The Art Institute of Chicago
Databases A-Z

A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   XYZ 

Unless otherwise noted, these resources are available at the Art Institute of Chicago, the SAIC campus, or from other locations with an ARTIC username and password.


Abstracts of International Conservation Literature

A freely-available, comprehensive database of over 100,000 abstracts of literature related to the preservation and conservation of material cultural heritage.

Types of material covered: Journal articles and conference proceedings

Dates covered:
1932 to the present
 


Academic Search Premier

Indexes scholarly and trade articles, many full text, in all academic subjects including: arts & literature, humanities, social sciences, education, computer sciences, language and linguistics, medical sciences, ethnic studies and more.

Types of material covered: Journal articles only.

Dates covered: 1975 to the present.


Allgemeines Kunsterlexikon

This international biographical database of artists contains more than a million artist entries. The database covers painters, graphic designers, sculptors, architects, designers, photographers, calligraphers, craftsmen and many more.


America: History and Life

Provides bibliographic access to over 2,000 international, state and local history journals covering the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. For coverage of world history, excluding the United States and Canada, use Historical Abstracts.

Types of material covered: Journal articles, book reviews, and dissertations.

Dates covered: 1964 to the present.


Anthropology Plus

Combines Anthropological Literature, the citation database of Harvard University's Tozzer Library, with the British Museum's Anthropological Index, providing access to over 2,500 journals and edited works. Useful for African and Native American art.

Types of material covered: Journals, edited works, and monographic series.

Dates covered: Selected late 19th century literature to the present.


ArchiveGrid

This union catalog of archival collections is a combination of nearly a million descriptive records for individual collections and the full text of over 48,000 finding aids (detailed collection guides or inventories) from international libraries and archives.


Art Full Text & Art Retrospective (Art Index)

Provides citations, abstracts, and selected full-text coverage to a wide range of international art journals, giving general coverage of most art topics and periods. In addition, they index reproductions of works of art that appear in indexed periodicals.


Art Institute Publications

Full text of periodicals and exhibition catalogs published by the museum.


Art Sales Catalogues Online

Digitized copies of selected art sales catalogues from 1600-1900. Art Sales Catalogues also includes the complete Lugt's RĂ©pertoire online database. 

Access note: Free access. Available to everyone. 


Art Sales Index (Hislop's)

Provides access to over 3.5 million entries for fine art sold at auction. Items qualify for entry when they exceed a certain starting price. "Bought-in" works are only included starting in 2008.

Access note: Free access. Available to Everyone. 


ArtBibliographies Modern

Provides annotated citations on modern and contemporary art from the 19th century to the present, including photography, performance art and installation works, video art, computer and electronic art, body art, artists' books, jewelry, as well as the traditional fine arts of painting, printmaking, sculpture, and drawing.


Artfact

Provides unedited auction information on over 4 million items sold from more than 250 major auction houses worldwide. Many records are illustrated.

Access note: Reference desk access only.





Artists' Signatures

Allows one to see hand-copied signatures by artist name or do reverse look-ups by initials or monograms. Incorporates the contents of all 10 of John Castagno's signature books as well as additional corrections and unprinted research.

Dates covered: Provides signatures for artists working from 1400 to the present. International in scope.


ArtNet

Contains over 2 million illustrated fine art auction records from more than 500 major auction houses. The database excludes works that fail to meet certain attribution and price criteria, i.e., single prints, photographs, posters, books, and ceramics with a low estimate below $300.00; artists with a qualified name. e.g. after, attributed to, circle of, school of, studio of, etc.

Access note: On-campus access only.


ArtPrice

Contains over 4 million auction entries from over 2,900 auction houses worldwide. The database includes all auction listings regardless of attribution and price.

Access note: Reference desk access only. 


ARTstor

Includes an Image Gallery, a growing survey of major works of art, as well as specialized image collections such as The Illustrated Bartsch and the Digital Design Collection from the Museum of Modern Art's Department of Architecture and Design.

Types of material covered: Images of paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings, photographs, and decorative arts from around the world.

Dates covered: Art from all eras.

Technical Tip: ARTstor works best with the Firefox browser.


askART

Provides biographical and professional data on over 120,000 American artists from the early 16th century through the present.

Types of material covered: Images, biographies, and auction records


Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals

An index to journal articles on architectural design, history and practice, landscape architecture, historic preservation, interior design, and urban planning. More than 2,800 current and ceased US and foreign journal titles are indexed. In 2004 journal citations from the 10 volume Burnham Index to Architectural Literature were added. Monographic, AIC scrapbook, and Burnham Library Architectural Archives microfilm (Microfilm 1973 1) references from the Burnham Index are not included in Avery.

Types of material covered: Journal articles only.

Dates covered: 1930s to the present; selective coverage dating back to the 1860s.