Check Out the Arty New Desktops In Snow Leopard

Leander Kahney ()

SnowLeopardProwl_sml

Apple is introducing dozens of arty new desktop backgrounds in Snow Leopard, the new version of OS X due in the fall.

There are 40 new desktops  in the latest test seed delivered to developers this weekend, including reproductions of famous paintings from artists like Edward Hopper, Van Gogh and Monet.

The new desktops include:

* Van Gogh’s Starry Night, Monet’s Lilies, Hopper’s Nighthawks, Degas’ Ballet Dancers on the Stage, and Katsushika Hokusai’s Tsunami.

* Three graffiti desktops that will make your computer look like a New York subway car circa 1978.

* Several high-res shots of snow leopards, including the one above.

The art is classic, but the themes struck me at odds with Apple’s optimistic image: madness, loneliness, alienation and death. I don;t know if I want my files hanging out with Hopper’s lonely souls.

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All 40 Snow Leopard desktops after the jump.

snow_leopard_desktops_6 snow_leopard_desktops_5 snow_leopard_desktops_4 snow_leopard_desktops_3 snow_leopard_desktops_2 snow_leopard_desktops_1

snow_leopard_desktops_7

18 comments »

About the author

Leander Kahney

is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac, and author of three books about technology culture: Inside Steve’s Brain, the New York Times bestseller about Steve Jobs; Cult of Mac; and Cult of iPod. Leander has written for Wired, MacWeek, Scientific American, and The Guardian in London. Follow Leander on Twitter @lkahney and Facebook.

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Posted in Apple, News, OS X, Software |

  • http://www.burnleyfansteam.co.uk Kev Robinson

    I can’t say I’d have any of those on my Macbook desktop. Disappointing.

  • http://www.twitter.com/jazzyl jazzyl

    Nice I them especially the one with the Big cat!!!

  • owen-b

    I have to say I’m very confused. Most of them are utterly hideous!

  • owen-b

    I meant to add “and very un-Apple-like.” Specifically the ones that are just photos of animals, and not particularly abstract, which is what I associate with Apple supplied desktops.

  • Jeff

    I can easily imagine an Edward Hopper painting where everyone is looking down at their iPhone screens rather than interacting with each other. It fits perfectly! ;)

  • Max

    No downloads?

  • John

    Doh!

    I already have Hopper paintings on both my macs, (10.4,10.5), whats the fuzz?

    John.

  • Paul

    I particularly like the Zen quality of some of the desktops. Very calming. Allows one to focus.

  • Duality

    There’s some very nice ones in there, particularly the art pieces and landscapes. I’m not too sure I like the random pictures of actual snow leopards though. :P

    It does seem a little strange for Apple to include these wallpapers, they almost remind me of the ones that came with Vista. Hmm!

  • Don Pope

    I doubt these are real. I’ve seen several of them before.
    (Plus many of them suck)

  • andrew

    @don pope
    they are the real thing.
    just trust me.

  • http://www.solosino.net/ !CnSoLoer

    哪里有下载？Download links?

  • http://www.superwill.cn superwill

    I like the hug tail of the snow leopard!

  • rob

    If you need the download they are over at http://tinyurl.com/l5x4fo

  • http://genn.org/ Genn

    It can’t be real because most of them suck so much Apple shouldn’t and couldn’t add them as default wallpapers.

  • David

    Confused by this selection. The Sunday Afternoon image is actually included in Vista as a wallpaper, so how does that work?

  • ged

    I hope the OS is better than the wallpapers!
    else it is the beginning of the end of Apple Inc.

  • olli

    I guess the ballet dancer is a Manet one, the Degas one is similar, same pose and angle, but other style…