Art

Researching an artist and their artwork

The type of resources to consult depends on the type of artist you are researching:

•  Artists established in Art History scholarship
  (e.g., Frida Kahlo, Hieronymus Bosch, Wen Zhengming)

  • Specialized encyclopedias
  • Scholarly books, journal articles, dissertations
  • Image databases

• Contemporary, practicing artists established in major galleries
  (e.g., Kehinde Wiley, Glenn Ligon, Kent Monkman)

  • Specialized encyclopedias, books, journal articles 
  • Artist websites, gallery websites, scholarly art history websites
  • Exhibition catalogs 
  • Maybe: scholarly books, image databases

• Practicing lesser-known or emerging artists
  (e.g., local artists such as Asialuvzu2)

  • Artist's website and social media
  • Art & Culture magazine articles
  • Local or regional newspapers and blogs
  • Exhibition reviews, gallery websites, social media posts

Researching an established practicing artist - some tips
Start with Oxford Art Online to locate information about an artist. Use the bibliography at the end of the article to identify books and articles about the artist. If you cannot find the artist, try Art Full Text for articles. If you are still not having any luck try searching for the artist in one of the newspaper databases. Finally, try the internet. Wikipedia is often useful (look at entries' reference lists), scholarly art history websites (such as Smarthistory), and many artists have their own websites. 

Researching an artist established in Art History - some tips
Start with Oxford Art Online to locate information about an artist. Use the bibliography at the end of the article to identify books and articles about the artist. If you are still having trouble, search the International Bibliography of Art, Bibiography of the History of Art, and JStor for articles. If you still cannot find anything, try Dictionary of Artists or Allgemeines Kunstler-Lexicon. This provide minimal information, but often have bibliographies that are useful. Even if you do not read German, you can usually find the bibliography, if there is one,  in the Kunstler-Lexicon.

Finding overviews of movements / periods / national art / techniques

• Oxford Art Online is the best place to start. 
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s (The Met) Heilbrunn “Timeline of Art History” pairs essays and works of art with chronologies, telling the story of art and global culture through the Museum’s collection.
• The Smithsonian’s American Art Museum’s website The American Experience in the Classroom, presents its artworks in chronological order by era, placing the artworks into the context of important events in US history, and presents artworks thematically.