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Introduction
This guide provides reference sources for research in Art History.
The general works and databases listed below include the catalog and encyclopedias for background information as well as indexes to images and periodical articles. The tabs above will link to resources organized by time periods.
Reference Databases
- Art Abstracts (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
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- What's included? Citations to articles from periodicals published throughout the world. Topics include art, art history, advertising, antiques, archaeology, architecture, fashion, interior design, textiles, and more. Also includes information about reproductions of works of art that appear in indexed periodicals, yearbooks, and museum bulletins.
- What dates are covered? 1984-. Updated daily.
- Art Index Retrospective: 1929-1984 (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
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- What's included? Citations to art magazines, journals, museum bulletins, and reproductions. Covers fine, decorative, and commercial art.
- What dates are covered? 1929-1984
- ArtstorArtstor has moved to JSTOR. Please use the link to JSTOR to access Artstor content.
- Grove Art Online (Oxford Art Online) This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? Scholarly art encyclopedia covering global art and architecture. Includes images, bibliographies, and links to additional resources. Updated regularly.
- What dates are covered? Prehistory to the Present
- What else should I know? 1 concurrent user only.
- ITER Bibliography This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? Literature pertaining to the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Citations for books, journal material (articles, reviews, review articles, bibliographies, catalogues, abstracts and discographies) are included, as are citations for dissertation abstracts, and essays in books (including entries in conference proceedings, festschriften, encyclopedias and exhibition catalogues).
- What dates are covered? 400 AD - 1700 AD.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? Archival journal collections in many disciplines, scholarly e-books, images, and primary source materials from institutions worldwide.
- What else should I know? Many journals in JSTOR have an embargo (called the "Moving Wall") on their most recent articles, generally ranging from 3-5 years. Other databases will provide more current results.
- Oxford Bibliographies Online This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? Authoritative research guides to the current scholarship across a wide variety of subject areas, written and reviewed by academic experts. URI offers access to the following bibliographies: African American Studies; Criminology; International Relations; Islamic Studies; Medieval Studies; and Renaissance and Reformation.
- Romanticism: Life, Literature and Landscape (AM) This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? Digitized archival collection from the Wordsworth Trust comprised of William Wordsworth’s original verse manuscripts, working notebooks and some printed, annotated, editions. Other types of material include scrapbooks, autograph books, letters, diaries, travel journals, financial records and receipts, and verse manuscripts by other Romantic writers including Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Thomas de Quincey. Supplementing the manuscript collection, this resource also includes full-color digital images of over two thousand fine art pieces.
- What dates are covered? Late 18th Century - Mid 19th Century.
- Scopus (Elsevier) This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? Multidisciplinary abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature with tools to track, analyze, and visualize article and literature use. Includes journal articles, books, book series, conference papers, and more. Alternative to Web of Science. Indexes close to 35,000 titles.
- Victorian Popular Culture (AM) This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? Victorian Popular Culture contains a wide range of source material relating to popular entertainment in America, Britain and Europe, sourced from multiple libraries. The collection is composed of four thematic sections: Spiritualism, Sensation and Magic; Circuses, Sideshows and Freaks; Music Hall, Theatre and Popular Entertainment; and Moving Pictures, Optical Entertainments and the Advent of Cinema.
- What dates are covered? From 1779 to 1930.
- URI Libraries Search
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Locate books, videos, online resources and more available through the URI Libraries.
General Works in Print
The Grove Dictionary of Art by Call Number: Ref. N31 .D5 1996ISBN: 188444600034 vols.
Considered the new standard encyclopedia for the study of art and art history.- Encyclopedia of World ArtCall Number: Ref. N31 .E53314 v. plus index vol. and supps. 1959-83
A standard art encyclopedia. Use the general index, volume 15, to find
all the material on a topic. Long, signed articles containing comprehensive bibliographies. Well-illustrated. The supplement volumes bring it up to date.
Selected Internet Resources
- Art History Resources on the Web
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Collection of Internet sources on the history of art, organized by time period.
Department Publications
These are the latest publications from faculty members in this department.
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Created & revised by
J. Kinnie, 10/09, 8/10
rev. M. Boldt, 4/13; J Kinnie, 7/18