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How to Search
When researching art, there are a variety of strategies you can employ to locate information. While famous works of art may have entire books about them, lesser-known works may only be found within books about a particular artist, type of work, or specialized collection. These search strategies will help you find information about art.
By Work
If you know the name of your work, you can search that as a keyword or an anywhere search in our search tools (such as the library catalog and the library databases).
To keep the name of a work together, you can use quotation marks. You may wish to add your artist's name after the word AND.
Examples:
- "Anger of Achilles"
- Gleaners AND Millet
By Artist
Many books will cover an artist's oeuvre or multiple works. These books can sometimes give you valuable background information about their techniques, influences, and common themes. You can search for books or articles about an artist by searching for your artist's name.
Examples:
- Michelangelo
- Salvador Dali
By Time Period or Theme
You can also try searching for art from specific time periods. Often works produced around the same time might use the same materials or techniques. Combine the word art or a type of art with a time period.
Examples:
- Art, Renaissance
- Painting, Renaissance
- Sculpture, Renaissance
- Art, Baroque
- Art, Rococo
- Art, Romanesque
- Art, Victorian
- Art, Modern
- Modernism (Art)
By Location
Finally, you may wish to search for art based on a specific country or region. In the following examples you can replace Art with a specific type of art, such as Painting or Sculpture.
Examples:
- American sculpture
- Italian painting
- French art