Data Science: 18th-century British Art and Culture

By Sydney Pearce

Art history professor Christina Smylitopoulos focuses on British art and visual culture in what’s called the “long” 18th century (1680s–1830s). In a recent project, she worked with students to create a digital catalogue of printed material produced by the early nineteenth-century publisher Thomas Tegg, integrating his graphic satire with other commodities, including books and pamphlets. This has resulted in a clearer picture of the diversified publishing practices of an early modern firm, and the role art played in this market. 

“The process of integrating all these publications digitally enabled the research team to work together in real time remotely, and the result is a catalogue that has been instrumental in making connections across materials,” says Smylitopoulos.