Reference Resources for Art & Architecture

Major On-line Reference Resources

Grove Art Online A comprehensive illustrated encyclopedia of the history of the visual arts worldwide, including architecture and photography, based on the 36 vol. Dictionary of Art (edited by Jane Turner), and regularly updated. Articles have extensive bibliographies.
Oxford Reference Access to the full-text of a number of Oxford University Press reference works including Dictionaries of Art, Architecture and Landscape Architecture, and Modern Design.
Xrefer Art & Architecture Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, etc. Supplies the full-text of a collection of art reference books including the Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms, and images from the Bridgeman Art Library.

Art Sales Catalogues On-line A full-text database of the catalogues in Lugt's Rèpetoire des catalogues des ventes publiques. Covers the period from 1600–1926. The user can search by Lugt number, year of sale, place of sale, provenance, auction house, content, and even the libraries who hold the printed auction catalogs.
Artnet A database which lists auction sale results of over 180,000 artists ranging from Old Masters to Contemporary Artists. The database goes back to 1985 and often includes a color thumb nail of the work of art which can be enlarged. The images are accompanied by information on each work including artist, title, date, medium, size, where sold, estimated and actual selling price. Click “Login” for access.
Getty Provenance Index Databases Indexes European archival documents and sales catalogs, and American and British Public Collections to facilitate research into the provenance of pre-twentieth-century art works.
SCIPIO Catalogs art auction and rare book catalogs for sales from the late-sixteenth century to scheduled auctions not yet held. Records include the dates and places of sales, the auction houses, sellers, institutional holdings, and titles of works.

archINFORM Focusing primarily on twentieth-century architecture, this database includes information on over over 14,000 built and unrealized projects from various international architects and planners
The Great Buildings Collection Architecture reference site that includes documentation on a range of buildings and architecture.
McGraw Hill Construction, includes the on-line version of the Sweets product catalog, as well as news and other features.
MAD CAD Building Codes on-line, including all International Code COuncil Codes from 2000 to the present, BOCA and UBC codes and NFPA (National Fire Protection Association), among others. Click “LOGIN” to access. Limited to two simultaneous users, please remember to log out.
Reed Design Registry, formerly ProFile, a directory of AIA affiliated architects and firms.

African American Artists on Disc, via CITRIX
Biographical Dictionary of Kansas Artists (active before 1945) A PDF dictionary of visual artists (excluding architects and photographers) active in Kansas before 1945, prepared by Susan V. Craig.
Census of Antique Art and Architecture Known in the Renaissance A database recording antique monuments and works of art known to the Renaissance, as well as the Renaissance written and pictorial sources that document these objects. Also includes bibliographic information, location, style, and related details. Based in the Kunsthistorisches Seminar of the Humboldt University of Berlin
The Dictionary of Art Historians A biographical dictionary of prominent art historians
Index of Christian Art (Princeton University). An iconographical database of Christian art work from aposotlic times to the 1400's. Many of the records include images and bibliographical references.
Woman Artists on Disc, via CITRIX

Contemporary Artists Index from The Cleveland Institute of Art. Indexes artists whose work appears in collective exhibition catalogs published since 1991.
National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUMC)
Smithsonian Institute Research Information System (SIRIS) Access to Smithsonian collections and specialized bibliographies and databases. Specific resources include:
- Smithsonian Archives of American Art Primary source material for the history of American art from colonial times to the present.
- Pre-1877 Art Exhibition Catalogue Index (AECI) from the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
The Print Council Index to Oeuvre-Catalogues of Prints by European and American Artists

Art and Archaeology Technical Abstracts (AATA) Abstracts of International Conservation Literature
The Bibliographic Database of Conservation Information Network (BCIN) “the Web's most complete bibliographic resource for the conservation, preservation and restoration of cultural property.” Part of the Canadian Heritage Information Network. Coverage begins in the mid-1960s.

Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) The Getty Institute's structured vocabulary for the description of art and architecture.
Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names (TGN) Lists place names important for the study of the history of art and archicture, includes information on place-type, variant names, amd coordinates.
Multilingual Glossary for Art Librarians A glossary of terms relevant to art librarianship in Dutch, French, English, Italian, Spanish, and Swedish.
Union List of Artists' Names (ULAN) A structured vocabularly from the Getty that indicates the prefered forms of artists' names, along with variants, pseudonymns, etc. Also contains basic biographical and bibliographic information.

Architecture Internet Resources, an extensive guide to architectural information on the web; covers primarily architecture, building, construction,and AEC sites, and, to a lesser extent, design, real estate, housing, urban,energy, and environment sites; maintained by University of Nevada,Las Vegas Libraries.
Artsource, Internet guide to general resources, programs, bibliographies, etc in art and architecture; maintained by Interactive Learning Paradigm, Inc.
Art History Resources on the Web A comprehensive and up-to-date site maintained by Christopher L.C.E. Witcombe, Sweet Briar College.
The Voice of the Shuttle, a guide to online resources in the humanities, including architecture, art history, and contemporary art, maintained by Alan Liu and the University of California-Santa Barbara English Department.