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Art & Art History
Find authoritative sources for your art / art history paper or project.
Search Library Quick Search
Use Library Quick Search to search for books and articles across many databases in a single search.
Key Resources
- Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new windowContains the full text of specialized reference sources in art and art history. Includes the Oxford Dictionary of American Art and Artists; Oxford Companion to the Photograph; Grove Encyclopedia of Materials and Techniques in Art; and more.
- Gale eBooks (Gale Virtual Reference Library) This link opens in a new windowCross-searchable collection of full text encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources in a wide-range of disciplines for background information. Formerly known as Gale Virtual Reference Library.
Critical Terms for Art History by Call Number: N34 .C75 2003Essays that explain terms such as beauty, bricolage, fetishism, identity, postmodernism, the body, appropriation, representation, sign, simulacra, memory/monument, and more.
Styles, Schools and Movements: The Essential Encyclopaedic Guide to Modern Art by Call Number: N6490.4 .D45 2010
Open Source Books Online
- Getty Research PortalProvides free and open access to downloadable digitized resources for the printed literature of art, including fundamental texts, rare books, exhibition catalogues, auction catalogues, and related literature. Nearly 40 major arts and cultural institutions from around the world have contributed content to the Portal.
- Courtauld Books OnlineA series of online scholarly books published by The Courtauld Institute of Art. Browse online or download individual chapters or the entire book in PDF.
- Guggenheim Museum Publications OnlineFree digital editions of books and catalogues that document the exhibitions and collections of the Guggenheim Museum.
- Guggenheim & Whitney Art Resources from the mid-20th CenturyDigitized Highlights from the Collections of Hilla Rebay and Juliana Force - A Collaborative Project Between the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art. More than 600 rare digitized texts viewable in PDF format. Locate items by browsing alphabetical list.
- Whitney Museum of American Art PublicationsA collaboration between the Whitney and the Internet Archive makes these publications freely available online.
Online Exhibition Catalogues
- MetPublicationsMore than 500 books published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art freely available in full text online.
- Getty Publications Virtual LibraryMore than 300 Getty publications available online for free download.
- Art Institute of Chicago Digital PublicationsFree digital publications including exhibition catalogues that can be read online. Interactive e-pubs.
- MoMA Exhibition HistoryDigitized documentation from exhibitions held at MoMA from 1929 to present. Includes photographs, press releases, checklists, and in some instances publications such as the exhibition catalogue.
- Canadian Online Art Book ProjectA digital library of books about Canadian artists. Read online or download. Links to other resources.
- National Gallery of Art Washington Free Backlist TitlesBrowse or download free digitized exhibition catalogues in PDF from the National Gallery of Art publication archives.
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) PublicationsA collaboration between LACMA and the Internet Archive makes these exhibition catalogues freely available online.
- Toledo Museum of Art PublicationsA collaboration between the Toledo Museum of Art and the Internet Archive makes these exhibition catalogues freely available online.
- Wildenstein Institute PublicationsDigitized catalogues raisonnés on a wide range of French artists, with a strong focus on 18th and 19th-century art. Some in English, some in French.
Find Books at other Libraries
- WorldCat (OCLC) This link opens in a new windowComprehensive online catalog of library holdings locally and worldwide. Lists books, journals, maps, recordings, films, scores, open access resources, and other materials from academic, public, corporate, and specialized libraries. Get It For Me button allows you to request to borrow an item.
- TexShare InformationFind out how to get a Texshare card to use at other academic and public libraries in Texas.
LC Classification
UTSA Libraries use the Library of Congress classification system to assign call numbers to books. A book's call number is basically its address on the shelf. You'll usually find art books under these broad categories:
N Visual arts
NA Architecture
NB Sculpture
NC Drawing. Design. Illustration
ND Painting
NE Print media
NK Decorative arts
NX Arts in general
TP Chemical technology (includes some ceramics/pottery)
TR Photography
TT Handicrafts. Arts and crafts
Example: NB237.N43 A4 2007 is the call number for this book:
The Sculpture of Louise Nevelson: Constructing a LegendCall Number: NB237.N43 A4 2007
