Art History Databases and Indexes

The following databases tend to be the first places that an art historian or art scholar might look to begin researching a topic in art history.  Each of these databases has its limitations in that they only cover a certain area of art history or visual culture or they are difficult to use.  However, these are the databases (although by no means the only ones) that one tends to find at universities with art history programs.

Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA), which has been succeeded by the International Bibliography of Art, covers material published on art history between the years 1975 and 2007.  It indexes over 1000 journals, published in various languages and covering numerous subject areas, from ancient art and archaeology to contemporary art. On the whole, it seems more focused on fine art as traditionally defined.  In 2007, the International Bibliography of Art succeeded BHA and covers work published from 2007 onward.  The entries provided abstracts of articles. I have found that BHA tends to be too narrow and is strongest in art history fields before the twentieth century.

Artbibliographies Modern focuses on modern and contemporary art and visual culture and features both English language and international publications.  They define modern and contemporary art as work made between the late 19^th century and the present.  The database includes both journals and books that were published from the late 1960s to the present and provides abstracts of the entries.  This database tends to cast a wide net but its interface is unpleasant to use. 

Art Full Text provides articles published from 1977 to the present on art history and visual culture.  Although it has a smaller pool of journals, it provides immediate access to the articles it indexes.  It indexes journals from the early 1970s and covers a wide area of art history and visual culture from ancient art and archaeology to mass media and popular culture.  This is a nice index because it provides easy access to articles but it also tends to be too narrow in its coverage.

Worldcat provides the broadest reach of any of the databases and is not exclusive to art.  Worldcat includes books, articles, visual material, and archival materials.  It is most useful for casting a wide net and to find obscure materials that would not be covered in the more subject-based databases.  It covers libraries from all over the world and provides detailed entries and information about a resource and its location.  When I can’t find something easily in another database that I know exists, this is the database I use.

Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals is probably the definitive source for material published on architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture and design from all over the world.  It indexes articles from over 2000 journals and covers materials published from the 1930s to the present. 

Dyabola Project focuses on ancient art and archaeology of the classical world.  It began as a bibliography but has expanded to include object databases such as the “Census of Antique Works of Art and Architecture known in the Renaissance” and indexes to the collections of important German museums of Classical art and architecture, subject catalogues to literature and catalogs to various libraries focusing on the ancient world.  This is a database that is heavily focused on German museums and libraries but it is often held up as one of the best databases for classical art and architecture.  It is also a database for scholars and is difficult to use for the novice to navigate.