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Finding & Evaluating Sources
When using resources from the web, it's crucial that you *know your source*.
If you find sources in one of the library's databases, you can be relatively certain that source is reliable. Evaluating general web sources isn't so easy.
You need to think about the author of the information and the organization behind the website and decide whether it is reputable or not. The museum websites at the bottom of this page are examples of websites you don't need a subscription to, but that have solid background information on many art objects.
When considering whether a source is useful for your purposes, you can use different tactics to evaluate a source. Lateral reading is a strategy that emphasizes the information or argument of a source and the source's relationship to other sources providing similar information or arguments. Is there agreement or conflict? Reading laterally asks that you incorporate information from multiple sources to build your project. The links immediately below are to video tutorials on lateral reading.
- Intro to Lateral ReadingThis video gives a brief overview of the evaluation technique known as lateral reading.
- How to Read Laterally: Evaluating Online SourcesThis video explores how to utilize the lateral reading technique to evaluate information you find online.
Art History Sources Online
The following are particularly helpful in finding quality articles and information on artists and their work. Look at the description under each link to see which might be most helpful for you. It's also a good idea to try out a few and see what gets you the best results.
- Art & Architecture Source (EBSCO) This link opens in a new windowCovers a broad range of related subjects from fine, decorative and commercial art, to various areas of architecture and architectural design. Includes Art & Architecture Complete. (NVCC)
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowScholarly journals; does not include the most recent few years. (NVCC)
- Oxford Art Online - Grove Art Online This link opens in a new window30,000 signed articles and images on visual arts, over 6,000 subject entries and 20,000 biographies, and 7,000 searchable images. This resource also includes the Encyclopedia of Aesthetics (2nd edition), The Oxford Companion to Western Art, and The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms. (NVCC)
Museum Databases
Though it may be tempting to just do a search in Google or Wikipedia for your artist and their work, solid sources for background information on your topic may be found on a museum website. These museums employ art historians whose job it is to research the artists and movements owned and exhibited by the museum. This means that the information found on these websites is of good quality and would be considered reputable. Listed below are two examples of reputable websites.
- National Gallery of ArtThe official website for the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.
- Metropolitan Museum of ArtThe official website for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The Met's collection is expansive and includes art from ancient through modern times.
Websites from Assignment
- Smart History"At Smarthistory we believe art has the power to transform lives and to build understanding across cultures. We believe that the brilliant histories of art belong to everyone, no matter their background. Smarthistory’s free, award-winning digital content unlocks the expertise of hundreds of leading scholars, making the history of art accessible and engaging to more people, in more places, than any other publisher."
- Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History"The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History presents a thematic, chronological, and geographical exploration of global art history through The Met collection. Authored by The Met’s experts, the digital publication is a reference, research, and teaching tool conceived for students and scholars of art history. The Timeline currently comprises more than 1,000 essays, 8,000 works of art, 300 chronologies, and 3,700 keywords. It is regularly updated and enriched to provide new scholarship and insights on The Met collection.
The Timeline is structured with four components. Essays focus on specific themes in art history, including artistic movements and periods, archaeological sites, empires and civilizations, recurrent themes and concepts, media, and artists. Works of Art celebrate human creativity from around the world and from all eras, and are contextualized chronologically, geographically, and thematically. Chronologies provide a linear outline of art history by geographical region. Each chronology includes up to ten representative works of art, a timeline, an overview, and key events. Keywords—categorized by art movement and style, artists and makers, geography (present-day nation states and historical regions), time period, material and technique, object, and subject matter—further connect chronologies, essays, and works of art." - The Art Story"The Art Story is your guide to understanding and enjoying the best of the visual arts.
Whether you are interested in - an artist (Michelangelo, Pablo Picasso, or Kara Walker), an art movement or artistic direction (Impressionism, Performance, or The Baroque), or even an art concept (The Readymade, Renaissance Humanism, or Collage) - we have specialized pages covering your topic of interest.
Each page is written to get you the information you need quickly. We focus on what is important about each topic, and what makes it interesting, striving to present you with the perfect summary." - Lumen Learning (CourseHero) Boundless Art History Textbook"Course Hero is an online learning platform for course-specific study resources. Founded by college student Andrew Grauer in 2006, Course Hero is on a mission to help students graduate confident and prepared.
Course Hero supports students on their unique learning journey as they seek help and resources to better understand their coursework, prepare for exams, learn and remember. Students can subscribe or contribute their own resources to access millions of learning materials including practice problems, study guides, textbook solutions, and step-by-step explanations for every subject."