Reference Resources
This page is intended as an introduction to the art history resources available in the Visual Resource Center, John M. Pfau and scholarly open-source materials.
As you begin researching your project, use Reference Resources to find background information on an:
artist, work of art, location.
Reference Resources: General
Oxford Art Online
Reference Resources: Time Periods & Movements
Scholarly images
Here is what makes an image scholarly:
You know where the image comes from
You know who owns it
You know it’s original
Where to look for scholarly images?
VRC Image Collection -The Visual Resource Center Image Collection database supports teaching and research in art, design and art history at the CSU San Bernardino.
Oxford Art Online - Links images to related entries, covering major artists, periods, and styles.
Shared Shelf Commons- Shared Shelf Commons is a free, open-access library of images from libraries, archives, and museums around the world.
Europeana - Images from Europe's galleries, archives, libraries and museums.
Calisphere - Gateway to digitized images from the libraries and museums of 10 University of California campuses and more than 100 cultural heritage organizations.
Searching for the artist in the ArtNet Artists A-Z list. Artist information will often include a link to a list of dealers representing the artist. Browse over 340,000 artists
Flickr: The Commons - Images made available through Flickr's partnership with cultural institutions.
Tip for finding images in books:
When searching in OneSearch includes the phrase "pictorial works" in the subject headings for books that consist mostly of illustrations. Use this phrase as part of a keyword search for books with illustrations of a particular subject, for example: Picasso "pictorial works"
André Derain (French, born 1880-1954), London Bridge, 1906, oil paint on canvas, 1906.66 x 99 cm. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Zadok.
Art Books
Catalogue Raisonné-- A catalogue raisonné is the collected works of an individual artist. They will usually include introductory essays on the artist and their historical context, as well as bibliographies and lists of major museum collections. Catalogues raisonné will also include reproductions of each work created by the artist, usually in chronological order, including the provenance and physical descriptions of the work.
Online Catalogues Raisonnés - A number of scholarly associations have now created databases of artwork to replace traditional printed catalogues raisonnés.
Catalogue Raisonné Scholars' Association
International Arts Online Catalogues Raisonnés
Exhibition Catalog- An exhibition catalog accompanies an exhibition on a particular artist or theme.
Radical women : Latin American art, 1960-1985
Scholarly open-source materials
Online Catalogues Raisonnés - A number of scholarly associations have now created databases of artwork to replace traditional printed catalogues raisonnés.
Catalogue Raisonné Scholars' Association
International Arts Online Catalogues Raisonnés
Born-digital catalogues raisonnés (scholarly compilations of an artist's work)
Humanities Commons (art history section) scholarly open-source materials for the humanities
The following links takes you to sites with great examples of how to cite sources in your paper:
The Chicago Manual of Style Online (CSU San Bernardino)
CiteSource Guide to the Chicago Manual of Style (Trinity University)