Art and Art History Research Guide
Welcome to the Art and Art History Research Guide. This guide is to assist students who are taking courses in the Luther College of Arts and Sciences, and can also assist students, faculty, and staff doing research in this area.
This Research Guide will provide information on the most relevant databases to search from, online periodicals we may subscribe to, and websites and open access options for this subject.
If you have questions or would like assistance with your research, please contact the Head Librarian at library@midlandu.edu.
Coverage of most academic areas including business, social sciences, general academic, and general sciences.
Directory of Open Access Journals
A large database of open access peer-reviewed journals and articles.
This database includes two Arts and Sciences collections with journals from subjects including the social sciences, education, law, criminology, history, etc.
Research diverse perspectives, topics, and trends that align with curricular areas such as Political Science, English, Sociology, Humanities, Business, International Studies, and more.
Collection of text from a wide range of academic disciplines.
Collection of eBooks with a wide range of subjects.
Directory of Open Access Books
A large collection of open access eBooks.
Free digital back list titles from the Getty Publications Archives. Includes exhibition catalogs, journals, symposium publications and more.
Over 850,000 volumes in the public domain! Most of the volumes are full-text, however, there are some that are only searchable and lack full-text.
British Library Online Gallery
Online gallery of virtual books and online exhibitions with objects from the British Library Collections. Images will be marked either with copyright restrictions or are public domain or in the creative commons.
The key goal of The Commons is to share hidden treasures from the world’s public photography archives.
The Getty makes available, without charge, all available digital images to which the Getty holds the rights or that are in the public domain to be used for any purpose. No permission is required. Please use the following source credit when reproducing an image: Digital image courtesy of the Getty’s Open Content Program.
Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog
Images may or may not be open access. Check the Rights and Restrictions for the collection or image for copyright information.
Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection Search
Search over 400,000 images in the Met’s collection. Filter by artist, object type, location, date, and department.
New York Public Library Digital Commons
Spanning a wide range of historical eras, geography, and media, NYPL Digital Collections offers drawings, illuminated manuscripts, maps, photographs, posters, prints, rare illustrated books, videos, audio, and more. Items will be marked with copyright restrictions if they exist.
The complete digitized collections of the Freer and Sackler Galleries and the Freer Study Collection, the National Museums of Asian Art at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.
U.S. Government Photos and Images Search
Some of these photos are in the public domain or U.S. government works and may be used without permission or fee. However, some images may be protected by license or copyright. You should read the disclaimers on each site before using these images.
Magic lantern slides, film, videotape, digital formats, and associated hardware and documentation Resource Type Locate, collect, preserve, provide access to and promote screen material related to the South East and of general relevance to screen history. Over 7,000 films and some 10,000 lantern slides from the nineteenth century as well as a significant collection of apparatus and related artifacts.
A database of tens of thousands of freely usable media files to which anyone can contribute.
Arts is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal promoting significant research on all aspects of the visual and performing arts, published bimonthly online by MDPI.
Chicago Art Institute Online Scholarly Catalogues
Each digital catalogue contains in-depth curatorial and conservation research on the museum’s collection, including high-resolution, zoomable images, and other interactive elements.
Conservation Perspectives, Getty Conservation Institute Newsletter
Featuring articles and discussions on areas of conservation practice and on projects and activities of the Conservation Institute.
SPE is the leading forum for fostering understanding of photography in all its forms and related media.
Museums large and small, classic and modern, world-renowned and community-based from over 40 countries have contributed more than 40,000 high-resolution images of works ranging from oil on canvas to sculpture and furniture. Some paintings are available in ‘gigapixel’ format, allowing you to zoom in at brushstroke level to examine incredible detail. Use Google Street View to explore the interiors of landmarks such as the Palace of Versailles and The White House. Or, build and share your own virtual art gallery.
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
“Presents the Met’s collection via a chronological, geographical, and thematic exploration of global art history. Targeted at students and scholars of art history, it is an invaluable reference, research, and teaching tool.”
A portal to the Met’s comprehensive publishing program with 1,500 titles, including books, online publications, and Bulletins and Journals from the last five decades.
National Gallery Technical Bulletin
The National Gallery Technical Bulletin, first published in 1977, has achieved a leading position in the study of the materials and techniques of painting, and the scientific examination of paintings. Published annually, it is essential reading for conservators, conservation scientists, art historians, collectors and curators.
Smarthistory is the official provider of art history for khanacademy.org, supporting students, instructors, and lifelong learners everywhere.
Founded in 1972, Artists Space has successfully contributed to the changing institutional and economic landscape of contemporary art in New York City for more than three decades, lending support to emerging ideas and emerging artists alike.
Features art talks, collection overviews, and information about the Cultural Institute and Art Project.
Lectures, interpretations of specific art works, information on teaching with art, and more.
The Art Assignment is a weekly PBS Digital Studios production hosted by curator Sarah Green. Videos contain assignments developed by working artists for viewers to complete at home.
Overviews of exhibits. Interviews with artists, and art talk panels.