The Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) has contributed close to 20,000 images of architecture, landscape design, and the built environment to the Digital Library.

The selection in Artstor is global in scope and it reaches from ancient to contemporary times — from the pyramids, to the Paris Opera of Charles Garnier. to I.M. Pei. The photographs are selected from the SAHARA project (Society of Architectural Historians Architecture Resources Archive), a community-built repository of digital images in the field of architectural history. This shared online archive is open to members of SAH, which includes scholars, architects, historic preservationists, and students. SAH members may upload their own images to SAHARA in order to share them. The SAHARA collection in Artstor has been peer-reviewed by the SAHARA editorial board for both photographic quality and the accuracy of catalog information. Additional images will be added to the Artstor Digital Library as the SAHARA archive continues to grow.

SAHARA is a collaboration between SAH and Artstor. Its aim is to share digital content to advance the teaching, research, and preservation of architecture and the built environment. SAHARA’s development was funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Scholars at SAHARA partner institutions (Brown University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University of Virginia), as well as independent photographers and historians, provided the content for SAHARA’s initial launch in April 2009.

The Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) is a not-for-profit membership organization and learned society with a mission to promote the study and preservation of the built environment worldwide. Founded in 1940, the Society’s membership includes approximately 2,300 individuals and more than 600 institutions around the world.