Art Resources and Museums

Art History Resources on the Web: http://witcombe.sbc.edu/ARTHLinks.html
Dr. Christopher Witcomb, an art history professor at Sweet Briar College, Virginia, has compiled a list of links to websites on the art of many cultures and countries. There are also links to museums and galleries around the world. Although the website plugs his two books (and has some dead links), it is a good resource.

Artcyclopedia: The Guide to Great Art on the Internet: http://www.artcyclopedia.com/
Even though this is a commercial site, it is worth reviewing. For example, you can find the location of a particular work of art in a museum or public art gallery. You can browse artistic movements e.g. Impressionism to find the artists within that movement e.g. Monet. The links will lead to information on Monet and his fellow artists. You can buy a poster of one of Monet's works if you like. Bonus: You can find essays such as "Collecting for Passion or Investment."

Art Index: http://bellevuecollege.edu/lmc/periodicals.html
This database is available to current BC students, staff and faculty. It offers indexing of an international array of peer-selected publications covering art, new artists, contemporary art, exhibition reviews, and feminist criticism. In addition to articles, this database indexes reproductions of works of art that appear in indexed periodicals. Subjects covered include Architecture and Architectural History, Art History, Decorative Arts, Fashion Design, Graphic Arts, Industrial Design, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture, Non-Western Art, Photography, Textiles. Although it does not give the full text of an article, it does list the databases in which the article can be found.

Art Source: http://www.ilpi.com/artsource/
ArtSource was created by Interactive Learning Paradigms Incorporated and appears to be kept up to date. This eclectic website gives links to a variety of artistic media including architecture, ceramics, images and "new media" etc. The headings include the following: Art and Architecture Libraries, Virtual Ceramics Project, Art-Related Organizations, Art-related journals online, Architecture Resources, Museums and Organizations.

ARTstor: http://bellevuecollege.edu/lmc/periodicals.html
This database is available to current BCC students, staff and faculty. "ARTstor contains thousands of digital images, primarily photographs of artwork found in galleries and museums from around the world. The ARTstor Library's initial content includes approximately 500,000 images covering art, architecture and archeology." The ARTstor database allows you to zoom in on images, save images for presentations and other features."

Ball State Museum of Art: http://www.bsu.edu/artmuseum/dido/
"DIDO, or Digital Images Delivered Online, is an ongoing project to provide high quality images of the 11,000 artworks in the Ball State University Museum of Art collection in a searchable database. There are now approximately 1,000 images available. As the project continues additional images from the museum's collection, covering a range of six continents and 5,000 years of culture, will be added."

The Burke Museum at the University of Washington: http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/
The Burke Museum at U.W. has been a Seattle treasure for 125 years. The Museum may be best known for its collections on Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest such as basketry and other artifacts. However, the Museum also has a global perspective. Major exhibits at the Museum are mounted regularly and information from past exhibits is available online.

Experience Music Project (EMP): http://www.empsfm.org/index.asp
The primary focus of the EMP is music, primarily rock music with an emphasis on Jimi Hendrix. The EMP offers a wide variety of activities including the on-site exhibitions and educational programs. The EMP now permanently houses the Science Fiction Hall of Fame for creators in the science fiction genre.

Frye Art Museum: http://fryemuseum.org
The Frye Art Museum opened in Seattle in 1952. Their website gives information on their collections and educational programs. The Frye Museum is a Seattle gem and has both a permanent collection and a number of major exhibitions.

Getty Museum and Research Institute: http://www.getty.edu/
This website covers both the Getty Center Los Angeles, the Getty Villa Malibu, the Conservation Institute, the Getty Foundation, the Museum and educational activities. If you ever have a chance to go to the Getty Center, take it!

Great Buildings Online: http://www.greatbuildings.com/gbc.html
"This gateway to architecture around the world and across history documents a thousand buildings and hundreds of leading architects with photographic images and architectural drawings, integrated maps and timelines, 3D building models, commentaries, bibliographies, web links, and more, for famous designers and structures of all kinds." This is an excellent resource if you can ignore the commercial ads.

Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington: http://www.henryart.org/
The website gives information on the current exhibits, educational activities and events. In addition, the Henry has just opened a "Digital Interactive Gallery" after digitizing over 11,000 items in their permanent collection.

Louvre Art Museum: http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en
"The Louvre museum houses more than 6,000 European paintings dating from the end of the XIIIth century to the mid XIXth century, in a wide variety of genres and formats, from miniatures to monumental canvases, and offering encyclopedic diversity." Other categories include Oriental, Egyptian, Etruscan, Greek and Roman antiquities, sculptures, Islamic art, objects d'art, prints and drawings, arts and civilizations of Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas. Photographs of the Mona Lisa (16th century) and the Venus de Milo (100 BC) are examples of great art placed on this web site. Online Bonus: no crowds.

