Marcel Duchamp Online Research Portal Launches

Earlier this week, an extensive research portal created to explore the work of French artist Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968) went live. A collaboration between the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Centre Pompidou, and Association Marcel Duchamp, the platform aggregates the digitized archival holdings at these three institutions in order to “make a significant portion of primary source materials related to Marcel Duchamp accessible and discoverable through a single interface.”

Seven years in the making, the Duchamp Research Portal includes more than 18,000 documents and artworks comprising nearly 50,000 digitized images that relate to Duchamp and his circle. According to its creators, it will become the “primary resource” for anyone studying the enigmatic artist, putting within reach the Alexina and Marcel Duchamp Papers and Arensberg Archives at the Philadelphia Museum of Art; the archival collections of the Association Marcel Duchamp; the André Breton and Constantin Brancusi collections at the Centre Pompidou; and holdings relating to major Duchamp retrospective exhibitions held in Philadelphia in 1973 and at the Centre Pompidou in 1977.

“It is with great pride and delight that we now can share this extraordinary resource with audiences online everywhere. It makes the act of discovery possible for researchers around the world who are fascinated by one of the most revolutionary artists of the past century,” said Timothy Rub, the George D. Widener Director and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in a press statement. “People are seeking richer online art experiences now more than ever, and this exceptional collaboration with our partners at the Centre Pompidou and the Association Marcel Duchamp, for which we are deeply grateful, offers a wealth of resources.”