Find Basics - Art History Resources @ Cleveland Library - Library Home at Colby-Sawyer College

Course Guides

ART 100
by Sondra VanderPloeg - last updated on Dec 15, 2011
This guide was created to help you with research for the written assignments in Prof. Jane Prophet's ART 100 class.

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Find Books

Most art history books are classified in the N's, history of design books may be in the T’s

N Visual Arts

NA Architecture

NB Sculpture

ND Painting

NE Print Media

NK Design History

TS Design

TR Photography

and can be found on the main level of the barn, and in the Oversize and Reference Collections on the library's main level.

Try using "Subject Browse" from the drop-down menu with one of the following search terms:

art, China (or Japan, or India, or any other country)
artists
graphic arts
architecture
impressionism
realism
cubism
modernism
art modern -- 20th Century
post-modernism
design

To find books about a particular artist, try searching for the artist (picasso, pablo) as a subject or author in the library catalog, or try the artist as a keyword search (pablo picasso).

Library Catalog

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Interlibrary Loan

If we do not have what you are looking for, we will attempt to get a copy for you from another library. Please note that this process can take anytime up to two weeks, so manage your research time accordingly. Please refer to the links below to submit an inter-library loan request, making sure that you fill in the forms completely, including your Colby-Sawyer e-mail address.

Inter-library loan is only available to Colby-Sawyer students, faculty and staff.

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Researching Art History at Dartmouth

Dartmouth College has an entire library devoted to Art and Art History, if you are unable to find information about your topic using Colby-Sawyer resources, try searching these collections. (some resources only accessible in Hanover)

Sherman Art Library

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Find online Videos about Art

Academic Video Online
Newsreels, animation, documentaries . . . search for a specific subject or browse the Art & Architecture or History collections. You can embed links to these videos into a presentation too!

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Find Online Books and Specialty Encyclopedias for Art History

Start here for background research about your topic. Inform yourself before you enter the "conversation among experts" in scholarly journals. Remember, encyclopedias are only the beginning of the research process. Start here but don't stop here!

Grove Art Online
A specialty database for art and art history, includes biographies, subject entries, images and timelines
African American Experience
A full-text digital resource exploring the history and culture of African Americans, as well as the greater Black Diaspora
Credo Reference
Colby-Sawyer's answer to Wikipedia, try the concept search to brainstorm related topics
Daily Life through History
Life in the Ancient World to present day, includes information on domestic life, work, recreation and leisure. Click on ERAS for an overview or IDEA EXCHANGE for debates among scholars.
World at War
Try an advanced search for "art" -- click on the the time period of interest to limit your responses -- find information about art and artists responding to war, creating propaganda, and more
American National Biography Online
Biographies of prominent Americans
Oxford Reference Online
Click on Art & Architecture and search in several online specialty encyclopedias.
Pop Culture Universe
Icons | Idols | Ideas (PCU) digital library of information on American and world popular culture, past and present

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Find Print Encyclopedias for Art History

Find these encyclopedias in the library . . . they are in the Reference collection on the main floor and cannot be checked out, so you'll have to do your research during library hours. Remember, these encyclopedias are a good place to start your research, but don't stop with the information you find here, use it to guide your search for articles on your topic.