FINDING BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ON ARTISTS
ONLINE AND PRINT RESOURCES

Most people prefer to begin online, but for lesser-known artists, you will probably need to consult print material after you have checked these electronic resources.

GENERAL SOURCES: ONLINE

You can start your search with Grove Dictionary of Art Online (listed under "All Databases" on the library's home page OR see the print version [Ref N31.D5 1996; 34 vols]--please note that the online version is restricted to Vanderbilt users). This source is considered one of the most reliable: entries were written by experts and are signed. Entries usually contain bibliographic citations to major books and articles on the artist, as well as exhibition catalogs and catalogue raisonnes (if they exist). Once you have that bibliography, check the titles in Acorn to see what is available in this library. You can, of course, check other catalogs (Athena, Kudzu, WorldCat) if you wish to do inter-library loan. This dictionary can also help you find information on movements and terminology to help you put your artist into his or her artistic and cultural context.

Then proceed through the biographical databases (go to the "All Databases" list on the library home page and then select "Biographical Information" from the drop down box to see the databases in that subject area). Your best bet is Biography and Genealogy Master Index, a citation index that picks up many art-related encyclopedias and who's whos. Reminder: these databases are restricted to Vanderbilt users.

You can also check in Britannica Online (listed under "All Databases" on the library home page) if the artist is fairly well known; the print version, Encyclopedia Britannica, can be found in the Reference Room (Ref AE5.E363 2002).

You might also try Artcyclopedia, a free web site that provides links to online digital images of museum-quality artwork; some of the museum web sites will contain biographical material (usually just the basics). The URL is http://artcyclopedia.com/.

Another "meta-site" [lists of links to other sites] is Chris Witcombe's Art History Resources on the Web (http://witcombe.sbc.edu/ARTHLinks.html). The lists are arranged by period and/or location; within the lists, you can't rely on alphabetical order, so be sure to scroll down through the entire page to see if your artist is included.

Another free web site that provides brief biographies and bibliographies, as well as image lists, for about 200 artists is Mike Harden's Artchive: http://www.artchive.com/.

If you need to verify the spelling and dates of an artist, you can check the ULAN or Union List of Artist Names [http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/ulan/index.html OR Ref N40.U54 1994; 4 vols.].

Another way to verify spelling and dates of American artists is to use the Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture by going to the web site of the Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (http://www.siris.si.edu/) and click on "search" under the heading of "Art Inventories." You can search by keyword or browse by artist name. This database was created as an attempt to document American paintings done prior to 1914 and sculpture, especially outdoor sculpture. While no images are online yet, this database allows you to verify the names of artists and the titles of their works, to see where those works are located, and to get a brief description of those works.

Another Smithsonian collection that might be helpful is the Archives of American Art, whose online catalog can be searched by going to the web site above and clicking on "search" under "Archives and Manuscripts." You can then switch "search all repositories" to limit to the Archives of American Art. This archival collection contains all sorts of personal papers that might help with biographical information. Most of the collection has been microfilmed; thus the microfilm reels can be borrowed through interlibrary loan.

For information on contemporary artists, you might try Axis: For Information on Visual Artists (http://www.axisartists.org.uk/) ), a British web site that has a searchable database of artists' names. In addition, you might try World Wide Art Resources (http://wwar.com/), which also has a searchable database.

For a bibliography of print resources for the study of women in the visual arts, try the Resources page of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (http://www.nmwa.org/library/resources/bibtop.htm); this museum web site also has brief bibliographies for about twenty women artists (http://www.nmwa.org/library/bibs/bibsd.htm).

For brief biographies of important photographers, you might try A History of Photography from its Beginnings till the 1920s (http://www.rleggat.com/photohistory). This British site also has a short introduction to the history of photography and a brief bibliography of print resources for this topic.

ARTISTIC AND HISTORICAL CONTEXTS

For more information on the context for an artist or movement, you might try the following museum or timeline web sites:

 

SELECTED PRINT MATERIALS
[Unless otherwise specified, these print materials are in the 4th floor Reference Stacks.]

GENERAL

Reminder: If you haven't checked Grove Dictionary of Art Online, you might want to check the print edition (Ref N31.D5 1996; 34 vols).

  • Benezit's Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs [Ref N40.b47 1999]--focus on European artists, but does include Americans; brief entries in French
  • Allgemeines Kultur-Lexikon [Ref N40.A63 1983; 30 vols. plus indices]--focus on European artists, but does include Americans--entries in German
  • Allgemeines Kultur-Lexicon Bio-biblio-graphisher Index [Ref N40.A632 1999; 5 vols.]
  • Havlice's Index to Artistic Biography [Ref N40.H38; 2 vols. published in 1973, with supplement in 1981]--approximately 80,000 artists' names listed from over 100 sources
  • Artist Biographies Master Index [Ref N40.A78 1986]--similar to BGMI, but restricted to people in the art world
  • Contemporary Artists [Ref N6490.C6567 1996]
  • Who's Who in Art [Ref N40.W6]-- people from the world of art today
  • Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Art [Ref N6490.O94]--published in 1981
  • Encyclopedia of World Art [Ref N31.E533; 17 vols. published beginning in 1959]--VERY old, but contains biographical information on artists beyond Europe and the US

Below are listed some print materials that focus on specific groups. The 4th floor Reference Stacks contain many more specialized indices, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and guides, all of which contain biographical material, so you may just want to browse the shelves yourself or check in Acorn.

