ABOUT THIS COLLECTION  
Named for the Roman goddess of dawn, the aurora is a mysterious and unpredictable display of light in the night sky, commonly seen at high northern and southern latitudes. While usually a milky greenish color, auroras can also show red, blue, violet, pink, and white. These colors appear in a variety of changing shapes and no two displays are quite the same. Scientific explanation of the aurora eluded scientists until the early 20th century. The Sun’s energy is carried toward the Earth in the solar wind, spewing a stream of electrically charged particles (mostly protons and electrons) in all directions. As these particles enter the Earth’s upper atmosphere, they collide with nitrogen and oxygen atoms, which produces the beautiful auroral displays.
 
COLLECTION DETAILS
Series title: Aurora Borealis
Series size: 8 artworks
Edition: Limited edition of 1000
Proof of Ownership: Certification on the Ethereum blockchain under the ERC1155 protocol. Each artwork is delivered privately and directly to collectors as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that guarrante proof of ownership.
Format: Pieces consist of PNG files sized 2160x3840 pixels - 150 dpi.
Medium: Illustration, digitized copies scanned from books, Chromolithographs, atlases, etching, woodcuts, photography, oil on canvas.
Artwork materials:  Illustration paper, high quality scanner machine, oil
Contract Address: 0x495f947276749ce646f68ac8c248420045cb7b5e
ID: 2749212597480566...
 
ABOUT THE ARTIST
The first black and white photograph of the aurora was taken in 1892, and the first color photograph was not taken until around 1950. But before photography, it was only through art that the phenomenon could be captured. Seventeenth century artists saw the aurora in a superstitious light, usually as flames or knives in the sky. Later, scientists often made artistic renderings for their studies. Modern cameras provide an extremely accurate record, but as this collection shows, paintings can evoke a feeling closer to what the artist felt when witnessing the aurora in real life. 
 
COLLECTION CREDITS
Historical curatorship: HARI - Historical Art Research Institute (HARI Editions)
Artwork: Étienne Léopold Trouvelot, William MacKenzie, Frederic Edwin Church, August Matthias Hagen, various unknown artists
Year of original publication: 1729-1925
Post-production: HARI - Historical Art Research Institute (HARI Editions)
Digital art supervisor: Marie-Lou Desmeules
Editorial: Braden Phillips
Historical research: Evangelos Rosios, Braden Phillips
Executive production: Victor Zabrockis
 
RIGHTS OVERVIEW
Source of artwork: Smithsonian American Art Museum, National Library of Norway, The New York Public Library
Underlying work rights: Various
Digital copyrights: Various