Subject Guide: Art History

The Library's Subject Guides help you find resources that are specialized for certain areas of study. There are many other resources available which provide generalized information--not specific to one topic or area. To see more of these general resources, see the Subject Guide: General page.

Databases

Article & Book Databases:
• Art Full Text
  Index, abstracts, and full text for articles in art.
• Arts and Humanities Citation Index
Provides access to current and retrospective bibliographic information and cited references found in nearly 1,130 of the world's leading arts & humanities journals.
• Contemporary Artists Index
  A free web database from the Cleveland Institute of Art that indicates publications containing information on individual contemporary artists.
• Architecture E-Books
E-books from OhioLINK's Electronic Book Center (EBC).
• Index to 19th-Century Art Periodicals
  Indexes art periodicals that were published in the United States during the 19th century on diverse art topics. No full text.
• JSTOR
  Historical full text (up to last 5 years) for 32 art history journals.
  For more detailed instructions on how to use JSTOR, see this handout.
  
• Union List of Artist Names (ULAN)
  The ULAN contains almost 300,000 artist names and assocatied information. This resource is especially helpfulfor determining if multiple names belong to the same person and for finding brief biographical information on lesser known artists.

Image Databases:
• ArtSTOR
  Images only; a collection of over 300,000 images from museums and cultural sites all over the world. Click on "Search and browse for images" (lower left side) to begin.
• Art & Architecture Digital Media
  Access more than 60,000 art and architecture images.
• Digital Video Collection:
  Access digital videos from Films for the Humanities. Many films on various periods and themes in Art History; also, films on modern artists and techniques.
• VADS the online resource for visual arts
  The Visual Arts Data Service is based at the Surrey Institute of Art and Design at University College in Farnham, Great Britain. The services offered include a searchable catalog of image collections and other collections. Subject areas include fine arts, design, architecture, applied arts, history and theory, media, museum studies and conservation, and professional practice

Reference Materials

Reference books provide background information on a people, terms and concepts.

Art:
• Grove Art Online
  The best place to start; articles on thousands of artists, countries, and media.
  Print version: The Dictionary of ArtN31 .D5 1996
• Oxford Reference Books Online: Art Section
  Online access to six of Oxford's art reference books.
• Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms  N33 .L75 2004
• Atlas of World Art  N5300 .A85 2004
• Contemporary Artists  N6490 .C6567 2002
• Dictionary of Women Artists  N8354 .D53 1997
• Encyclopedia of Sculpture  NB198 .E53 2004
• The Design Encyclopedia  NK1370 .B93 2004

Architecture:
• International Dictionary of Architects and Architecture  NA40 .I48 1993
• Encyclopedia of 20th Century Architecture  NA680 .E495 2004
• Illustrated Dictionary of Architecture  NA31 .B83 1998

Photography:
• The Photography Encyclopedia  TR9 .M39 1999
• Encyclopedia of 20th Century Photography  TR642 .E5 2006
• Contemporary Photographers  TR139 .C664 1995

Web Resources

Here are a few web sites you might find useful:

• Smarthistory
  This site calls itself a "multimedia web book about art history." Easy interface, some audio and video.
• Artcyclopedia
  A searchable directory of web sites about artists and major art movements.
• Metropolitan Museum of Art's Timeline of Art History
  A chronological, geographical, and thematic exploration of the history of art from around the world, as illustrated especially by the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection.
• National Gallery of Art
  "Exploring Themes in American Art" provides background information on recurring themes such as still life, abstraction, and portaiture.
• Art History Resources on the Web
  A directory of global art history information on the web, compiled by Dr. Chris Witcombe, professor of Art History at Sweet Briar College.
• ArtNet
  Lists artists currently being represented in galleries around the world, with photos of artwork for sale. A good resource for researching contemporary artists.
• Walker Channel Archives
  The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, MN has made much of its programming available online. Look here for Lectures, Artist Talks,  Interviews and Discussions with contemporary artists.
• The ArchitectureWeek Great Buildings Collection
  Search world architecture by architect, building, or place.