Art Research
From Bentley Library Research Help
Contents |
[edit] 1 About This Guide
This guide is to help you to get started researching art topics using Library resources and services. This Guide directs you to reference books, circulating books and journal articles; and to information available from other libraries using interlibrary loan services. A short list of selected websites is also included. This Guide is not comprehensive; it lists selected resources. Last revised 3/2008.
If you are having difficulty locating information ask the Librarian for assistance.
[edit] 2 Guides to Research and Writing
Art Information and the Internet. [Reference N59 .J66 1998]
Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art. [Reference N7560 .H34]
Guide to the Literature of Art History. [Reference N380.M374 2005]
Short Guide to Writing About Art. [Reference N7476.B37 2007] Older edition circulates.
Symbols and Allegories in Art. [Reference NK805 .E6 2004]
[edit] 3 Reference Sources
[edit] 3.1 General Art & Selected Scholarly Encyclopedias
Arts & Humanities Through the Eras. [Reference NX440 .A787 2005 5 vols.] Written to aid students and researchers understand the various disciplines of the humanities in relation to each other, as well as to history and culture. Each era includes chapters on architecture and design, dance, fashion, literature, music, philosophy, religion, theater, and visual arts--with links among these disciplines highlighted. Coverage is primarily Western civilization from Ancient Egypt (2675-332 B.C.E.), to the Baroque and Enlightenment (1600-1800 C.E.). An overview of the era and a chronology of major world events begin each volume. Bibliographies.
Dictionary of Art. Grove Dictionaries [Reference N31 .D5 1996 34 vols.] A resource for both world art and cultural studies. Includes all the visual arts: painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, drawing, printmaking, as well as the decorative arts. Examines important art forms and key issues of design, taste, function, and patronage. Bibliographies. "The most ambitious art-publishing venture of the late 20th century, it is an awesome single source on world art." -- Michael Kimmelman, The NYT Book Review See Grove Art Online below.
Encyclopedia of Aesthetics. [Reference BH56 .E53 1998 4 vols.] Comprehensive survey of critical thought on art, culture, and society--from classical philosophy to contemporary critical theory. Over 600 original articles by scholars from many fields and countries, covering major concepts, thinkers, and debates about the meaning, uses, and value of all the arts--from painting and sculpture to literature, music, theater, dance, television, film, and popular culture. Includes Western aesthetics and non-Western traditions and theories of art. Cross references, bibliographies.
Encyclopedia of World Art. [Supplemental Reference N31 .E533 1959-1967 15 vols.] Comprehensive and scholarly discussion of topics in art history. Essay length entries with bibliographies more like literature reviews on every topic covered. But old, so be sure to look for updated information. Some critics feel this scholarly art encyclopedia has never been surpassed.
Oxford Art Online.[Online Library Database] Provides information on all aspects of world art with full-text access to Grove Art Online (1996), The Oxford Companion to Western Art (2001), Encyclopedia of Aesthetics(1998) and Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms(2001). New and updated articles periodically added. Over 3,000 thumbnail art images and line drawings, extensive image links, and sophisticated search and navigation tools. Includes image links to the Art Resource website. The Library's online subscription allows a limited number of concurrent users. If you can not access the database the maximum may be reached; try again later.
[edit] 3.2 Directories and Surveys
African American Art and Artists. [Reference N6538.5 N38 2003] Discusses the works and lives of artists from the eighteenth century to the present, including new work in traditional media as well as in installation art, mixed media, and digital/computer art.
Art in America. Annual Guide. [Reference N510 .A78] Sourcebook to the U.S. Art World:Museums, Galleries, Artists, Auction Houses, Art Schools, Art Services, Private and Public Dealers.
Gardner's Art Through the Ages.[Reference N5300 .G25 2005] Standard authority by virtue of its comprehensive coverage and strong emphasis on historical, social, religious, economic, and cultural context. Rich and accurate reproductions.
Latin American and Caribbean Artists of the Modern Era. [Reference N6502.4 .S45 2003] Covers 19th and 20th centuries. Includes painters, sculptors, architects, and other artists. Many entries feature biographical sketches, including education and influences, as well as lists of collections, exhibits, and titles. Typically, there is at least one bibliographical entry for each artist, though the list extends for well-known artists.
