These links are provided to aid research and are maintained by the library staff. The inclusion of a link does not constitute an endorsement of the web site, or of the opinions, products, services or programs of individuals, corporations or institutions.
* Indicates on-site access only
Databases
- *Access World News
Combination of global, regional and local news (Worcester Telegram and Gazette), including a unique merging of news formats (full-text articles, web-only content, PDF image editions), this resource supports a diverse range of research needs across an array of academic disciplines. Includes current and archived news content from more than 12,700 sources spanning 200+ countries and territories from 1980-present. - *American National Biography
Biographies of more than 19,000 men and women — from all eras and walks of life — whose lives have shaped American history and culture. - *Art & Architecture Complete
Definitive research database for the study of art and architecture. Full-text journals, magazines, books, and trade publications. Abstracts, indexing and an image collection as well. - *Artnet
Leading online resource for the international art market. Auction records dating back to 1985. - *Artstor
Image library covering the subjects of art, architecture, humanities, and social sciences. - *askART
Artist biographies, auction records, images, book and journal references. American art is very well represented, with some international information. - Boston Public Library Art & Architecture Databases
You will need a BPL e-card to access these databases. Register for a card
Resources include: Grove Art Online, JSTOR, New York Times (1851-2016) and (1985-Present), Art History Research net, Smithsonian Collections Online, Art Full Text, Art Index Retrospective, and much more. - *Grove Art Online
Authority on all aspects of the visual arts, featuring entries on artists, architects, craftsmen, patrons, movements, locations, and periods, as well as bibliographies for further research. - *JSTOR
Multi-disciplinary full-text access to major scholarly journals, with some coverage dating back to the 18th century. - MLS Research Databases
Includes: Boston Globe, Britannica, Proquest Research Companion & Heritage Quest, Gale products: Biography, Fine Arts, Academic OneFile & Select, General OneFile, Gender Studies, News, Religion & Philosophy, New York Times, World History, and much more. - *Nineteenth Century Collections online
Digitized primary sources ranging from 1789-1914. Includes books, newspapers, pamphlets, manuscripts, ephemera, maps, statistics, and more. - *Project Muse
Full-text scholarly journals from the humanities and social sciences.
Web Resources
- AATA Online
A free research database containing abstracts of literature related to the preservation and conservation of material cultural heritage. - American Watercolor Research Portal
The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s research portal for the study of American watercolors. This site provides resources on watercolor societies from the 19th and 20th centuries in New York City and Philadelphia. - Art-Collecting
Provides the most comprehensive online gallery guides for the major art cities and every state. A valuable online resource for collectors, art consultants, galleries, artists, and art enthusiasts. Links take you directly to listed art businesses across the country where you can quickly see what's showing, and also find out about special events such as art fairs. - Art Newspaper
An online and print publication that covers the international art world. Its unrivalled news and events coverage is fed by a network of sister editions, which together have more than 50 correspondents working in more than 30 countries. In addition to the news, it publishes reviews and commentary by major players in the art scene, including Nicholas Serota, Michael Govan, Thelma Golden, Theaster Gates, Grayson Perry, Elmgreen & Dragset and Shirin Neshat—and many more. - Bibliographic Database of the Conservation Information Network (BCIN)
Comprehensive, international bibliographic resource for the conservation, preservation, and restoration of cultural property. - BHA & RILA
Citation databases that cover European and American visual arts materials published between 1975 and 2007. - *Chicago Manual of Style Online
- Collecting and Provenance Research (Getty)
The main database, Getty Provenance Index, contains millions of records taken from archival inventories, auction catalogues, and dealer stock books. Other databases include the Collectors Files, Payments to Artists, and Public Collections. - Conservation and Art Materials Encyclopedia Online (CAMEO)
Contains chemical, physical, visual, and analytical information on historic and contemporary materials used in the production and conservation of artistic, architectural, archaeological, and anthropological materials. - Dictionary of Art Historians
Biographical dictionary of historians of western art. - Find Art Info.
