UofL Libraries: Student Guide to the Art Library: Starting Your Research

Getting Started

Research begins with gathering general information about your subject of interest -- whether it's the biography of an artist or their exhibition history, a period or movement in the history of art, or design theories and methodologies. This will help you narrow your topic, form research questions, and develop your thesis and argument.

Go beyond Wikipedia and ChatGPT! Consult resources that are subject-specific, vetted by scholars and experts in that field, and updated on a regular basis.

Primary Sources

A primary source is a document or physical object that was written or created during the time under study. Simply put, the author or creator was present at the time of the event and is able to offer a first-hand account. Primary sources include:

1. Original Documents

Diaries, letters, speeches, minutes (notes) from meetings, interviews, news film footage, autobiographies, official records (birth/marriage/death certificates), scholarly journal articles reporting NEW research or findings, newspaper articles (giving first-hand account of an event), government records and documents (laws, reports, statistics, etc.).

Examples:

Complete letters of Vincent van Gogh
UKV 5: preliminary report on the excavation of the tomb of the sons of Ramses II in the Valley of the Kings
Interview with an artist

2. Creative Works

Poetry, drama, novels, music, artworks, photography

3. Relics or Artifacts

Jewelry, pottery, clothing, buildings, etc. that were used during a particular period of history

Examples:

ancient Greek pottery

Secondary Sources

A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. In other words, a secondary source uses primary sources to contribute to its discussion/analysis of a particular topic. A secondary source is one or more steps removed from the event.

Examples:

magazine and newspaper articles
critical or curatorial commentaries
scholarly journal articles
textbooks
encyclopedias

Oxford Art Online

An authoritative, inclusive, and easily searchable online art resource which includes comprehensive overviews of art periods/movements, terminology, and artist biographies with detailed bibliographies
Includes the peer-reviewed, regularly updated Grove® Dictionary of Art and the Benezit Dictionary of Artists
Includes over 200,000 articles that span ancient to contemporary art and architecture, as well as over 19,000 images of works of art, structures, plans, and artist signatures

Examples of artist and art movement entries:

Samella Lewis (from: Benezit Dictionary of Art in Oxford Art Online)
Remedios Varo (from: Grove Dictionary of Art in Oxford Art Online)
Cubism (from: Grove Dictionary of Art in Oxford Art Online)

Examples of subject guides:

Art Markets (from: Grove Dictionary of Art in Oxford Art Online)
Roman Art and Architecture (from: Grove Dictionary of Art in Oxford Art Online)

Encyclopedias & Dictionaries

The Art Library has a reference collection located by the journal stacks with encyclopedias, dictionaries, indexes, and other general reference works intended to provide background information on a topic. You'll find essential information on artists, art periods, techniques, and terminology that may be new to you as well as detailed bibliographies for further reading.

Here are some examples from the library's collection:

Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art by James Hall
Call Number: Reference Stacks N7560 .H34 2008
ISBN: 0813343933
Publication Date: 2014-03-01
The understanding and enjoyment of a work of art depends as much on the story it depicts as on the artist’s execution of it. But what were once biblical or classical commonplaces are not so readily recognizable today. This book relates in a succinct and readable way the themes, sacred and secular, on which the repertoire of Western art is based. Combined here in a single volume are religious, classical, and historical themes, figures of moral allegory, and characters from romantic poetry that appeared throughout paintings and sculpture in Western art before and after the Renaissance. More than just a dictionary, this text places these subjects in their narrative, historical, or mythological context and uses extensive cross-referencing to enhance and clarify the meanings of these themes for the reader. The definitive work by which others are compared, this volume has become an indispensable handbook for students and general appreciators alike. This wholly redesigned second edition includes a new insert of images chosen by the author, as well as a new preface and index to highlight the ideas, beliefs, and social and religious customs that form the background of much of this subject matter.
The Oxford Companion to the Photograph by Robin Lenman (Editor)
Call Number: Reference Stacks TR9 .O94 2005
ISBN: 0198662718
Publication Date: 2005-12-01
This is the first Oxford Companion to deal with the subject of photography. It appears at a watershed in the medium's history, as digital imaging increasingly dominates the global photography scene at both amateur and professional levels. In addition to a wide range of technical information,the book encapsulates in concise and readily accessible form the mass of recent scholarship on photography as a social and artistic practice, organized both thematically and geographically. There are over 800 biographical entries, both on photographers and on other individuals who have significantlyinfluenced photographic culture from the early 19th century to the present. The book's scope is worldwide.The international team of contributors is made up of leading authorities in their fields, and include: Heather Angel, Sylvie Aubenas, Quentin Bajac, Marta Braun, Clement Cheroux, Elizabeth Edwards, John Falconer, Colin Ford, Ron Graham, Sarah Greenough, Mark Haworth-Booth, Roger Hicks, Paul Hill,Jens Jaeger, Jan-Erik Lundstrom, Naomi Rosenblum, Rolf Sachsse, Martha Sandweiss, Graham Saxby, Joan Schwartz, Sara Stevenson, Roger Taylor, Regine Thiriez, John Ward, Liz Wells, and Mike Ware.The book is extensively illustrated and includes many pictures never before published. The majority of the 1600-plus entries include suggestions for further reading. But the work's usefulness is further enhanced by the inclusion of an extensive bibliography, a chronology of photographic history, alist of important websites, and an index of people.
American Colonial Women and Their Art by Mary Ellen Snodgrass
Call Number: Reference Stacks N6507 .S66 2018
ISBN: 1442270969
Publication Date: 2017-11-10
Less celebrated than their male counterparts, women have been vital contributors to the arts. Works by women of the colonial era represent treasured accomplishments of American culture and still impress us today, centuries after their creation. The breadth of creative expression is as impressive as the women themselves. In American Colonial Women and Their Art: A Chronological Encyclopedia, Mary Ellen Snodgrass follows the history of creative expression from the early 1600s to the late 1700s. Drawing upon primary sources--such as letters, diaries, travel notes, and journals--this timeline encompasses a wide variety of artistic accomplishment, such as: -Stitchery, quilting, and rug hooking -Painting, sculpture, and sketches -Essays, poems, and other writings -Dance, acting, and oratory -Musical composition and performance Individual talents highlighted in this volume include miniature portraits by Mary Roberts, pastel likenesses by Henrietta Dering Johnston, stagecraft by Elizabeth Sampson Sullivan Ashbridge, basketry by Namumpum Weetamoo, dance by Mary Stagg, metalwork by blacksmith Elizabeth Hager Pratt, calligraphy by Anna "Anastasia" Thomas W ster, city planning by Deborah Dunch Moody, poems and essays by Phillis Wheatley, and fabric design by Anne Pogue McGinty. Featuring appendices that list individuals by skill and by state--as well as a glossary that clarifies the parameters of genres--this volume is essential to the study of Colonial women's art. Resurrecting the efforts of women to record, adorn, and illustrate the spirit of their times, American Colonial Women and Their Art is a valuable resource that will be of interest to students and scholars of gender and women's studies, art history, and American history.

Credits

Image Credits: Screenshot of Oxford Art Online.

Research Help

The UofL Libraries offer self-guided tutorials on the research process, advanced research tips and tools, and information skills for democratic citizenship.

Research DIY: Learn how to start your research assignment, search databases, find sources, use sources effectively, and write your research paper.

Productive Researcher: Advanced research tips for graduate students and faculty covering topics such as literature searches, planning your thesis or dissertation, and managing your data.

Citizen Literacy: A toolkit for developing key information skills for demographic citizenship covering topics such as algorithmic literacy, lateral reading, and deciphering misinformation.

Getty Vocabularies

Catherine wheel or rose window? Mona Lisa or La Gioconda? Gaochang or Qara-Hoja?

The Getty Vocabularies contain structured terminology for art, architecture, decorative arts, archival materials, visual surrogates, conservation, and bibliographic materials.

The Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) ®: AAT is a structured vocabulary, including terms, descriptions, and other metadata for generic concepts related to art, architecture, conservation, archaeology, and other cultural heritage. Included are work types, styles, materials, techniques, and others.
The Cultural Objects Name Authority (CONA) ®: CONA compiles titles, attributions, depicted subjects, and other metadata about works of art, architecture, and other cultural heritage, both extant and historical, linked to museum collections, special collections, archives, libraries, scholarly research, and other resources. CONA is linked to the AAT, TGN, and ULAN.
The Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names (TGN) ®: TGN is a structured vocabulary, including names, descriptions, and other metadata for extant and historical cities, empires, archaeological sites, and physical features important to research of art and architecture. TGN may be linked to GIS, maps, and other geographic resources.
The Union List of Artist Names (ULAN) ®: ULAN is a structured vocabulary, including names, biographies, related people, and other metadata about artists, architects, firms, studios, museums, patrons, sitters, and other people and groups involved in the creation and study of art and architecture.