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- ART 1003: Foundations I
ART 1003: Foundations I
Resources for background information on artists and movements.
Recorded Library Session: Finding Background Information for Art Projects
This video demonstrates how to use the various resources listed on this guide to find background information on art movements, artists, and their works for art projects you may be working on. Click "Watch in Panopto" for the best video quality.
Librarian
Finding Background Information About Artists and Art Movements / Styles / Periods
Background information can provide:
- A definition of specific terminology
- An overview of a topic (the important who's, what's, when's, etc.)
- An introduction to key issues
- Biographical information
- A list or link to additional authoritative resources
Background information can be found in print or online encyclopedias, textbooks, biographical dictionaries or directories, and basic introductory texts.
Key Resources
- Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new windowComprehensive art reference resource and excellent starting place for biographies of artists, as well as discussions of art movements, theory, and criticism. Provides definitions, bibliographies, and encyclopedic entries concerning almost any art-related topic. Provides access to the encyclopedic Grove Art Online, the Benezit Dictionary of Artists, and more.
- Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History This link opens in a new windowFrom the Metropolitan Museum of Art - Authoritative source for timelines, thematic essays, world maps, images, and subject/artist index.
- Art Movements - Google Arts & CultureGoogle Arts & Culture contains high quality images from museums. Brief articles describe each art movement. Most, but not all, articles come from a reliable source: Grove Art from Oxford University Press. Pay attention and evaluate other sources.
- The Art Story: Modern Art InsightThe Art Story focuses on information on the artists, art styles and movements, and ideas and concepts of modern art, from the late 19th to the late 20th century. A good source for contemporary artists. Additional content about other periods in art history can be found using the search box.
- Smarthistory"Smarthistory is the leading open educational resource for art history. We make high-quality introductory art history content freely available to anyone, anywhere. Smarthistory is a platform for the discipline where art historians contribute in their areas of expertise and learners come from across the globe. We offer nearly 500 videos and these are being translated into dozens of languages."
... Isms: Understanding Modern Art by Call Number: N6490.4 .P45 2013
Styles, Schools and Movements: The Essential Encyclopaedic Guide to Modern Art by Call Number: N6490.4 .D45 2010Click link for availability
Art in the Modern Era: A Guide to Styles, Schools & Movements 1860 – Present by Call Number: N6490 .D415 2002
Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Photography, 3-Volume Set by Publication Date: 2005
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowSearchable full-text and full-image backfiles of scholarly journals, as well as e-books, and primary resources. Subject areas include the arts, humanities, social sciences, science, math, and business. Includes the Artstor Digital Library containing millions of images from the world's museums, archives, and libraries.
- Artstor This link opens in a new windowA digital library containing millions of images from the world's museums, archives, and libraries. Find images for papers, presentations, and studies in the humanities. Tools for sharing images, curating groups of images, downloading them directly into PowerPoint presentations, and comparing and contrasting images are also included. You can also search Artstor in JSTOR.
- AskArt.com This link opens in a new windowAskArt covers primarily American artists, including many regional artists, providing biography, images, citations, auction data, museums owning their work and galleries representing the artist's work. More than 200,000 artists are included.
Find Books on Your Topic
Sample Searches for Library Quick Search
The name of a movement. If the name is two or more words, put it in quotes:
cubism
"digital art"
The name of an artist in quotes:
"lee krasner"
The name of a work of art. It is better to look under the name of the artist, unless the work is extremely well known like:
"mona lisa"
Search by the name of a reputable book series and/or publisher. Here are some we recommend:
"world of art" "thames and hudson"
"movements in modern art" cambridge
"movements in modern art" tate
"oxford history of art"
"themes and movements" phaidon
Art Survey Books
Click links for availability and location.
Art History by Call Number: N5300 .S923
Gardner's Art Through the Ages by Call Number: N5300 .G25
History of Art by Call Number: N5300 .J3 2004
History of Modern Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Photography by Call Number: N6490 .A713 2013
Contemporary Artists
To find authoritative and credible information about contemporary artists, visit:
- The artist's personal website
- The website for the galleries that represent them
- The museum websites that own some of their work.
100 Contemporary Artists by Call Number: N6497 .A14 2009Brief biographical entries with examples of artwork.
2 volumes
Art 21: Art in the Twenty-First Century by Call Number: N6512 .A6685 2001
- Art21An authoritative website for information about contemporary art and artists.