Wellesley College Library

Research Resources for Art

Related Wellesley College academic department

Find books

Wellesley College Library catalog - The catalog lists books, journal titles, videos, and other items in the Wellesley College Libraries. Note that individual journal articles are not listed in the catalog. To find articles about your topic, use the resources below.

WorldCat^WC - Use this database to find books, journals, videos, etc. in other libraries.

Find background information

(This is just a small sample of the Art Library's print reference materials related to art)

Encyclopedias and Dictionaries:

Grove's Dictionary of Art (Art Ref - N31 .D5 1996)
Encyclopedia of World Art (Art Ref - N31 .E533)
Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Art and Artists (Clapp Ref - N31 .T4 1985)
McGraw Hill Dictionary of Art (Art Ref - N33 .M23)
A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques (Art Ref - N33 .M36)
The Oxford Dictionary of Art (Art Ref - N33 .O93 1997)
From Abacus to Zeus : A Handbook of Art History (Art Ref - N33 .P5 1991)
A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art (Art Ref - N6490 .C53 1998)

Biographical Dictionaries and Indexes:

Encyclopedia of Artists (Art Ref - N31 .E53 2000)
Index to Artistic Biography (Art Ref - N40 .H38)
International Dictionary of Art and Artists (Art Ref - N40 .I55 1990)
Index of Artists, International-Biographical (Art Ref - N40 .M3)
Dictionnaire Critique et Documentaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs (Art Ref - N40 .B47 1976)
Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon (Art Ref - N40 .A63)
Thieme, U., and F. Becker, Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler (Art Ref - N40 .T4)
World Artists, 1950-1980 (Art Ref - N6489 .M37 1984
World Artists, 1980-1990 (Art Ref - N6489 .M37 1991)
Contemporary Artists (Art Ref - N6490 .C6567 2002)
Mantle Fielding's Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers (Art Ref - N6536 .F5 1986)
Biographical Dictionary of Women Artists in Europe and America Since 1850 (Art Ref - N6757 .D86 1989)
Biographical Dictionary of Japanese Art (Art Ref - N7358 .B55 1981)
Dictionary of Women Artists (Art Ref - N8354 .D53 1997)

Iconographical Reference Works:

A Dictionary of Symbols (Art Ref - GR931 .C4413 1996)
Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art (Art Ref - N7560 .H34 1979)
Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography : Themes Depicted in Works of Art (Art Ref - N7565 .E53 1998)
Illustrated Dictionary of Symbols in Eastern and Western Art (Art Ref - N7740 .H35 1994)
A Dictionary of Pictorial Subjects from Classical Literature : A Guide to Their Identification in Works of Art (Art Ref/Clapp Ref - N7760 .P68 1983)
The Oxford Companion to Christian Art and Architecture (Art Ref - N7830 .M87 1996)
Iconography of Christian Art (Art Ref - N7830 .S3513)
Iconography of the Saints series (Art Ref - N8080 .K25)
Passion Iconography in Northern European Art of the Late Middle Ages and Early Renaissance (Art Ref - N8053 .M37)
Saints in Art (Art Library - ND1430 .G5513 2003)
Medieval Iconography : A Research Guide (Art Ref - Z5933 .F75 1998)

Guides to Reproductions of Works of Art:

Index to Reproductions of Paintings by Twentieth-Century Chinese Artists (Art Ref - DS703.4 .M5 76)
Index to Two-Dimensional Art Works (Art Ref - N7525 .K67)
Sculpture Index (Art Ref - NB36 .C55)
World Painting Index (Art Ref - ND45 .H38)
Index to Reproductions of European Paintings (Art Ref - ND45 .M6)
Index to Reproductions of American Paintings (Art Ref - ND205 .S575)
Print Index : A Guide to Reproductions (Art Ref - NE90 .P17 1983)

Guides to Research and Writing in the Discipline of Art:

Art Information and the Internet : How to Find It, How to Use It (Art Ref - N59 .J66 1999)
Art Information : Research Methods and Resources (Art Ref - N85 .J64 1990)
Research Guide to the History of Western Art (Art Library - N380 .K56 1982)
Thinking and Writing about Art History (Art Library - N380 .R438 2000)
The Art of Writing about Art (Art Library - N7475 .H83 2002)
A Short Guide to Writing About Art (Art Library - N7476 .B37 2003)
Visual Literacy: Writing About Art (Art Library - N7476 .T83 2002)
Guide to the Literature of Art History (Art Ref - Z5931 .A67)
Guide to Basic Information Sources in the Visual Arts (Art Ref - Z5931 .M88)
Writing the Art History Paper - An online guide from Dartmouth College
Art History Paper Writing Pages - An online guide from Skidmore College
Writing the Art History Paper - An online guide from Georgetown University
Researching and Writing an Art History Paper - An online guide from Boston College
Art History Writing Guide - An online guide from Wesleyan College

