Tool Nova

Interactive Art History and Museum Timeline

Collection across time

Art History Timeline

Move through historical periods and view image-rich works positioned by their recorded creation dates.

Era
Subject within this era

Opening the museum collection…

How the art history timeline works

Search a subject, artist, culture, era, or request a curated random selection.

Tool Nova retrieves normalized collection records through a cached server route using The Met Open Access API.

Explore the image and context, then open the official Met record for complete attribution and reuse details.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this require an API key?

No. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection API used by these tools is publicly accessible without a visitor API key.

Can every image be downloaded and reused?

No. Download tools are restricted to records marked public domain. Always verify the individual Met record, credit line, and rights information before reuse.