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The comparability of viewers' responses to slide-projected and computer-generated images of nine paintings by renowned artists to those obtained from individuals experiencing the originals in the galleries of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art was investigated. The influence of training in the visual arts upon evaluative judgments made under the three presentation formats was also assessed. Specifically, art-trained and untrained participants in each format condition rated each artwork on sixteen measures of physical and structural characteristics, novelty of content, and aesthetic qualities. Analyses revealed significant differences in the judged hedonic value of the originals as contrasted with the two types of reproduction, whereas trained and untrained participants' evaluations of the pictorial qualities of the artworks were comparable across presentation formats. Findings are discussed in terms of a facsimile-accommodation hypothesis proposed by the authors.

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The issue of whether viewing works of art by computer or slide is comparable to viewing original paintings was investigated by having visitors to The Metropolitan Museum of Art view works in these three formats and having them rate the works on measures of physical and structural characteristics, novelty of content, and aesthetic qualities. Only four of the sixteen evaluative ratings showed statistically significant results among groups, typically with viewers of the original works differing from viewers in the slide and computer formats. Correlational and factor analyses provided additional support for a notion of “pictorial sameness” for artworks viewed in the three formats. The results are examined in light of Currie's (1985) transferability thesis and the concept of “facsimile accommodation” developed by the authors.

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