Art and Art History
A guide to help you research topics in art and art history in the LCC Library.
Web sites for Art and Art History
The internet is overflowing with excellent content for art and art history research. Many national museums and libraries have online collections. The resources linked below are highlighted for excellent visual content and scholarly depth, but include only resources in English.
- Access CeramicsExcellent image database developed by Lewis & Clark College Library focuses on contemporary ceramic work. Great inspiration for ceramic artists.
- ArtsyBeautifully designed, thousands of examples of work by contemporary artists. Artsy relates artists to movements and styles in the Art Genome Project.
- Cooper Hewitt MuseumCollections from the premier design museum in the US, focused on drawings, prints and graphic works, product design, and furnishings.
- Google Art ProjectA unique collaboration of over 150 art museums in 40 countries. Search by Museum category to browse. Create and share your own "collections."
- Guggenheim Museum – Online CollectionsExcellent resource for the study of international contemporary art and artists.
- Metropolitan Museum of Art — Timeline of Art HistoryExcellent for research on historical periods from ancient Egypt, Greek and Roman, Byzantine, Renaissance, Asian and Central Asian art, 19th Century art movements, fashion, and many other topics up to the 21st century.
- Metropolitan Museum of Art Online CollectionsOutstanding online collections: Islamic Art, Decorative Arts, American Painting & Sculpture, European Painting, the Costume Institute, Drawings & Prints, Africa, Oceania & the Americas, Egyptian Art, Musical Instruments, and others.
- Museum of Art & Design (was American Craft Museum) Online CollectionsFantastic resource for the study of American craft and its international influences, including ceramics, textile arts, jewelry, and domestic arts.
- Museum of Contemporary Art, Los AngelesExcellent resource for contemporary art, artists, and thematic exhibits.
- Museum of Modern Art Online LearningOutstanding resource for research on modern art and its influences worldwide, up to the present.
- The New MuseumExcellent resource on contemporary art, artists, and cutting-edge thematic exhibits.
- SmarthistorySmarthistory.org is a free and open, not-for-profit, art history textbook using multimedia to deliver unscripted conversations between art historians about the history of art.
- Smithsonian Museum of American ArtExcellent collection of material about art and artists in the US from multiple national collections housed at the Smithsonian Institute.
- Tate CollectionBeautifully designed online library of the Tate's collections covering art from 1500 to contemporary works. Searchable by artist name, genres, subject terms, with excellent images and descriptions.
- Whitney Museum of American Art Online CollectionsExcellent resource for research on contemporary art and artists in the United States.
About Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a great tool for locating general information about a topic. Content is constantly revised and entries vary in quality. Some of the content is excellent, some is questionable.
Many educators frown on the use of Wikipedia. Why?
- Wikipedia content is not necessarily written by subject experts, and may be inadequate or incorrect.
- Articles in Wikipedia may be changed or deleted between viewings.
- For research papers, you need authoritative resources, so it is absolutely necessary to consult other sources.
- Anyone can search Google or find a Wikipedia article. To demonstrate academic skill, it is important to go beyond these basic tools.
How can you use Wikipedia in a way that benefits your research process?
- Scan the article to get general information and terms you can use as keywords for further searching.
- Scan the article for references. These can lead to books or articles that you can find at the LCC Library or in the Summit catalog.
- Don't reference Wikipedia articles in your paper, unless you are pointing out something specific to Wikipedia.
- As you read Wikipedia articles, you may read notations that call for more evidence, or call attention to bias. These are very constructive principles that apply to your own work. What if Wikipedia editors read your work? Would they mark areas for revision?