Libraries

Art

Below are suggested resources to use when researching an Art topic. For research strategies and techniques, visit the resources linked from the menu at the left.

Getting Started | Finding Articles | Getting Fulltext | Finding Images | Biographies | By Categories

 

Getting Started

Before jumping in and looking for research, it is a good idea to have a refined topic and to know a little about it. Start with broad resources like encyclopedias, bibliographies, and handbooks to start to get a sense of what is available on your topic in the universe of information.

  • Art History Resources on the Web (http://witcombe.sbc.edu/ARTHLinks.html) -- A gateway to art history from ancient times to the present day. There are links to research resources, an extensive list of museums and galleries by country, online journals, exhibits Time periods are divided into countries, cultures, and styles. Noted individual artists are also included.
  • Benezit Dictionary of Artists
    N40 .D5213 2006
    While this work has been around since 1911 and has been revised and expanded 3 times, most recently in 1999, this edition is the first English translation. Since its inception, Benezit has served as a unique and indispensable reference for art historians, dealers, collectors and scholars. The scope of this work is massive; artists, including painters, sculptors, engravers, and draftsmen, from all over the world and from antiquity to the present are included. Entries include artist biographies, descriptions of museums and galleries, graphics (including artist signatures, monograms and stamps of sale), auction records, and scholarly bibliographies.
  • Grove Dictionary of Art (from Simmons databases) -- Provides web access to the entire printed text of The Dictionary of Art.(1996, 34 vols.) Art images in galleries and museums around the world.
  • Timeline of Art History (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/splash.htm) -- Chronological, geographical, and thematic exploration of the history of art from around the world, with description and images in each entry.

 

Finding Articles

Search the following indexes to find articles on the topic of Art. See individual Resources by Subject guides for more specific indexes covering topics within the broader field of Art.

  • Art Full Text (1984-) -- Citations, abstracts, and full-text articles from periodicals, Yearbooks, and museum bulletins.
  • Art Retrospective (1929- 1984) -- Cumulates citations to Art Index volumes 1-32 of the printed index. Same contents as Art Full Text.
  • AATA Online, Art and Archaeology Technical Abstracts(http://aata.getty.edu) -- Database of 100,000 abstracts of literature related material cultural heritage.
  • Academic Search Complete (1965-) -- The world's largest scholarly full text database. Provides expanded indexing & abstract and PDF backfiles
  • Bibliography of the History of Art (1973 - 1989) -- Indexes and abstracts articles of art-related books, conference proceedings, dissertations, and art exhibition and dealer's catalogs about Western art. Coverage of the periodicals: late antiquity to the present.
  • Humanities Fulltext (1995-) -- A bibliographic database that cites articles and full texts.

Getting Fulltext

Because not all indexes are fulltext--or 100% fulltext--you may have to elsewhere to find an article for which you have a citation. Consult the resources below to find out how to get access to the articles you need.

 

Finding Images

Biographies

  • Grove Dictionary of Art (online)
  • The Dictionary of Art (Grove) REF. N31.D5 1996. 34v. -- History of all the visual arts worldwide, from prehistory to the present. Many entries have images. Signed entries for general and academic readers.
  • Contemporary Artists REF. N40.C66 1996 -- Biographies of artists in the 20 th century.

 

By Categories

For more information on more specific topics within the discipline, contact a librarian.

Drawing, Design, Illustration

  • On Paper (located at the GSLIS Library) -- Journal of prints, drawings, and photography
  • 20th century drawings NC95 .J6 -- Images and brief descriptions.

Sculpture

  • New Dictionary of Modern Sculpture REF. NB50N4 1971 -- Brief biographies of contemporary sculptors with at least one image for each sculptor. This is a good source for general use.
  • Sculpture PER NB1.S37 1987- monthly (except February and August) -- Reports and articles of current movements of all genres of sculpture in the world.

Architecture

  • Architectural record PER NA1.A8 1961- monthly -- A journal of buildings around the world for general use.
  • SPIRO, Architecture Visual Resources Library Image Database (http://shanana.berkeley.edu/spiro) -- A searchable collection of tens of thousands of worldwide architectural images (pre-history through the 20th century).

Decorative Arts

  • Dictionary of the decorative arts NK30. F54 1977 (at reference collection) -- Description and many images, like an encyclopedia.
  • Graphis PER N8.C73 1945- bimonthly -- International journal of artistic images of graphic art and applied art.

Print Media

  • Handbook of print media : technologies and production methods Z244.H2513 2001.

Photography

  • California Museum of Photography (http://cmp1.ucr.edu) -- Images of photographs, stereographs, and cameras from the museum's collections.
  • History of photographyPER TR15.H57 1977- quarterly -- An international journal of articles for academic use.
  • A world history of photography NH 70.R67 1984 -- Detailed chronological description with plenty of images, like an encyclopedia.

Women and Art

  • American Women Sculptors : a history of women working in three dimensions REF NB236.R8 1990 -- Bibliographies of American women sculptors divided into some chronological divisions. Includes Native American women sculptors. Contains many images.
  • Images of Women in Ancient Art (http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/imageswomen)
  • Women artists in the United States : a selective bibliography and resource guide on the fine and decorative arts N6536.W65 1990 (reference collection)

American Art

  • Native American Art (http://www.native-languages.org/art.htm) -- Describes various items of Native Indian with images and links related websites.
  • Who's who in American art N6536.W5 2001-2002 (reference collection)-- General bibliography of American artists for academic use.

African Art

  • African Art – Discover Art (http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/afr-less.htm) -- Images of African art and about their purpose and meaning.
  • National Museum of African Art (http://www.nmafa.si.edu) -- A useful gateway to African art. Many images and description of their collection.

Asian Art

 

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