Contains price information on fine arts, including: oil paintings, etchings, engravings, watercolors, drawings, sculptures and much more ranging from Old Masters to Contemporary art. - Heilbrunn Timeline Art History
Pairs essays and works of art with chronologies, telling the story of art and global culture through the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection. - International Foundation for Art Research (IFAR)
Website contains educational resources for Art law & cultural property, a provenance guide, collector’s information, and a bibliographic databases for Catalogues Raisonnes. - JSTOR & Artstor Open & Free Content
Full-text open access journals and books, in addition to research reports, images, and other media. - OpenBibArt
A bibliographic database containing literature on arts from Late Antiquity to the present day, providing access to close to 1.2 million bibliographic records of periodicals, books, exhibition, and auction catalogues, published between 1910 and 2007. - *Oxford English Dictionary
- Print Council of America
An online edition of The Print Council Index to Oeuvre-Catalogues of Prints by European and American Artists by Timothy A. Riggs. Also contains entries for European and American prints, print publishers, drawings, and photographs; and Japanese prints and photographs. - Smarthistory
A free, not-for-profit, multi-media web-book designed as a dynamic enhancement for the traditional art history textbook. Includes videos, images, text, timelines, and other web 2.0 possibilities for the open collaboration in study of art history. - Spanish Artists
A critical dictionary of Spanish artists from the fourth through the twentieth centuries. - Walker Living Collections Catalogue
Media-rich essays on broad themes as well as in-depth investigations of specific works of art. Featured works link to records in the Walker’s collections database, where additional information about the artists and artworks is available.
Library Catalogues
- Art Discovery Group Catalogue
An art-focused research experience within the OCLC WorldCat environment. - Library of Congress
Contains 18 million records for books, serials, manuscripts, maps, music, recordings, images, and electronic resources in the Library of Congress collections. - The Morgan Library and Museum
A single database providing unified access to over 330,000 records for medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, rare and reference books, literary and historical manuscripts, music scores, ancient seals and tablets, drawings, prints, and other art objects. - WorldCat
The world's largest network of library content which enables the searching of library collections from around the world.
Digital Libraries
- *Art & Architecture ePortal (A&A ePortal)
The A&AePortal is an authoritative eBook resource that features important works of scholarship in the history of art, architecture, decorative arts, photography, and design. With innovative functionality and extensive metadata, the site offers students and scholars an engaging experience, encouraging critical thinking skills and supporting rigorous academic research. - Art Institute of Chicago Digital Publications
Full-text access to the museum’s digital book publications. - British Museum Publications
Full-text access to online research catalogues and online journals from the museum. - Directory of Open Access Journals
A community-curated online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals. - Getty Publications
Full-text access to digital books published by the Getty. - Getty Research Portal
Full-text digitized art history texts from multiple institutions. - Hathi Trust
Full-text access to digitized materials currently in the public domain (through 1925). - MetPublications
Full-text access to out-of-print publications by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. - National Gallery of Art Backlist Publications
Full-text access to backlist publications by the National Gallery of Art. - Online Scholarly Catalogue Initiative (Getty)
Digital scholarly collections catalogues from 9 major museums. - Open Library
Combination library and catalogue with a goal to list every book (in print and out of print) with information on where to access a copy. Free e-books and e-audio books are available. - Smithsonian Libraries
35,000 digitized books and manuscripts, as well as digitized photo collections, ephemera, and seed catalogs. - Wildenstein Institute Publications
50+ titles on a wide range of French artists, with a strong focus on 18th and 19th-century art.
Digital Repositories
- Digital Public Library of America
Digitized material from America’s libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural heritage institutions; includes content such as: photographs, books, maps, news footage, oral histories, personal letters, museum objects, artwork, and government documents. - Europeana
The European equivalent to the DPLA. Digitized materials from archives, libraries, and museums across Europe; includes content such as: books, artwork, and music. - Internet Archive
Primarily a digital archive with content such as: web pages, books, audio recordings, live concert recordings, videos, televised news programs, images, and software programs.
Archival Collections
- Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
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. - Archives of American Art
The world’s most widely used research center dedicated to collecting, preserving, and providing access to primary sources that document the history of visual arts in America. - ArchiveGrid
Helps researchers locate primary source materials held in archives, libraries, museums and historical societies. - Social Networks and Archival Context
An online resource that helps users discover biographical and historical information about persons, families, and organizations that created or are documented in historical resources (primary source documents) and their connections to one another. Users can locate archival collections and related resources held at cultural heritage institutions around the world.
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