History of Art and Architecture
Museum Publications
Many museum websites have good databases, including images and bibliographies for the majority of artworks (such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Other museum websites are lacking! (Sorry, Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.) If the website doesn't include an entry for the artwork you are researching, check for a Publications section of the site; you may find that the museum has published a book or journal article about it. We have access to many museum journals or bulletins that document works of art as they are collected. If you find references to museum publications, chances are we can find the articles you need. Ask Annie if you need help!
- Thomas Eakins, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art HistoryMet Museum online publication with artist's biography, short bibliography, and links to artworks and primary sources
- Winslow Homer, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art HistoryMet Museum online publication with artist's biography, short bibliography, and links to artworks and primary sources
- MetPublicationsMetPublications is where you can search books, online publications, and Bulletins. Current book titles that are in-print may be previewed only. The full contents of almost all other book titles may be read online, searched, or downloaded as a PDF. Select the format in your search to find the ones that are fully accessible.
- American Art JournalThe journal of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, available through JStor up to 2003.
- Philadelphia Museum of Art collections searchMore than half of the works in the collection are online, including 232 by Thomas Eakins. Object records do not include bibliographies.
American Art
Following is a list of print and web sources that are useful for the study of American art. Special thank you to Nancy Noble for compiling these resources.
Index to Nineteenth Century American Art Periodicals by Call Number: N6510.S35 1999 +ISBN: 0932087566Publication Date: 1999-02-01For library use only
- Archives of American ArtThe Archives of American Art is the world’s preeminent and most widely used research center dedicated to collecting, preserving, and providing access to primary sources that document the history of the visual arts in America.
- Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in AmericaThe Archives Directory for the History of Collecting is a pioneering resource created to help researchers locate primary source material about American art collectors, dealers, agents and advisors, and the repositories that hold these records. The database is a work in progress that is regularly updated with information contributed by both institutions and individuals.
- SAAM Inventories of American Painting and SculptureThe Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture document more than 400,000 artworks in public and private collections worldwide. The Inventory of American Paintings includes works by artists who were active in America by 1914. The Inventory of American Sculpture has no cut-off date and includes works from the colonial era through contemporary times.
- Pre-1877 Art Exhibition Catalogue IndexThe AECI includes artists of all nationalities who exhibited works from 1773 to 1877—including Old Masters.
The database indexes 1,057 exhibition catalogues, broadsides, newspaper articles, and gallery notices. A separate entry appears for each time an artwork was exhibited. Transcribers made every attempt to remain faithful to the source materials, thus misspellings and inconsistencies reflect the original documents. - Smithsonian Institution Research Information SystemCentralized repository of Smithsonian resources, with links to archives, bibliographies, images and more.
