Portrait-Sitting Database website

What is a portrait sitting?

A portrait sitting is a moment of interaction between an artist, a sitter (the person who is portrayed) and sometimes others, from which a portrait is typically produced.

What is the portrait-sitting database?

The portrait-sitting database is a collection of information about portrait sittings, specifically, sittings for British portraits 1900-1960 and, predominantly, portraits in the National Portrait Gallery.

What is the portrait-sitting ontology?

The portrait-sitting ontology is a formal specification of the objects, concepts and relationships that make up knowledge about portrait sittings. It is the framework, according to which the data in the portrait-sitting database has been structured.

Who is behind this project?

The portrait-sitting ontology and data are products of my (Dawn Kanter's) PhD research at The Open University. The project is titled Collecting and Connecting Portrait Sittings: A Re-evaluation of Portrait-Sitting Accounts in Enhancing Knowledge and Understanding of British Portraiture 1900-1960. The website itself is one product of a 3-month placement with the Knowledge Media Institute. Both the research and placement are funded by the Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC DTP.