Introduction to Art (ARTH 101)

Professor Megan Luke
Art Librarian Nancy Spiegel

Background and quick lookup

• Grove Art Online A continuously updated reference source, searchable by concepts as well as by artists' names. The bibliographies are current and a worthwhile starting point for further research.
• The Dictionary of Art Historians:  Essays on individual art historians, such as  Rosalind Krauss, and the evolution of their scholarship. 
• Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism: One of the standard reference works in the field, this guide offers articles on theorists such as Walter Benjamin and Michel Foucault. Entries on Cultural Studies and Art Theory provide useful overviews.
• Periodical Title Abbreviations. A two-volume set for making sense of abbreviated titles in footnotes and bibliographies.
• See also the library's guide to finding reference books.

The Library Catalog and LENS 
Find books, journals, newspapers, videos, microfilm sets, etc.

• How to find primary sources: a guide and sample searches for art history research
• How to find museum publications in the library catalog:

   Use the BASIC search with the subject index (select from the drop-down menu) to find museum publications:

Collection Catalogs 
[museum name]--Catalogs
For example, National Gallery of Art (U.S.) -- catalogs

Exhibition Catalogs
[museum]--exhibitions    
[artist's last name, first name)--Exhibitions
For example, David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art--exhibitions
Warhol, Andy--exhibitions

 

 Finding articles in art journals and magazines

• Art Index Retrospective (1929-1984) and Art Abstracts (1984-present): A core resource for art research, indexing over 300 key journals; covers the Classical period to the present.
• ArtBibliographies Modern (1974 -present). Best database to start with for finding articles on 20th-and 21st-century artists and movements; performance and multi-media art; and emerging trends in contemporary art
• Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals (1934-present). Includes architecture as well as interior design, city planning, archaeology and individual architects.
• Bibliography of the History of Art (1973-present). The largest of the indexes, BHA emphasizes post-classical art and covers a significant number of European journals.
• DAR: Design Abstracts Retrospective,1903-1986 with some sources back to 1894. This file indexes the design and craft literature back to the beginning of the twentieth century.
• Design and Applied Arts Index (1973-present). The companion to DAR, this database indexes articles in contemporary design and craft journals and newspapers. 
• Zenon (1956-present). The combined catalogs of the German Archaeological School libraries. The database is also an index to articles on classical, near eastern and Egyptian archaeology and Byzantine art history. Zenon was developed as a free version of  Dyabola, which is more complicated to use. If you're not finding what you need, try Dyabola, and ask me for help if you need it.

Putting your research into historical context
For more databases, go to the Database Finder page, select the "subject browse" tab, and then a subject area from the list.

• America: History and Life (1954-present). Articles and book reviews in North American history.
• Bibliography of Asian Studies (BAS) (1971-present). Citations to western-language monographs, articles and book chapters on all subjects pertaining to East, Southeast, and South Asia published worldwide.
• Historical Abstracts (1967-present) Articles and book reviews in European history.
• International Medieval Bibliography Select "Enter Databases" to search. Indexes articles relating to the Middle Ages from 450-1500. Includes research on medieval history in archaeology, architecture, arts, canon law, the crusades, daily life, folk studies, historiography, language, literature, military history, music, philosophy, political thought, religion, and social history. Covers Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. 
• JSTOR Back issues of scholarly journals in all disciplines, with a moving wall of about five years. View included art titles here.
• Project Muse Full-text collection of recent (usually last five years), scholarly journals in all disciplines.

 Newspapers available online (a sampling):

• Chicago Tribune, 1872-1963; Chicago Tribune, 1963-1985; Chicago Tribune,1985-
• Guardian, 1996-
• Los Angeles Times, 1886-1986 and Los Angeles Times, 1996-present
• New York Times, 1851-2004; New York Times,1995-present
• New York Times Magazine, 1997-present
• Times of London (index) 1906-1980; Times of London, 1992-present

Finding images

• Artstor contains close to one million images of works of art and artifacts from all time periods and geographic locations.
• Smart Museum's Online Database Project  records data on the objects in the permanent collection; about one third of the records include a corresponding image.

Citing your sources

• The library has a quick quide here, plus the full text of the Chicago Manual of Style.
• Manage your research and bibliographies--register  for a free Refworks account.

Finding resources beyond the University of Chicago

Search millions of book, journal, video and archival records from libraries all over the world at once with WorldCat. Most major museum library collections (Getty, MOMA, National Gallery, etc.) can be found in Worldcat. Use the Find it! button to request a title you need through Interlibrary Loan.

 Research Tips

• Use the Find it! button to link from the article citation to the full text.
• I am always available to answer your questions:

  Nancy Spiegel -- nspiegel@uchicag0.edu JRL 463, 702-5193