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Starting Research: Art

Basic resources for starting research in Art.

In this Guide:

Databases and Indexes

Library Catalogs

Reference Sources

Selected Websites

Style and Citation Guides

Resources at Grinnell

Related Research Guides

Need Help?

R. Cecilia Knight

Consulting Librarian for Art

Knight@grinnell.edu

(641) 269-3368

How about a Library Lab?

Research Tips and Strategies

Databases and Indexes

Images

ARTStor: Searchable database of images applicable to different times, cultures and disciplines. Also includes local Physics and Botany image collections. Use individual log-in for off-campus access.

PDID (Pioneer Digital Image Database) : Collections of images including Art of the Prairie Region, the Grinnell College Art Image Database, the Grinnell College Physics Historical Museum, the Paul Wilson Plant Image Database, the Iowa Historical Postcards Database, and more. Log-in using your campus login.

Texts

ARTbibliographies Modern : Online bibliographical database providing full abstracts of journal articles, books, essays, exhibition catalogs, dissertations, and exhibition reviews on all forms of modern and contemporary arts dating from the late 19th century onwards.

Bibliography of the History of Art : Online index and abstracts (in French or English) of the current literature of European and American art from late antiquity to the present.

 

Additional Databases and Indexes

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Library Catalogs

Grinnell College Libraries : Burling Library,Kistle Science Library, Grinnell College Art Collection, Grinnell College Slide Collectionand beyond.

WorldCat: A huge catalog of books, web resources, and other materials held in libraries around the world. Most items in WorldCat are available through interlibrary loan.

Center for Research Libraries : Journals, foreign dissertations, newspapers, and microform collections available through interlibrary loan and electronic delivery.

Additional Library Catalogs

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Reference Sources

Oxford Art Online: Full text Oxford Art Online expands on Grove Art Online and comprises the full text of The Dictionary of Art, edited by Jane Turner (1996, 34 vols) and The Oxford Companion to Western Art, edited by Hugh Brigstocke (2001); Encyclopedia of Aesthetics; The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms.Articles will be added and updated.

The dictionary of art / editor, Jane Turner: Burling Reference N31.D5 1996 v. 1-34.With 6700 contributors it covers all aspects of the visual arts in all places at all times. Coverage includes biographical, geographical, philosophical, and theoretical information, as well as forms and themes, social aspects, and cultural influences. The entriesinclude useful bibliographies, and the vast array of images, including artworks and objects, architectural designs and archaeological sites, maps and charts.

Additional Reference Sources

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Selected Web Sites

ArtCyclopedia : An online encyclopedia of art. Also includes a directory of Art Museums Worldwide. Searchable. Includes images.

The Getty : The J. Paul Getty Museum, located in Los Angeles, California, provides many research tools through the Research Institute section of the website including the Art and Architecture Thesaurus; The Union List of Artists Names; and the Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names.

Art History Resources on the Web / Christopher L. C.E. Whitcombe : Professor, Art History, Sweet Briar College, Virginia. 1995- Organized collection of links to websites in many aspects of Art History.

World Wide Web Virtual Libary: History of Art : a collection of links relating to Art History and computer applications in Art History. The site is sponsored by CHArt, the Computers and History of Art Group. This site is aimed at everybody interested in art, but it has a special focus on the academic study of Art History.

National Gallery of Art : Provides digital images of artwork and descriptive articles about the materials in the U.S. National Gallery of Art.

Google Image Search : search images available on the World Wide Web.

Web Gallery of Art : a virtual museum and searchable database of European painting and sculpture of the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque periods (1100-1850), currently containing over 17.300 reproductions.

Style and Citation Guides

MLA style manual and guide to scholarly publishing / Joseph Gibaldi : Perm Reserve PN147 .G444 1998 (this style guide is used frequently in the humanities) A brief online guide is available from The University of California, Berkeley Library

Chicago Manual of Style : Perm Reserve Z253.U69 2003. A brief online guide is available from The University of California, Berkeley Library

Assembling a List of Works Cited in Your Paper: Duke University Libraries

RefWorks : A web-based service that allows you to import citations, create bibliographies, and more.

 

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Resources at Grinnell

Department of Art

Faulconer Gallery

Related Research Guides (coming later)

Starting Research: SUBJECT

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Content last updated on 08/30/2007.

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