Researching Objects in the Spencer Museum of Art: Additional Resources

Advice and resources for investigating art works in the campus art museum.

General Information

Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, A chronological, geographical and thematic exploration of the history of art from around the world extending from prehistory to the present day, as illustrated by the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection. 

Art Terminology

ArtLex: Art Dictionary Definitions along with thousands of supporting images, pronunciation notes, quotations and cross-references.

Oxford Art Online Gateway to the Grove Art Online and other Oxford art reference resources with more than 23,000 subject entries, 21,000 biographies, and 40,000 image links.  

Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms Over 2000 entries covering painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, the decorative, applied and graphic arts from all periods throughout the world up to the present day plus a table of the dynasties of Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, China, India and Japan.

Artists' Biographies

Oxford Art Online, Gateway access to Grove Art Online and other Oxford art reference resources. Includes more than 23,000 subject entries and 21,000 biographies.

Biographical Dictionary of ArtistsCovering over 1300 artists, the dictionary is an A-Z arrangement of entries for painters, architects, and sculptors from pre-Christian times to the present. Published in 1995

AskArt.com Biographies for more than 52,000 American artists from the early 16th-century through the present. Entry may include images, bibliography, and museum information

Textbooks

Writing & Citing

Writing about Art, Prepared by Marjorie Munsterberg of City College, New York, and intended to help students improve their ability to write about visual things.

Barnet, Sylvan. A Short Guide to Writing about Art. 10th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, c2011. Useful guide that is now in its 10th edition. Shows how to analyze art and suggests tools needed for effective writing.

Chicago Manual of Style Online. 16th ed. The style guide primarily used in humanities fields such as art history.

Easy Style, Writing manual that includes tips for doing research, documenting sources, recognizing common writing errors, and working online.