Art and Art History Research Guide
Locating Journal Articles
Searching for Journal Titles in Art and Art History
Search here for a specific journal title or to see a list of art and art history journals (print and electronic) held by the library. You may also browse journals by subject (choose Fine Arts and Music).
Core Art and Art History Indexes and Databases
Art Index Index Tables R 016.7 qA78
Annual print index to literature in the arts including archaeology, architecture,
art history, city planning, film studies, industrial design, landscape design, museum
studies, photography, and related fields. The index covers museum yearbooks and bulletins
as well as scholarly and professional journals. Coverage: 1929 to present.
General and Multidisciplinary Databases
JSTOR | OmniFile Full Text Select | FirstSearch | Academic Search Elite
Search for the full text of articles, including coverage of selected journals in
art and art history. Coverage varies by database.
Additional Sources for Art History
America: History & Life
Online index covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada. Includes
citations to articles, reviews, books, and dissertations, with links to full text
where available. Coverage: 1964 to present.
Historical Abstracts
Online index to books, journals, and dissertations in all historical and cultural
studies excluding North America. Includes citations to articles, reviews, books, and dissertations,
with links to full text where available. Coverage: 1955 to present.
Locating Books
Art books are split between the library's first floor in the Art History Collection
and on the second floor in the 700s. Pay special attention to "Location" information when viewing results in the Library
Catalog. Ask for assistance as needed - the Art History Collection is not shelved
according to the Dewey Decimal Classification system and is sub-divided according
to size.
Library Catalog
Find books, journal titles, and media in the Wells College Library.
WorldCat
Search for books, journal titles, dissertations, and media in other libraries, and
request material via Interlibrary Loan.
Selected Web Resources
Gateway Sites
Intute: Arts and Humanities
Annotated links to web resources in the arts. Choose from categories including visual
arts, book arts, media, architecture, film, and design.
Image Collections
Wells Art History PowerPoint Resource
Series of topical slideshows developed by Professor William V. Ganis. Many of these
shows have been created to complement and expand upon material covered in Helen Gardner's Art Through the Ages (11th ed. and 12th ed.) and H.H. Arnason's History of Modern Art (5th ed.).
The Bridgeman Art Library Archive
Over 40,000 images from 29,000 artists. Includes decorative arts and architecture
as well as painting, sculpture, and other visual arts. Allows for direct tagging and
export to social bookmarking sites (del.icio.us, reddit, MySpace).
SPIRO (Slide and Photograph Image Retrieval Online): Architecture and Environmental
Design
Images from the College of Environmental Design, University of California, Berkeley.
Google Images
If you just need to see what something looks like, you will probably find a low resolution,
thumbnail format by searching Google Images. Descriptions and citations vary in quality
and accuracy.
Museums and Libraries
Most large museums, archives, and libraries have significant digital holdings on the
web. You will also find essays, educational curricula, and other resources. Major
American collections include:
New York Public Library: Picture Collection Online
National Gallery of Art
Library of Congress: Prints & Photographs Online Catalog
Smithsonian Institution: Art & Design
Metropolitan Museum of Art: Collections Database
Additional Sites
Archives of American Art (AAA) / Smithsonian Institution
Letters, photographs, diaries, oral history interviews, sketches, business records,
and other documents that support the study of the history of the visual arts in America.
The site includes guides to the papers and digital collections.
Book Arts Web
Links to a large selection of book arts related sites on the web, including educational
opportunities, professional organizations, presses and artists, tutorials, reference
materials, exhibits, and galleries.
Reference Works
Encyclopedias, glossaries, and other reference works provide summary information about
artists, movements, artworks, techniques and terminology, and may be a good place
to start your research. They are located in the stacks near the main desk, and in
some cases, online. Selected titles include:
American Art Directory R 705 A51
The New-York Historical Society's Dictionary of Artists in America, 1564-1860 R 709.1 G72d
North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century: A Biographical Dictionary (1995) R 709B2 qN86h
The Oxford Guide to Classical Mythology in the Arts, 1300-1990s (1993) R 709.947 R35o
Credo Reference
Online reference sources including The Bloomsbury Guide to Art,The Bridgeman Art Library Archive, Chambers Film Factfinder, Computer Graphics Companion, The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms, and The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Graphic Design and Designers.
Evaluating and Citing Your Sources
Check with your instructor to determine if they have a preferred citation style. Generally,
art historians use endnotes, not internal citations, in line with the Chicago Manual of Style.
Henry M. Sayre's Writing About Art is a short guide that addresses citations, captions, and other style and format issues.
A copy is available in reference at R 808 S275 2009.