When I got my new iPad in November, I was disappointed to find that the CMA did not have an app. (Little did I know, most of the other major American art museums don't have apps either.) So I was excited to learn about ARTLENS last night. I'm obviously still learning how to use ARTLENS, but I am very impressed with it so far. It takes considerably longer to download than any other app I can recall, but that's only at the installation; thereafter, there is no lag. But it's worth the wait! I have been able to find - and save for future reference - photos and descriptions of familiar artworks that I love, many of which have been in storage since the museum's expansion began several years ago. The photography is first rate, and is showcased beautifully on the iPad. I haven't done it yet, but I understand that I will be able to design my own personal tour of the museum with these artworks on ARTLENS, and take additional photos with my iPad. Or, I can follow one of the many tours developed by the museum. For each artwork, there are embedded audio and/or video mini-presentations by the curatorial staff. Along with all of the glorious art, there is also information, available on a daily basis, about special exhibitions, lectures, and guided tours. As a fan of the CMA, I think this will be one of my most used apps. The only criticism that I can offer now is that I hope the developers of ARTLENS will eventually provide the capability to EMAIL photos from the collection, instead of having to use Facebook, but this is trivial and easily doable. Five Stars!

I spent two days submersed in the fabulous collection at the Cleveland Museum of Art. We came in from out of town to study works in the American wing and contemporary collection. Rather than photographing the paintings and side notes I opted to use the museums app ART LENS. Spent alot of time looking and marking up the paintings in their LIKE 💜 folder. Goal was to look back at the app and do further research at home. Guess what...the darn app only works inside the museum! It only loads to 60% at home. So now I am back from vacation with no research notes or photos. The Cleveland Museum of Art experience was out standing. But my goal was to come back to the art studio to do research. I am left so disappointed that the app failed.

While informative, it’s only at times. A lot of the “scan” items need updating as they don’t register in the app. Some that say there is audio to listen to, but there is no audio. Felt it was choppy and got frustrating to use when trying to learn. Also annoying a lot of you save while there isn’t saved properly when home.

I’m an art novice so the only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because while you’re listening to the videos you can’t put your phone to sleep even though the app can be used in the background. This means you’re holding your phone the entire time. Would be nice to listen with my phone on my pocket.