Who's Who in American Art.. [Reference N6536 .W5] Contains over 11,000 biographies of artists, critics, curators, administrators, librarians, historians, collectors, educators, and dealers in the U.S.
[edit] 3.3 Special Encyclopedias and Dictionaries
Art and Time. [Reference N70 .R337 2005] Presents ideas about art in relation to time, examining empirical time and imagination; artistic imagery of time; performance or reading time; time as region or era; and photography and time.
Art of the Twentieth Century: Movements, Theories, Schools and Tendencies 1900-2000. [Reference ND38 .V54 2000] A concise manual to serve as an introductory handbook to art terms and movements that have followed close upon one another in the 20th century. The goal to provide the ideas and historical moments behind contemporary works.
Elements of Style: Encyclopedia of Domestic Architectural Detail. [Reference NA2850 .E445 2005] Chronological 500 year survey of the primary styles and periods of English and American architectural design. Over 4000 illustrations.
Encyclopedia of American Folk Art. [NK805 .E6 2004] Contains more than 600 articles on individual artists, schools, artistic, ethnic, and religious traditions, and heroes who have inspired folk art. Bibliographies.
Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Photography. [Reference TR642 .E5 2006 3 vols.] An international, interdisciplinary look at photography. Covers the aesthetic and technical aspects of photography in historical and cultural contexts. Includes important developments, movements, photographers, photographic institutions, equipment, techniques, and practical applications of photography. Illustrations. Glossary.
Great Women Masters of Art. [Reference ND38 .V54 2003] Introduction to the history of women artists. Artists are listed chronologically. Entries include a brief biography, chronology of her life, and selected works. Each work is illustrated in color and has a scholarly description and criticism. Western focus.
...isms: Understanding Art. [Reference N5302 .L585 2004] A primer of Western art trends. Identifies four types of isms: trends specific to the visual arts (perspectivism), broad cultural trends (romanticism), artist-defined movements (cubism), and retrospectively named movements (mannerism). Chronologically lists more than 50 isms and movements, key artists.
Queer Encyclopedia of the Visual Arts. [Reference N72 .H64 Q44 2004] Comprehensive work covering the contribution of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer artists to painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and architecture. International in scope. Included are profiles of significant artists; overviews of artistic movements and eras, including the Renaissance, Pop Art, and Latin American art; articles discussing the artistic representations of androgyny, lesbian and gay bodies; and surveys of topics like censorship, pornography, and AIDS activism. Bibliographies.
Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms. [Reference N33 .L75 2004] Comprehensive resource. More than 2,000 entries define and explain terms used to describe painting, sculpture, architecture, graphic arts, decorative and applied arts, and photography, including the terminology of non-Western art.
[edit] 4 Finding Books and Videos
[edit] 4.1 Use the Library Catalog
Library Catalog. Search the Library Catalog for books, videos, and print periodical subscriptions in the Bentley Library Collection.
[edit] 4.2 Finding Books in Other Libraries
WorldCat. You can search collections in other libraries using WorldCat. Also look for a link to WorldCat as you are searching in the Bentley Library Catalog. WorldCat links directly to the Bentley Library's Interlibrary Loan service.Interlibrary Loan is a free service that allows members of the Bentley community to borrow books and receive articles not available at the Bentley Library.
[edit] 5 Finding Articles - Library Databases
The Library subscribes to over 80 databases. The following databases contain articles and information on art, art history and related topics. Most content is full-text or has links to full-text. Interlibrary Loan is available for access to full-text content not available in the Library databases. If an link below opens to a listing of databases just select or scroll down to find the desired database.
[edit] 5.1 Art - Specific
[edit] 5.2 Art - Multidisciplinary Databases
- Academic Search Premier (from Ebscohost)
- Arts and Humanities Citation Index
- First Search - Articles First For login information call the Librarian for assistance.
