, auroras can also show red, blue, violet, pink, and white. These colors appear in a variety of changing shapes and no two displays are quite the same. Scientific explanation of the aurora eluded scientists until the early 20th century. The Sun’s energy is carried toward the Earth in the solar wind, spewing a stream of electrically charged particles (mostly protons and electrons) in all directions. As these particles enter the Earth’s upper atmosphere, they collide with nitrogen and oxygen atoms, which produces the beautiful auroral displays.

 

COLLECTION DETAILS

  • Series title: Aurora Borealis
  • Series size: 8 artworks
  • Edition: Limited edition of 1000
  • Proof of Ownership: Certification on the Ethereum blockchain under the ERC1155 protocol. Each artwork is delivered privately and directly to collectors as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that guarrante proof of ownership.
  • Format: Pieces consist of PNG files sized 2160x3840 pixels - 150 dpi.
  • Medium: Illustration, digitized copies scanned from books, Chromolithographs, atlases, etching, woodcuts, photography, oil on canvas.
  • Artwork materials:  Illustration paper, high quality scanner machine, oil
  • Contract Address: 0x495f947276749ce646f68ac8c248420045cb7b5e
  • ID: 2749212597480566...

 

ABOUT THE ARTIST

The first black and white photograph of the aurora was taken in 1892, and the first color photograph was not taken until around 1950. But before photography, it was only through art that the phenomenon could be captured. Seventeenth century artists saw the aurora in a superstitious light, usually as flames or knives in the sky. Later, scientists often made artistic renderings for their studies. Modern cameras provide an extremely accurate record, but as this collection shows, paintings can evoke a feeling closer to what the artist felt when witnessing the aurora in real life. 

 

COLLECTION CREDITS

  • Historical curatorship: HARI - Historical Art Research Institute (HARI Editions)
  • Artwork: Étienne Léopold Trouvelot, William MacKenzie, Frederic Edwin Church, August Matthias Hagen, various unknown artists
  • Year of original publication: 1729-1925
  • Post-production: HARI - Historical Art Research Institute (HARI Editions)
  • Digital art supervisor: Marie-Lou Desmeules
  • Editorial: Braden Phillips
  • Historical research: Evangelos Rosios, Braden Phillips
  • Executive production: Victor Zabrockis

 

RIGHTS OVERVIEW

  • Source of artwork: Smithsonian American Art Museum, National Library of Norway, The New York Public Library
  • Underlying work rights: Various
  • Digital copyrights: Various

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