Guides to Art Schools, Museums, Galleries, and Other Organizations:

Art in America. Annual Guide to Galleries, Museums, Artists (Art Period'l - N1 .A43)
American Art Directory (Art Ref - N50 .A54)
International Directory of Arts (Art Ref - N50 .I6)
Directory of M.A. & Ph.D. Programs in Art, Art History and Related Areas (Art Ref - N328 .D567 1999)
Directory of MFA Programs in the Visual Arts (Art Ref - N328 .D57 1999)

Museums:

Art museums publish catalogs, which often have in-depth descriptions of art objects in their collections. Museum catalogs are mainly shelved in the Reference section of the Art Library organized by museum. Also included are guides and handbooks which are simpler overviews of the collections. To find museum catalogs, search in the online library catalog under the museum name and the sub-heading catalogs. Or simply do a keyword search using as many terms as you know (i.e.: museum fine arts boston photography).

Find articles and essays and/or images

Art Full Text^WC Indexing: 1984+; abstracting: 1994+; full-text of selected articles: 1997+
Indexes and abstracts major English-language art periodicals, yearbooks, and museum bulletins, as well as periodicals published in French, Italian, German, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, and Swedish. Provides access to a wide range of bibliographies, notices of competitions and awards, reports of conferences, exhibition listings, review articles, interviews, and film reviews. Continued database from Art Index Retrospective, below. Abstracts since 1994. Some full-text articles since 1997. Reproductions indexed. Shows Wellesley holdings.

Art Index Retrospective^WC 1929-1984
Bibliographic database that cumulates citations to Art Index volumes 1-32 of the printed index published between 1929-1984. The database cites articles from periodicals published throughout the world. Periodical coverage includes English-language periodicals, yearbooks, and museum bulletins, as well as periodicals published in French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Dutch. In addition to articles, Art Index Retrospective indexes reproductions of works of art that appear in indexed periodicals. Database continues as Art Full Text, above.

Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA)^WC 1973+
Covers the art and architecture of Europe and the Americas (4th century to modern) cited from art-related books, conference proceedings, dissertations, exhibitions and dealers' catalogs, and journal articles. The BHA includes and extends the coverage of its two predecessor art indexes: RAA (Repertoire d'Art et d'Archeologie) from 1973 to 1989 and RILA (International Repertory of the Literature of Art) from 1975 to 1989. Contains abstracts.

ARTbibliographies Modern^WC 1974+
ABM provides full abstracts of journal articles, books, essays, exhibition catalogs, PhD dissertations, and exhibition reviews on all forms of modern and contemporary art dating from the late 19th century onwards, and including photography since its invention. It includes abstracts of English and foreign-language material on famous and lesser-known artists, movements, and trends. The coverage of ABM is wide-ranging and includes performance art and installation works, video art, computer and electronic art, body art, graffiti, artists' books, theatre arts, conservation, crafts, ceramic and glass art, ethnic arts, graphic and museum design, fashion, and calligraphy, as well as traditional media including illustration, painting, printmaking, sculpture, and drawing. .

Academic Search Premier - dates vary
The world's largest scholarly, multi-disciplinary full text database. Dates of coverage vary by title.

AH Search: Arts & Humanities^WC 1980+
Online equivalent of the Arts & Humanities Citation Index. Contains bibliographic citations of articles, bibliographies, editorials, letters, and reviews from over 1,300 journals. Also provides the ability to search by cited author. Shows Wellesley holdings.

JSTOR. ^WC -coverage varies.
Use this to find articles in selected scholarly literature journals (i.e. Art Bulletin, Art Journal, Burlington Magazine, Journal of Aesthetics & Art Criticism, American Art) written prior to about the last five years. JSTOR is an archive of back issues of selected journals containing full-text humanities, social sciences, and natural science journals. The years will vary from the first issues of the listed journal titles but will most likely NOT have any from the latest 5 years.

Periodicals Index Online (formerly Periodicals Contents Index) ^WC 1665-1995, coverage varies
Index to articles published in 4,698 periodicals in the humanities & social sciences in 40 languages. Indexing goes back to the first issue of the journal, some titles go back over 200 years. A number of the major art and architecture journals (i.e. Apollo, Art Bulletin, Art Quarterly, Gazette des Beaux Arts) are included in this database. Includes the complete table of contents for each issue of each journal.

Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals^WC 1934 - current, with selective coverage back to 1741.
Covers historical, aesthetic, and technical aspects of architecture (including urban planning, garden history, and preservation and conservation) for all periods and countries

Oxford Art Online^WC
Through Oxford Art Online, you are now able to cross search and browse a suite of valuable art reference publications simultaneously with Grove Art Online: The Oxford Companion to Western Art, Encyclopedia of Aesthetics,and Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms. Oxford Art Online also enhances your capacity to search through a behind-the-scenes thesaurus, a sophisticated fielded bibliography search, as well as an improved advanced search function.

Grove Art Online^WC
Articles on fine, decorative & ethnic arts, architecture, and more, with searchable text.

ARTstor^WC
A digital web resource that contains more than 300,000 images of world art, architecture, design, photographs, and other forms of visual culture. Images are drawn from sources such as museums, archaeological teams, photo archives, slide collections, and art reference publishers.

Digital Images Collections Wiki - created by Wellesley College's Visual Resources Dept.

Iter : Gateway to the Middle Ages and Renaissance ^WC1859+
Contains citations to articles on art and architecture of the Middle Ages and Renaissance (400-1700 A.D.) from hundreds of scholarly journals.

Other databases may be useful for you, depending on your specific topic and approach. Please visit the Databases A-Z list of databases or visit AskUs and get some customized suggestions.

Art Index v.1 (1929/1932)- present (Art Ref - Z5937 .A78)

ArtBibliographies Modern v.2 (1970) - v. 33, no. 2 (2002) (Art Ref - Z5935 .L64)

Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA) v.1 (1991)-v.9 (1999) (Art Ref - Z5937 .B53)

Index to Nineteenth Century American Art Periodicals (Art Ref - Z5937 .S35 1999)

International Repertory of the Literature of Art (RILA) v.1 (1975)-v.15:no.2 (1989)
(Art Ref - Z5937 .R16)

Internet links

The Art Source (University of Kentucky)
A gathering point for networked resources in Art and Architecture. Quite well selected and organized.

Art History Resources (Sweet Briar College, VA)
Part One is a timeline of art history with links to Web sites. Part Two is organized into sections on museums, visual resources, lsits of artists, online databases and more.

Artcyclopedia
Text about and images by over 7500 artists

Mother of All Art History Link Pages (University of Michigan)
An excellent student guide to the Web with many academic, institutional, and resource links.

Art and Architecture Thesaurus Browser (Getty Research Institute)
The AAT is a structured vocabulary containing around 125,000 terms and other information about concepts. Terms in AAT may be used to describe art, architecture, decorative arts, material culture, and archival materials. The coverage of the AAT ranges from Antiquity to the present, and the scope is global.

ArtLex Art Dictionary
Definitions for over 3100 terms used in visual art, along with images and pronunciation notes.

Union List of Artists' Names (Getty Research Institute)
Authority file of over 200,000 artists' names developed by a variety of bibliographic authorities.

Bibliography of Contemporary Chinese Art Including Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Diaspora
General bibliography of contemporary Chinese art as well as individual bibliographies for more than 1500 artists. Compiled by the Stanford University Department of Art and Art History.

Museum Internet Links

Art Museum Network
Links to an extensive number of art museum websites in the U.S. and Canada. All the major museums are included. Sponsored by the association of Art Museum Directors.

ARTFORUM's Museum Finder is a database of contemporary art museums in 33 countries. It is searchable by name, city, and country, providing quick access to museum addresses, phone numbers, hours, and websites.

Davis Museum and Cultural Center, Wellesley College

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Boston's own museum's Web site which includes exhibit schedules, hours, history, online exhibits, and museum shop.

Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Exhibit schedules for the three Harvard art museums; the Fogg, Sackler and Busch-Reisinger. Extensive description but few images. Also general information and special events like lectures, concerts and gallery talks.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
One of the major art museums of the world. Includes exhibits, calendar, membership, and more.

Museum of Modern Art, New York

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Of particular note is their treatment of In-Depth Studies of Artists and Works of Art in their online tours section.

Contact the departmental Library liaison

For help with your research or to schedule a library research session for your class, or to discuss acquiring particular resources, contact Brooke Henderson, x3258, library liaison for Art and Architecture.

Go to related Wellesley College academic departments

This will link to information about our Art majors, courses, etc.

Go to a guide tailored for your class

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• Wellesley College Library
• Date created: March 2002
• Date Modified: April 8, 2008
• Expires: no expiration date