AMERICAN ARTISTS: GENERAL

  • Falk's Who Was Who in American Art, 1564-1975 [Ref N6536.W563 1999; 3 vols.]--often includes citations to articles and exhibition catalogs; also useful for information on who the artist studied with and where the artist has exhibited
  • Dictionary of Artists in America, 1564-1860 (by George C. Groce and David H. Wallace for the New-York Historical Society, 1957) [Ref N6536.N4]
  • Dictionary of Contemporary American Artists [Ref N6512.C854 1994]
  • Who's Who in American Art [Ref N6536.W5]--people from the world of art today
  • Britannica Encyclopedia of American Art [Ref N6505.B73]
  • Encyclopedia of American Art Before 1914 [Ref N6507.E53 2000]

AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTISTS
  • St. James Guide to Black Artists [Ref N40.S78 1997]
  • Afro-American Artists: A Bio-bibliographic Directory [Ref N6538.N5C42]--published in 1973
  • New York Public Library's African-American Desk Reference [Ref E185.N49 1999]--very brief biographies

NATIVE AMERICAN ARTISTS

  • St. James Guide to Native North American Artists [Ref E98.A7 S8 1998]
  • Notable Native Americans [Ref E89.N67 1995]--includes brief biographies of artists
  • Contemporary Native American Artists [Stacks E98.A7 R466 1995]--very brief biographies
  • Encyclopedia of Native American Jewelry: A Guide to History, People, and Terms [Ref E98.J48 B38 2000]

BRITISH ARTISTS
  • Dictionary of British Artists 1880-1940 [Ref N6767.J63]
  • Dictionary of Artists in Britain Since 1945 [Ref N6768.B836 1998]
  • Dictionary of 18th and 19th Century Painters [Ref ND465.W38 1988]

WOMEN ARTISTS
  • Contemporary Women Artists [Ref N8354.C66 1999]
  • Dictionary of Women Artists [Ref N8354.D53 1997]--2 vols.
  • Women Artists of Color: A Bio-Critical Sourcebook to Twentieth Century Artists in the Americas [Ref N8354.W656 1999]--covers Native Americans, Latin Americans, African-Americans, Asian Pacific Americans
  • Women Artists in America [Ref N43.C64 1980]
  • Petteys' Dictionary of Women Artists: An International Dictionary of Women Artists Born Before 1900 [Ref N43.P47 1985]
  • Contemporary American Women Sculptors [Ref NB212.W37 1986]
  • American Women Sculptors [Ref NB236.R8 1990]

LATIN AMERICAN AND SPANISH ARTISTS
  • St. James Guide to Hispanic Artists: Profiles of Latino and Latin American Artists [Ref N6538.H58 S7 2002]
  • Encyclopedia of Latin American and Caribbean Art [Ref N6502.E53 2000]
  • Latin American Women Artists, Kahlo and Look Who Else: A Selective, Annotated Bibliography [Ref N6502.5.P847 1996]
  • SEE ALSO Women Artists of Color mentioned above.
  • Spanish Artists from the 4th to the 20th Centuries [Ref N7112.S636 1993]--4 vols.

FOLK ART/NAIVE ART
  • Museum of American Folk Art: Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Folk Art and Artists [Ref NK808.R6]
  • Folk Artists Biographical Index [Ref NK 805.F63 1987]--brief biographies and bibliographies
  • Self Taught, Outsider, and Folk Art [NK805.S46 2000]--located in the 8th floor Art section

ARCHITECTS
  • International Dictionary of Architects and Architecture [Ref NA40.I48 1993]--2 vols.
  • Contemporary Architects [Ref NA680.C625 1994]

DECORATIVE ARTS/DESIGN
  • Contemporary Designers [Ref NK1166.C66 1997]
  • Penguin Dictionary of the Decorative Arts [Ref NK30.F597 1989]

PHOTOGRAPHERS
  • The Photography Encyclopedia [Ref TR9.M39 1999]
  • An Illustrated Bio-Bibliography of Black Photographers 1940-1988 [Ref TR139.W56 1989]
  • Macmillan Biographical Encyclopedia of Photographic Artists and Innovators [Ref TR139.B767 1983]
  • Contemporary Photographers [Ref TR139.C663 1995]

 

Other Information about Artists:

  • Books for Artists' Signatures, Monograms, and Marks
  • Art Auction Information (online and print resources)
  • Art Appraisal

 


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