Timeline of Portraits in the Tate Gallery from 1900-1910

For my project, I chose to create a digital interactive timeline of some of the portraits in the Tate Gallery Collection that were created between 1900-1910. I used a large dataset of Tate Gallery data from 1900-1910, and after some cleaning, used TimelineJS software to create it. The timeline shows the title of the work, the artist, the date created, the medium, and the dimensions. The original link to the Tate Gallery entry is also included in the timeline. This project aimed to demonstrate how the style of portrait painting evolved through the decade, as well as highlights the stylistic differences across artists. You can find my embedded timeline right below this introduction!

Sources: The dataset I used for this project was the .CSV file titled “Tate Artwork Data 1900-1910”. In the data, I was provided with information about artwork ID number, artist name (last name, first name), artist ID number, title of the painting, medium, year the work was created, year the work was acquired by the museum, dimensions (3 separate columns), thumbnail URL, and URL to the Tate Gallery entry for the work. However, creating the timeline required specific Google Sheets formatting, and I had to do a lot of data cleaning to create it. First, I wanted the artist’s name to be displayed as “First Name Last Name”, so I split the text to columns to separate the names and then concatenated the strings together in opposite order. I also deleted many of the columns that were unnecessary for the timeline, as well as concatenated the dimensions and medium into one column that I used for the description. Finally, I chose a selection of portraits using a variety of mediums across the years present in the dataset and entered the necessary values into the timeline spreadsheet.

Processes: For the analysis, I used TimelineJS software, which was relatively easy to use. They provided a Google Sheets template, and I just filled in the relevant areas. The software reads all of the information I provided, and codes an interactive timeline. I really appreciated that it could also display the thumbnail image in the timeline. I chose to create a timeline because it showed how portrait painting changed throughout the decade. It also helped to illustrate the different styles of famous artists of the time. It is easier to see stylistic choices and differences when you can scroll through the timeline chronologically.

Presentation: When designing the website, I wanted the layout to be simple so that the timeline remained the central focus. I embedded the TimelineJS directly into the page so viewers could interact with it without needing to leave the site. The timeline format naturally fit with my project’s goal of showing small stylistic changes in portraiture over time. As I mentioned, each entry includes the painting’s thumbnail, title, artist, and key details drawn from the dataset. I also linked each item back to its Tate Gallery page, so viewers could easily explore further information about each particular piece. These design choices were intended to make the site accessible and easy to navigate while still emphasizing the overall message of my project.

Significance: By digitizing and visualizing the Tate Gallery’s portrait data as an interactive timeline, I was able to explore changes in artistic style, medium, and scale across a single decade in a way that would be difficult to do with just a spreadsheet or raw data. The timeline makes it easier to notice patterns, such as recurring artists or shifts in preferred media over time. This project reflects some of the broader goals of DGAH because it uses digital tools to display data and create new ways of interpreting and engaging with art history. One pitfall of this approach is that a timeline emphasizes when artworks were created but doesn’t easily capture why or how those works relate to each other thematically or socially. This means I might lose some interpretive depth that could be present in network or spatial analysis.