Archives of American art
This site presents detailed descriptions of “letters, diaries, sketches and sketchbooks, photographs, exhibition catalogs, scrapbooks, business records, art periodicals, and other documents" from the Smithsonian’s many collections. The Finding Aids and Catalog allow visitors to see exactly what's in the collection. An e-mail reference service provides extended help.(LII)
Art & Architecture Thesaurus
"The AAT is a structured vocabulary containing around 125,000 terms and other information about concepts. Terms in AAT may be used to describe art, architecture, decorative arts, material culture, and archival materials. The coverage of the AAT ranges from Antiquity to the present, and the scope is global." (LII)
ArtLex: Dictionary of Visual Art
Definitions for thousands of art terms, with links to illustrations and related Web sites. Artist's names and titles of individual works are included in the definitions, but are not included as separate entries. Maintained by an artist and educator. (LII)
Art on the Web
Provides over 1200 links on art and architecture.
Created by a former art librarian, this site contains annotated links to art and architecture sites. Categories include electronic exhibitions, image collections, online art journals, art schools and university art/architecture programs, libraries, museums, organizations, and more. Browsable.
Internet Art Resources
A "gateway to art and artists, galleries and exhibitions. Up-to-date information on current and future art shows, emerging artists and world-renowned masters in the fine arts as well as modern artisans working in every imaginable medium, including wood, glass, metal and stone.
World Wide Art Resources
A directory of websites featuring "contemporary art, art news, art history, contemporary artist and gallery portfolios," and more. (LII)
Artists & Art History
Art History Resources on the Web
Provides a gateway to resources on art history from ancient times to the present day. There are links to research resources, an extensive list of museums and galleries by country, online journals, exhibits, and university art departments. Time periods are divided into countries, cultures, and styles. Noted individual artists are also included.(LII)
Provides biographical information for many well-known artists and displays high quality photos of their major works.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Timeline of Art History
"A chronological, geographical, and thematic exploration of the history of art from around the world, as illustrated especially by the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection. The Museum's curatorial, conservation, and education staff—the largest team of art experts anywhere in the world—research and write the Timeline, which is an invaluable reference and research tool for students, educators, scholars, and anyone interested in the study of art history and related subjects."
Union List of Artists' Names
A database "containing more than 225,000 names and biographical and bibliographic information about artists and architects, including a wealth of variant names, pseudonyms, and language variants." Searchable by name, role, and nationality, and browsable by alphabet. From the Getty Research Institute. (LII)
Online Exhibits & Image Databases
Provides constantly changing galleries of high quality images of fine art and includes theory and criticism, reviews, including review of art cd-roms as well as links to other art sites.
Artcyclopedia: The Guide to Museum-Quality Art on the Internet
An index to the online exhibits of thousands of artists, searchable by artist's name and browsable by movement, medium, subject of art, nationality of artist, or women artists. Entries include links to museum sites, image archives, and other online resources. The focus is primarily painting and sculpture, but a smattering of other media (architecture and decorative arts, for example) are represented. The site also has archived monthly articles on art, and a museum directory. (LII)
Art Museum Image Consortium
An archive of high quality art images made available by AMICO which has since disbanded.
An image database containing over 20,000 works of art from the City of London Libraries and Guildhall Art Gallery.
This site "provides access to over 275,000 images digitized from primary sources and printed rarities in the collections of The New York Public Library [NYPL], including illuminated manuscripts, historical maps, vintage posters, rare prints and photographs, illustrated books, printed ephemera, and more." Searchable, or browsable by collection, such as art and literature, cities and buildings, industry and technology, and nature and science. (LII)
Web Gallery of Art
Contains over ten thousand images of "European painting and sculpture of the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque periods (1150-1800)." Searchable, and browsable by name of artist. Includes selected annotations, guided tours of the collection, and a glossary of related terms. (LII)