Price: $0.99 Score: 10/10 By Michelle Schusterman 
Rarely are apps both smart and beautiful, not to mention useful. But Art, an app as simple and classy as its name, has all of these qualities and more.
Designed by ADS Software Group, Art is exactly what it suggests; a collection of the world’s finest works of art ready to be perused on your iPhone. Currently, the app has expanded to include 5,000 paintings by 80 well-known artists, with even more plans for growth in the next update.
Art features an easy-to-navigate interface and a clean, elegant look. And the pictures? Absolutely gorgeous. All it takes is one try of the zoom feature to see just how high-quality these shots are.
You can use the search function to find a painting either by artist or the title of the work, or flip through the artists, which are listed alphabetically in a separate function that includes the time period they lived in and a sample painting. A tap brings up facts, a bio, and a complete Wikipedia article entry on each artist, which can be viewed offline.
For art history students and fans, or anyone who wants an alternative to playing another zombie game, the quiz feature on Art is a brilliant addition. The app will pull up a random painting with a multiple choice selection of four possible artists- a great way to test your knowledge and learn more about art!
To keep track of your favorite pictures, it’s easy to store them in the My Gallery section. All pictures can be viewed in both portrait and landscape mode. For fun, the Most Expensive Art section lists the priciest paintings today, along with their current worth.
If you fall in love with one painting in particular, it’s simple to save it to your photos library and set it as your wallpaper so you can admire it every time you pick up your iPhone. A few of the artists showcased are Rembrandt, Leonardo DaVinci, Henri Matisse, Andy Warhol, M.C. Escher, and Salvador Dali.
For anyone interested in using this app to provide their children with a bit of art education, it’s important to note that several paintings include nudity and images of horror. The newest version of Art, which is currently on review, will include a parental control feature that allows parents to hide all nude and horror pictures. The new version will also include a slideshow that displays the painting, title, and artist.
This app is a stunning piece of art in and of itself, and well worth the 99 cent asking price.
Art requires iPhone OS 2.0 or later, and is compatible with iPhone and iPod Touch.
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February 2nd, 2010 at 2:50 pm
Ninety-ninety cents to hold in your hand some of the greatest art of all-time is a mere pittance to pay for this excellent iPhone app. I purchased it in a flash, knowing that I would get plenty of satisaction from its contents, GUI and class-leading functionality. I just can’t wait for the next update. I thin I’ll go and look at some M.C. Escher after I finish this computer session. Try it; you’ll like… no, love… it!