LibGuides: Art History: Databases

Databases are great sources for finding information for your research paper. In the databases, you will find peer-reviewed or scholarly articles for your research. Journal Articles and Newspapers can be useful because you may find information on a topic that is so specific that no book has been written about it (and they may be more timely, since it takes some time to publish a book.) It is also a good idea to search across multiple databases, after all no database has every journal article ever written. As you will find out below, there are some databases that specialize in a specific subject and others that are for more general searches.

Database Searching Video Tutuorial

Art History Databases

Below are some suggest databases that are great for research into art history. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list, but rather a point to begin your search.

Archivision Digital Library This link opens in a new window The Archivision Digital Library is a core architecture collection of 28,000 images covering important Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, 18th and 19th Century, Islamic and Modern sites, gardens, parks and works of public art.
Art and Architecture in Video This link opens in a new window Art and Architecture in Video includes documentaries and interviews illustrating the theory and practice of a variety of art forms. The collection spans period and region, including coverage of the Renaissance, Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Modern, and Contemporary art.
Art Index Retrospective This link opens in a new window This resource provides users access to over half a century of art literature covering fine, decorative, and commercial art. Content includes high-quality indexing of nearly 600 publications, many of which are peer-reviewed, and citations of over 25,000 book reviews.
Artstor This link opens in a new window If accessing without an Artstor account, click on 'Home', top left, in order to leave the Registration page. To make use of all Artstor functionality, you will need to register. Use the Register hyperlink on the top right of the home page. The Artstor Digital Library provides more than one million images with tools for teaching and research. The collections cover many subject areas, including art, architecture, music, religion, anthropology, literature, world history.
Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA) This link opens in a new window Covers European and American art topics from late antiquity to the present. Provides abstracts on articles from over 2500 journals, chapters in books, dissertations, exhibition catalogs, and conference proceedings.
Ceramic Abstracts This link opens in a new window Comprehensive database for the ceramics industry. Source materials include over 3000 journals, proceedings, patents, standards and industry literature.
Fashion Studies Online: The Videofashion Library This link opens in a new window This collection includes videos that retrace the history of fashion, clothing, and costume worldwide.
Fine Arts (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new window With more than 100 full-text magazines and journals covered, this collection provides resources to support research in areas such as drama, music, art history, and filmmaking.
Humanities & Social Sciences Index Retrospective: 1907-1984 This link opens in a new window This resource offers a broad range of subject coverage in the humanities and social sciences with high-quality indexing of more than 1,300,000 articles in nearly 1,100 periodicals, dating as far back as 1907, as well as citations of over 240,000 book reviews.
Humanities Source This link opens in a new window Includes Humanities Full Text, Humanities Index Retrospective and additional content. Subject areas include archaeology, area studies, art, classical studies, communications, dance, film, folklore, gender studies, history, journalism, linguistics, literary and social criticism literature, music, performing arts, philosophy, religion and theology. Funded by statewide allocation.
Index to 19th-Century American Art Periodicals This link opens in a new window Access is limited to one (1) user Includes over 26,000 records from 42 art journals published in the United States during the 19th century. The entire contents of each issue are indexed in the database. It offers essential information on artists and illustrators, painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, architecture, design, decoration, exhibitions, sales, and collecting.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window Journal Storage (More than 500 scholarly journals in education, humanities, mathematics, science, and social science disciplines)
Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new window Access is limited to three (3) simultaneous users. This resource includes Grove Art Online, The Oxford Companion to Western Art, Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, and The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms.

General Databases

Below are some general databases that are great for research into art history. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list, but rather a point to begin your search. General databases pull from a variety of subjects, so they are good for when your research crosses over into other subjects. Such as, architecture, theology, history, and anthropology/archaeology.

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window Academic Search Premier, designed specifically for academic institutions, is the world's largest scholarly, multi-disciplinary full text database containing full text for nearly 4,700 publications, including more than 3,600 peer-reviewed publications. This scholarly collection offers information in nearly every area of academic study.
Access World News (Newsbank) This link opens in a new window Research diverse perspectives, topics and trends that align with curricular areas such as Political Science, English, Sociology, Humanities, Business, International Studies, and more. Features reliable, credible information from a wide variety of international, national, and local news sources including the including the Miami Herald, Palm Beach Post, and others.
Expanded Academic ASAP This link opens in a new window Includes scholarly journals, news magazines and newspaper articles regarding arts and humanities, social sciences and science and technology disciplines.
WorldCat This link opens in a new window The world's most comprehensive bibliography, with over 48 million bibliographic records representing over 400 languages and covering information from 4,000 years of knowledge. Good for locating items at other libraries for interlibrary loan.

Last updated on Apr 24, 2024 3:56 PM