- Infotrac - Expanded Academic
- JSTOR A unique field in JTSOR is 'caption'. Run an Advanced Search, select 'caption' in the dropdown box and enter the name of a work of art in the search box. This will usually return articles containing a picture of the work of art.
- LexisNexis Academic
- Literary Reference Center
- MLA International Bibliography
- Project Muse
- Proquest Research Library Complete
- Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy
These databases can also be accessed on the Library's webpage.
[edit] 5.3 Central Search
Arts, Media and Literature Central Search. Central Search is a new Library search function that allows users to search multiple Bentley Library databases, including our catalog, simultaneously. Great search tool but not all Library databases are searchable through Central Search, including Grove Art Online. Also, quality of results can vary widely depending on search keywords, fields and databases selected. But searching an artist's name or the title of an artwork in quotes often will return relevant results in Central Search.
[edit] 6 Websites
Art History Resources on the Web. Gateway to resources on art history from ancient times to the present day. Links to research resources, an extensive list of museums and galleries by country, online journals, exhibits, and university art departments. Time periods are divided into countries, cultures, and styles. Noted individual artists are also included.
Art Images for College Teaching. A nonprofit site disseminating images of art and architectural works to all levels of the educational community. Hosted by the Department of Art History at the University of Minnesota.
Art Resource. This is the world's largest fine art stock photo archive with over 250,000 searchable images. Grove Art Online links to this resource.
ArtSource. Portal to networked resources on Art and Architecture. Content is diverse and includes links to resources on the Web as well as original materials submitted by librarians, artists, and art historians, etc. The site is intended to be selective, rather than comprehensive.
AskArt:The American Artists Bluebook. Free content includes current Art for sale, artist biographies, dealers, auction houses, galleries, and museums in the United States. Also find specialized lists, such as the Highest Prices at Auction, California artists, and Olympic artists. Some content requires a paid subscription.
Christie's. Site of the renown auction house. Features information on auctions, appraisals. Includes catalogs and gallery talks.
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). This independent federal agency makes grants to arts organizations and artists in all fifty states and the six U.S. jurisdictions. Find grant opportunities and applications, programs categorized by genre, relevant publications, and news. Information about artists and arts organizations across the country.
Mother of All Art and Art History Links. An annotated collection of links to art history departments, research resources, image collections and exhibits, schools, museums, and more. From the School of Art and Design at the University of Michigan.
[edit] 7 Museums
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Visitor information and guided tour of the museum's collection and art objects. Of particular interest it is the Timeline of Art History. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Timeline.
Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), Boston, MA. Guided tour of the museum's art objects and collections. Contains visitor information, an events calendar, profiles of exhibits, thousands of images from the collection including provenances. The Bentley Library has membership passes to the MFA that students, faculty and staff can borrow.* Inquire at the Library Services Desk or call 781.891.2168.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.. Includes over 4,000 paintings, sculpture, prints, and decorative art objects, providing essays, magnified details, provenances, exhibitions, histories, audio narrations, and bibliographies. Features tours of galleries focusing on a specific time period or artist. Information on current and upcoming exhibitions. The collection of more than 100,000 objects is also searchable.
*Bentley Library Museum Pass Program. This program makes accessible the art, culture and history of a number of important local museums by allowing students, faculty and staff to borrow passes for free or discounted admission to area museums. Passes can be reserved online. Museums include the Boston Museum of Art, Boston, MA;the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Lincoln, MA;the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA;and the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM), Salem, MA.
[edit] 8 Google Beta Sites
What is "beta" site? Beta is a term used to describe software that is in the last stage of testing. A beta site is made available so that it can be tested in real-world environments and is called a beta test. Beta sites are often good resources but because the development of the sites may be incomplete, they may not function correctly all of the time.
Google Book. Google Book searches the full text of books. Books come primarily from two sources: publishers and several major libraries. Includes links to where books are available for purchase or to borrow via WorldCat.
Google Scholar. Google Scholar provides a way to broadly search for scholarly literature across many disciplines and sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations. Includes links to the Bentley Library Catalog and to the full-text of articles available in Bentley Library databases [on-campus only].
--Kdelorey 06:02, 24 March 2008 (PST)
