ARH101: Approaches to Visual Representation
Writing Art/Art Writing
Spring 2008 - Frazer Ward
Reference Contact: Barbara Polowy x2941

GETTING STARTED

Art & Architecture and Dance Library Subject Pages
Provides links to online resources covering a wide variety of topics (some available only to members of the Smith College community).

Hillyer Art Library
Website provides information about art library collections and services including a browsing guide to the collections.

Barker, Joe. Critical Evaluation of Resources. University of California Berkeley Library. Last updated October 1, 2007.
Available at: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Evaluation.html

Reference Sources

Art Reference N31.D5 1996 and Groveart.com, the online version
The Dictionary of Art. New York: Grove's Dictionaries, 1996.
Includes 45,000 articles on every aspect of the visual arts from prehistory to the present -- on major art movements (Impressionism, Realism), individual artists (Edgar Degas), specific places (Paris), monuments, media and materials, themes and subjects (Urban Life, The Modern City). The more than 20,000 artist entries include biographical, critical, and contextual information. Each article is supplemented by a bibliography of major primary and secondary sources and usually includes links to illustrations available on the Internet.

Josten Reference ML1727.8.P2 P5 1983
Pitou, Spire. The Paris Opéra: An Encyclopedia of Operas, Ballets, Composers, and Performers. 3 vols. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1983.

FINDING BOOKS & CATALOGS

Five College Library Catalog
The online catalog provides access to the combined library holdings of Smith, Amherst, Hampshire, and Mount Holyoke Colleges, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Useful "subject begins with" headings for finding books and catalogs for ARH101 assignments are:

• [artist/other personal name] e.g., Degas, Edgar, 1834-1917
  Note sub-headings: catalogues raisonnés | criticism and interpretation | exhibitions
• Painting, French -- 19th century | Painting, modern -- 19th century
  Arts, modern -- 19th century -- France
• Painting, French -- Japanese influences | Art and Photography
• Impressionism (Art) | Realism in Art
• Dance in art | Ballet in art | Women in art
• France -- history -- Third Republic, 1870-1940
  Paris (France) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
• Ballet -- France -- History | Dance -- France -- History
  Ballet -- Costume -- History | Ballets -- Stories, plots, etc.
• Opéra de Paris | Opéra de Paris. Ballet -- History

Museum Collection Documentation

N6750 .S67 2000
Davis, John, and Jaroslaw Leshko. The Smith College Museum of Art: European and American Painting and Sculpture, 1760-1960. New York: Hudson Hill Press, 2000.

N6505 .S545 1999
Muehlig, Linda, ed. Masterworks of American Painting and Sculpture from the Smith College Museum of Art. New York: Hudson Hills Press; Northampton, Mass.: Smith College Museum of Art, 1999.

Smith College Museum of Art. Five College Museums & Historic Deerfield Collections Database.

Use these "subject begins with" headings in the Five College Library Catalog to find museum publications:

• Collection Catalogs: [museum name]--Catalogs
  e.g., Smith College. Museum of Art -- Catalogs
• Exhibition Catalogs: [museum name]--Exhibitions
  e.g., Smith College. Museum of Art -- Exhibitions

FINDING ARTICLES IN JOURNALS & MAGAZINES

Art Abstracts and Art Index Retrospective
These two databases cover all aspects of the visual arts providing access to articles, exhibition reviews, and reproductions published in over 400 art magazines, journals, and museum newsletters and bulletins published throughout the world. Art Abstracts covers 1984 to the present, Art Index Retrospective covers 1929 to 1984.

Academic Search Premier (EBSCO)
A good cross-disciplinary source, providing indexing and some full text for over 4,500 scholarly publications in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences from 1965 to present.

International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance
"Index to journal articles, books, book articles and dissertation abstracts on all aspects of theatre and performance in 126 countries" as well as full text for 100 core theatre and dance journals, plus selected books from 1982 to the present.

WRITING YOUR PAPER

N7476 .B37 2003
Barnet, Sylvan. A Short Guide to Writing About Art. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 2003.
Earlier editions are available in the stacks at the same call number.

To find more guides to writing about art, search the Five College Library Catalog using the "subject begins with" heading: Art criticism -- Authorship

Citation Formats for Bibliographies and Notes

Style Manuals & Citation Guides. Smith College Libraries. January 25, 2008.
Links to online versions MLA, Chicago, and other popular manuals for writing papers, preparing manuscripts, and formatting footnote and bibliography citations.

Art Reference Z253 .U69 2003 Online Edition
The Chicago Manual of Style. 15th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
Completely searchable online version of this important style manual, providing quick answers to style, editing, and citation format questions (for print and electronic sources).

Neilson Reference Desk PN171 .F56 W35 2006
Walker, Janice R., and Todd Taylor. The Columbia Guide to Online Style. 2nd ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2006.
"Presents a guide to locating, translating, and using the elements of citation for both a humanities style (i.e., MLA and Chicago) and a scientific style (APA and CBE) for electronically-accessed sources."

CONTACT THE REFERENCE LIBRARIAN

Contact Barbara Polowy, the art librarian and instructor for your library session: bpolowy@email.smith.edu, Hillyer Hall 121, X2941.

COMMENTS & QUESTIONS

Click here to provide feedback on this library session and follow up with any questions about topics covered in the class.

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