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Art History Resource Guide v.2

Research Tips and Strategies

Narrow Your Topic: Start with a broad idea and narrow it down by focusing on specific artists, movements, or themes. For instance, instead of researching "Renaissance art," you might look at "Leonardo da Vinci's use of perspective in Renaissance art."

Develop Keywords: Identify key terms and synonyms to use in your searches. For example, if you’re researching African American art, try variations like "Black artists" or "art in the Black Power movement."

Start with General Sources: Books, encyclopedias, or overviews provide background knowledge. The Oxford Grove Art Online is an excellent starting point for art research.

Advance to Specialized Databases: Use art-specific databases for in-depth research, such as Artstor for images, JSTOR for journal articles, and auction databases for market insights.

Boolean Operators: Use "AND," "OR," and "NOT" to refine searches. For example, “Impressionism AND Monet” focuses on Monet within Impressionism, while “Impressionism OR Realism” broadens to include both movements.

Filters: Narrow search results by date, material type (e.g., images vs. articles), and subject. This can help you find the most relevant resources more quickly.

Truncation and Wildcards: Use symbols like * or ? to account for variations in spelling and word endings. For example, “painter*” will search for “painter” and “painters.”

Check the Source’s Credibility: Prioritize sources from reputable institutions, such as academic publishers or well-known art museums.

Review Author Credentials: Ensure that the author has expertise in the field, particularly when researching niche or historical topics.

Identify Bias and Perspective: Some resources may focus on specific viewpoints or schools of thought, so consider the source’s purpose and the context of publication.

 

Use Citation Managers: Tools like Zotero or EndNote allow you to save citations, organize your notes, and create bibliographies automatically.

Summarize Key Points: When taking notes, summarize the main arguments and note any quotes you may want to reference. Organize notes by theme or subtopic to make it easier to develop your paper.

 

Ask for Guidance: Librarians can help you locate specialized collections, recommend databases, and provide advice on narrowing your topic.

Attend Research Workshops: Many libraries offer workshops that cover art research strategies, using citation managers, or navigating specific databases.

Contact People and Locations Directly: There will be times when the information you want and need is collecting cobwebs on someone's desk or is sitting somewhere in the back of their mind. You'd be surprised how far a little curiosity and bravery will get you. Call the gallery, email the publisher, DM the artist. People are really quite willing to help more often than not.

Sources Explained

Primary sources are original, first-hand accounts or direct evidence related to a topic, created at the time of the event or by someone who directly experienced it. In art, primary sources provide insight into the artist’s process, context, and impact.

Examples include:

  • Original artworks: Paintings, sculptures, installations.
  • Documents by the artist: Sketchbooks, journals, letters, or diaries.
  • Contemporaneous documents: Newspaper reviews, exhibition catalogs, or photographs of art events from the time.
  • Interviews: Direct interviews with the artist or contemporaries.

Secondary sources are interpretations, analyses, or evaluations of primary sources or topics. They are created after the fact, often by scholars, critics, or historians, and provide context, commentary, and scholarly analysis.

Examples include:

  • Books and articles analyzing or discussing an artist or art movement.
  • Biographies of artists written after their lifetime.
  • Reviews and critiques written in response to exhibitions, especially those published much later.
  • Documentaries or essays exploring historical or stylistic aspects of art.

Tertiary sources are summaries or compilations of information from primary and secondary sources, often intended to provide a general overview of a topic. They’re helpful for gaining background knowledge but don’t typically offer original analysis or firsthand accounts.

Examples include:

  • Encyclopedias: General overviews of art movements, artists, or techniques, such as Wikipedia, Grove Art Online, or Britannica.
  • Dictionaries or glossaries: Definitions and explanations of art terms and concepts.
  • Bibliographies: Compilations of sources on a given topic.
  • Guides and handbooks: Step-by-step guides to specific areas, like The Oxford Handbook of Modernisms for a broad take on modern art movements.

Core Databases