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Art & Art History vocabulary · Museums & Galleries

On display

Meaning in art & art history, with examples

/ˌɑːn dɪˈspleɪ/phraseCore term

In art & art history, on display means: Being shown in a museum, gallery or shop, where people can see it.

In Turkish: sergileniyor, sergide, teşhirde

How it is used

Common on museum websites and signs: currently on display, not on display, on permanent display. On view means the same and is very common in American museums. The opposite is in storage.

Example sentences

  1. Is the Ottoman kaftan collection on display at the moment, or is it in storage?

  2. The newly restored painting will go back on display in May.

Common collocations

  • on permanent display
  • currently on display
  • put on display
  • go on display
  • not on display
  • exhibitTo show artworks or objects to the public in a museum or gallery; as a noun, an object or work that is shown.
  • permanent collectionThe artworks and objects that a museum owns and keeps long term, as opposed to works borrowed for temporary exhibitions.
  • exhibitionA public show of artworks or objects, arranged in a museum, gallery or other space, either for a limited time or permanently.
  • loanAn arrangement in which a museum or collector lends an artwork to another institution for a period, usually for an exhibition; also the work that is lent.

More terms: Museums & Galleries

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