Welcome

Edward Mitchell Bannister
Portrait of Christiana Bannister (1860)
Source: RISD Museum

Welcome to the library course guide for American Art and Architecture.

This guide contains links to article databases and other sources of information for research in Art History. If you have questions about how to search for information using the resources listed in this guide, please contact the subject librarian for Art, Amy Barlow (abarlow@ric.edu), or schedule a virtual research appointment using the link in the menu to the left.

Starting Points for Art Research

Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new window
Oxford Art Online is the gateway to Grove Dictionary of Art and the Benezit Dictionary of Artists. It Includes over 200,000 specialized articles that span ancient to contemporary art and architecture, as well as over 19,000 images of works of art, structures, plans, and artist signatures.

Metropolitan Museum of Art Heilbrunn Timeline
Chronological, geographical, and thematic tour of global art history

Oxford Bibliographies Online: Art History This link opens in a new window
Topic introductions and extensive bibliographies written by scholars in the field.

Other General Art Sources

Art Story
This website's mission is to make modern art more accessible and digestible to the general public by providing information that is easy-to-understand, professionally designed, and logically presented. The Art Story continues to cover all the major movements, artists, and ideas in modern art.
Facos: An Introduction to Nineteenth Century Art
Using the tools of the ‘new’ art history (feminism, Marxism, social context, etc.) An Introduction to Nineteenth Century Art offers a richly textured, yet clear and logical introduction to nineteenth-century art and culture. The book provides readers with a basic historical framework of the period and the critical tools for interpreting and situating new and unfamiliar works of art.
Library of Congress
The nation's oldest federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world, with millions of images, books, recordings, maps and manuscripts in its collections.
Smarthistory
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Smarthistory at Khan Academy is an open educational resource for art history. Introductory art history content is freely available to anyone, anywhere. It offers nearly 500 videos and these are being translated into dozens of languages