Metropolitan Museum of Art: http://www.metmuseum.org/
The Met has a robust database with an extensive amount of information online. The content includes the current, upcoming and past exhibitions, over 140,000 images of art from the permanent collection and timelines of art in various cultures over time. The website also covers its branch called the Cloisters. The Cloisters is "devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe … both domestic and religious that date from the twelfth through the fifteenth century." There are also a number of educational opportunities at the Met for those planning their next visit to New York.

Museums Around the World: http://icom.museum/vlmp/world.html
This web site is an "eclectic collection of museums around the world.... Most museums in this list are categorized by country/continent." Museums range from those in Afghanistan to Yemen but omit some countries such as Sweden. The site has some 'dead' links. Still, it's worth the trip.

Museum of Glass: http://www.museumofglass.org/
Mix a little history with your art and spend a day in Tacoma. You can take in the Museum of Contemporary Glass Art, the Tacoma Art Museum and the Washington State History Museum all in one day on a discounted price. For those with stamina and true grit, you can also visit the Karpeles Manuscript Museum across the street from Wright Park. (For the exotic plant buffs, don't miss the Conservatory in Wright Park.)

Museum Listing by State: http://www.museumca.org/usa/
This web site lists museums in the USA by state, type as well as alphabetically by name. The list for Washington State includes the replica of Stonehenge at Goldendale on the Columbia River which is slightly mis-aligned astronomically as compared to the original Stonehenge in the U.K. If you go to the Maryhill Museum itself, check out the Rodin sculptures and the Native American baskets in the museum basement. The cafe is pretty good, too. Be sure to eat outside if it's nice.

National Gallery of Art: http://www.nga.gov/home.htm
The best use of this website might be to plan your trip there. However, there are some well-done slideshows that focus on individual works such as Vermeer's Woman Holding a Balance. This Gallery was chosen by Georgia O'Keefe to house the Steiglitz collection of photographs as Stieglitz considered photography a "fine art."

National Portrait Gallery (NPG): http://www.npg.si.edu/
"The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery tells the stories of America through the individuals who have shaped U.S. culture. Through the visual arts, performing arts, and new media, the Portrait Gallery portrays poets and presidents, visionaries and villains, actors and activists who speak American history." If you visit it in Washington, D. C., it's free. Otherwise, check them out on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc.

National Museum of African Art: http://www.nmafa.si.edu/index2.html
"As the cradle of humanity, Africa is a part of everyone's heritage. The National Museum of African Art is dedicated to advancing an appreciation and understanding of Africa's rich visual arts and diverse cultures." This is one of the Smithsonian Museums.

Seattle Art Museum (SAM): http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/
The Seattle Art Museum is made up of the SAM Downtown, the Asian Art Museum (on Capitol Hill) and the Olympic Sculpture Park (near the downtown waterfront). SAM provides many cultural activities including lecture, film series, family events, performances and teen programs. If you visit a major exhibit at SAM, find out the days and times for the docent-led tours.

Smithsonian Museums: http://www.si.edu/
The Smithsonian is "the world's largest museum complex and research organization composed of 19 museums, 9 research centers, and the National Zoo." This is a master list of museums at the Smithsonian which includes the Smithsonian Art Museum. The Smithsonian also includes IMAX Theatre, the Discovery Theatre and the Einstein Planetarium. Use this website to plan your trip before you leave for Washington, D.C.

Tacoma Art Museum: http://www.tacomaartmuseum.org/
The Tacoma Art Museum continues to mount innovative shows of major artists such as Picasso as well as lesser-known artists. The TAC now holds the largest public collection of Chihuly Glass. This collection features examples from many of Chihuly's major series of works: Baskets, Sea Forms, Cylinders, Macchia, Persians, and Venetians." The Museum is near the Museum of Glass and the Washington State History Museum.

Finding Images

AltaVista Image Search: http://www.altavisa.com
Studying a particular artist? Find web sources, image and news on your artist.

ARTstor: http://bellevuecollege.edu/lmc/periodicals.html
Here is a plethora of images for educational use.

Bridgeman Art, Culture & History Images: http://www.bridgemanart.com
You can register for free and look at their extensive and remarkable collection.

Corbis: http://www.corbis.com
Bonus: Black and white photo gallery of Ansel Adams works. It is a commercial site but free to look!

Google Image Search: http://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en
The Life Photo Archive is included!

How to Find Images on the Web: http://www.oberlin.edu/library/art/research/findingimages.html
Oberlin College Library supports this collection of links to images. The sections include the following: "Search Engines, Images of People, Places & Things, Popular Culture, Portraits, Science, War Posters, Fine Art and Moving Images." Some of these are commercial databases.

Image and Sound Database: http://sunsite2.berkeley.edu:8088/ERF/servlet/ERFmain?cmd=searchResType&resTypeId=14
Amazing! This database has a long list of links to many different types of still images, moving images and sound. Look and see!

Search 22 Picture and Image Search Engines: http://www.search-22.com/downloads/images.php
Search 22 search engines at once. There are also links to additional image search engines as well as photo searches, clipart and pictures for sale.

Yahoo Image Search: http://www.yahoo.com
Have fun!