Sum of the Arts
Years Robert Cornelius, who is considered to have photographed the first self-portrait in 1839, ran a photo studio before returning to the lamp-making business = 2
Inspired by the Harper’s Index, Sum of the Arts is a periodic tabulation of numbers floating around the art world and beyond.
- Years Robert Cornelius, who is considered to have photographed the first self-portrait in 1839, ran a photo studio before returning to the lamp-making business = 2
- Percentage of art sold at the four major contemporary art auctions in May that was created by women = 2.9
- Number of cake slices from British royal weddings, dating back to 1973, going to auction = 5 (they come with a “not suitable for consumption” warning)
- Number of official city archaeologists employed in the United States = 10 (Boston has one)
- Feet below Birmingham, England, that British artist Roger Hiorns plans to bury an entire Boeing 737 = 23
- Number of paintings by self-taught Bronx artist Sam Steinberg accidentally tossed in the trash compactor after an exhibition this year at Columbia University = 60
- Number of homes in a year Amazon’s planned 80 megawatt solar farm, which will be used for its data centers, could power = 15,000
- Total square footage of Gagosian gallery space around the world = 172,163 (~15,995 sq. meters)
- Estimated cost in US dollars to rebuild the triumphal arch entrance to Rome’s Circus Maximus = 1,124,000
- Number of annual visitors the Louvre will be able to accommodate following its current renovation = 14,000,000 (last year it received 9,300,000 visitors)
