Clark Family Library: FYS 199-19 Science & Art (J.Bayline) Fall 2024: Finding Primary Sources for Art

Primary Sources for Art Historical Study

Primary Source: First Hand, from the time the event took place

Eg. Notes, Letters, Photos, Interviews, Newspapers, Art, Film

Secondary Source: Second Hand, an analysis of events

Eg. Books, Editorials or Analysis in Newspapers, Web pages, Biographies, Dissertations, Documentary Films.

In the study of art primary sources are the artworks themselves and unpublished materials such as letters and memos, draft documents, internal reports, technical drawings, and other forms of direct documentation (moving images, sound recordings, transcripts, photographs). Primary source materials are generally collected by archives and inventoried in finding aids.

To discover archival collections, consult ArchiveGrid, a database of primary-source collection finding aids. Archival collections and finding aids are also readily discoverable through Google searches.

Secondary sources are published materials such as books, journals and newspapers, press releases, and authoritative web sites. Secondary sources are generally collected by libraries and are inventoried in catalogs such as the Library Catalog. Catalog content may be limited to simple citations (directing you a physical object such as a book) or it may be fully integrated with digital content such as databases or full-text journals.

Source: MoMA Library

Top Online Resources for Art at a Glance

See Databases A-Z to search for databases. Most databases are paid for by the library, but some are freely available to all.

Specific Databases, Museum websites and Art Encyclopedia's to try, starting with the top four for beginning your study:

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
This database is great for background information. It provides access to more than 630 full-text reference books and over 3 million full-text entries.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Full- text of back issues of peer-reviewed journals as far back as the 1800s in the arts, sciences, ecology, botany, language, literature, and music. Multidisciplinary.

The Met Museum Artwork Database
5,000 years of history through 490,000+ works of art. The Met collection, including over 492,000 images of public-domain artworks, available for free and unrestricted use.

Art & Architecture Source This link opens in a new window
Covers fine and commercial art, sculpture, and additional emphasis on architecture. Offers over 63,000 art images, 600 full-text journals dating back to 1990 and more than 220 full-text books.

Grove Art Online
The foremost scholarly art encyclopedia, updated regularly and covering global art and architecture from prehistory to present day
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Includes peer-reviewed articles contributed by nearly 7,000 scholars from around the world, accompanied by images, bibliographies, and links to additional resources
Bibliography of the History of Art
A free database from the Getty. No password needed. 1973 to the present.
Bibliography of the History of Art
Database of material published between 1975 and 2007. No access to the articles themselves: this is purely a bibliography.

Academic Search Ultimate This link opens in a new window
Offers full-text access to over 12,000 journals, including more than 10,000 peer-reviewed titles. A great database to start your research
Project Muse: Basic Undergraduate Collection This link opens in a new window
Collection of heavily indexed and peer-reviewed journals in the humanities, arts, and social sciences. Database includes 340 full-text journals from 80 scholarly publishers from 1995 to present. MUSE.