White House, Met Hop Aboard Google Art Project

The White House's art collection, all 139 pieces, is being added to the Google Art Project, as part of a major expansion of Google's online art initiative, reports CBS News. Other collections being added include the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Gallery in London, and the Palace of Versailles, bringing the total to 151 galleries and museums from 40 countries. Notably missing? The Louvre, notes CBS.

"The White House isn't simply a home to first families or meeting space for world leaders, it's also known as 'The People's House,' a place that should be open to everyone," says Michelle Obama in a video. Google says it also is unveiling a new Street View service for the inside of galleries to make exploring museums smoother, plus 46 important artworks now have ultra-high resolution "gigapixel" displays, so viewers can see brushwork and other tiny details. "[The Google] Art Project is no longer just about the Indian student wanting to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It is now also about the American student wanting to visit the National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi," says the head of the Google Art Project. (More Google stories.)