Research Guides: *Art and Visual Culture: Reference and Getting Started

Frequently Used

ARTstor This link opens in a new window
Image resources. Establish an account to download images to MS PowerPoint. Coverage: Ancient to contemporary.
Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new window
Provides access to the Grove Dictionary of Art.

Search Oxford Art Online for basic facts and background information on the history of art. While the emphasis is on Western art history, some topics in world art are covered.

AVC Research Resources

Art and Architecture Complete This link opens in a new window
The most up-to-date AVC Article Database. Full text for many journals, including Art in America. Coverage starts ca. 1980.
Art Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Some overlap with Art and Architecture Complete, but more international coverage. Begins 1984.

Art Abstracts indexes and abstracts articles from periodicals published throughout the world. Coverage includes English-language periodicals, yearbooks, and museum bulletins, as well as periodicals published in French, Italian, German, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, and Swedish. In addition to articles, Art Abstracts indexes reproductions of works of art that appear in indexed periodicals.
Art Index Retrospective This link opens in a new window
Coverage 1929-1984. Indexing is less detailed than that of Art Abstracts. Useful for art historiography and some primary research, but less useful for modern critical understanding of AVC.
BHA and RILA This link opens in a new window
In addition to periodical coverage, indexes books and exhibition catalogs. Coverage ca. 1975-2007.

ARTstor This link opens in a new window
Images and illustrations licensed for use in presentations. Establish an account to download to MS Powerpoint.
Oxford Art Online: Images This link opens in a new window
Images and illustrations from Oxford dictionaries and encyclopedias of art.
Index of Medieval Art This link opens in a new window
(Formerly Index of Christian Art) Particular emphasis and focus on art of the western world. Significant additional holdings from Coptic Egypt, Lebanon, Ethiopia, Syria, Armenia, and the Near East. Publication dates: Early apostolic times up to 1550

The Index records works of art produced without geographical limitations from early apostolic times up to A.D. 1550 (some manuscript holdings up to the middle of the sixteenth century). Particular emphasis and focus on art of the western world. This has been corrected over the last few years with the addition of significant holdings from Coptic Egypt, Lebanon, Ethiopia, Syria, Armenia, and the Near East. Seventeen different media are represented in the archive, and these include manuscripts, metalwork, sculpture, painting, glass, etc.
Art Images for College Teaching (AICT) This link opens in a new window
Art images licensed for academic, non-profit uses. Collection is particularly rich in images of ancient art and architecture, and medieval architectural detail. Publication dates: Ancient to 20th Century

Strengths include ancient Greek and Roman archaeological sites and Islamic Spain including the Alhambra and the Great Mosque of Cordoba.
Bloomsbury Fashion Central (formerly Berg Fashion Library) This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive collection of images (including the fashion collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum and the costume collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art). Searchable by keyword, time, place, and culture.

Searchable by keyword, time, place and culture.

Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new window
Provides access to the Grove Dictionary of Art.
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History This link opens in a new window
From the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Searchable by date or location. Includes a virtual collection of thematic essays which provide historical context.

The (Grove) Dictionary of Art
Location: N31.D5 1996 v.1-34
Also included in Oxford Art Online, but the paper version can be better for long articles.
The Grove Encyclopedia of Classical Art and Architecture
Focused on art of the Mediterranean over about 4000 years from Cycladic through the Roman Empire. Includes articles on individual objects.
The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture
Islamic art and architecture ranging from the Middle East to Central and South Asia, Africa, and Europe and spans over a thousand years of history.
The Grove Encyclopedia of the Decorative Arts
Comprehensive resource on design and the decorative arts.

For art exhibition reviews, you will want to reference both art magazines and popular sources from major metropolitan areas. Search for an artist's name and the title of the exhibition in quotations. For example, Pipilotti Rist AND "Pixel Forest". Sometimes using the artist's name and selecting 'Magazine Article' will limit your search to articles and exhibition reviews. For example, Yayoi Kusama. Here are a list of places to search for exhibition reviews:

New York Times (1980-current) This link opens in a new window
Searchable full text version of the Late Edition (East Coast). Does not include images or advertising. Publication dates: 1980 to current
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Foreign press and international news coverage, particularly helpful for researching international exhibitions and art biennials.

Art in America Reviews
Exhibition reviews and art criticism from major galleries and museums.
College Art Association Reviews
Concise, critical reviews of exhibitions and projects in all areas and periods of art history and visual studies

Humanities Librarian

Marianne Williams

she/her

Contact:

Ladd Library 131
(207) 786-8323
mwillia8@bates.edu

I am usually at the Research Desk Mon. 6-9, Tues. 1-4, and Wed. 10-1

Subjects: Art and Visual Culture, Classical and Medieval Studies, English, European Studies, French, Gender and Sexuality Studies, German, Greek (Ancient), Hispanic Studies, Languages and Literatures, Latin American Studies, Russian

*Art and Visual Culture: Reference and Getting Started

New Books in Art and Visual Culture

Frequently Used

AVC Research Resources

Humanities Librarian