I am loving Smithsonian Open Access, especially its collections of audience images. Check out this 1865 wood-engraving from Winslow Homer: "Our Watering Places--Horse Racing at Saratoga." The excitement and dynamism of the audience in the grandstands, as the racers go by, is palpable, rendered with multidirectional contrasts of light, pattern, and bodily detail. #AudienceStudies #AudienceHistory #HorseRacing #WinslowHomer

One of my favorite photos from my ongoing research historical audiences: a proto-audience of engineering students, assembled to test weight-bearing structures for stadiums and theaters. C. C. Schneider, “The Structural Design of Buildings.” Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Paper No. 997: 442.

#audiencehistory #crowds #audiencestudies #architecturalhistory #stadiumarchitecture #theaterarchitecture

Also posted to https://www.instagram.com/ardentaudience/