History of Art
A guide to basic research in History of Art at the University of Michigan.
Quick Links
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Art Source with Art Index RetrospectiveA comprehensive resource for art information featuring full text of over 750 periodicals and indexing back to 1929.
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U-M Library Articles SearchUse Articles Search to locate scholarly and popular articles, as well as reference works and materials from open access archives.
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ARTstorNow part of JStor, provides over 1.5 million digital images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and sciences.
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Artstor Across DisciplinesNow part of JStor, a Research Guide developed by Artstor with helpful suggestions for finding and using images across disciplines.
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Fine Arts LibraryProvided is basic information about the library such as current hours, staffing, maps, and accessibility.
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International Bibliography of ArtIndex to scholarly literature on Western art, incorporating journal articles, monographs, essay collections, and conference proceedings.
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U-M Library Catalog SearchCatalog Search results will include everything in our physical collection (books, audio, video, maps, musical scores, archival materials, and more), as well as materials available online such as electronic books, streaming audio and video, and online journals.
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U-M Library SearchUse Library Search to see results from the catalog, articles, databases, online journals and library website pages.
Other Research Guides
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ArchitectureProvides access to resources related to the study of architecture, construction, and building systems.
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Locating Archives and ManuscriptsProvides an overview of strategies for locating primary sources, including archival and manuscript material.
Finding Articles - General Databases
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Library Articles SearchLibrary Articles Search provides full-text access to electronic journal articles in a variety of subjects including history of art.
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Google Scholar @ U-M (with U-M Ann Arbor MGet It Links)Searches for scholarly documents on the web, with the added feature of "Availability at U-Michigan" links.
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Humanities and Social Sciences Index (with Abstracts and Full Text)Indexes and abstracts articles from more than 300 humanities publications. Each record contains a bibliographic citation for an article, book review, or other item in a journal. Full text is included for many articles.
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JSTORProvides full-text access to the archives of core scholarly journals in the arts, humanities, social sciences and sciences.
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Project MuseFull-text access to over 100 scholarly journals in the arts and humanities.
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Proquest Research LibraryIndexes over 5,000 journals and magazines covering all fields and topics, academic and popular, beginning as early as 1971.
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OmniFile Full Text SelectOmniFile Full Text, Select Edition is a multi-disciplinary database providing indexing, abstracts, and full text for all full text articles from 2,700+ different journals and periodicals included in 11 databases formerly published by H. W. Wilson Company.
Finding Articles - Art History Databases
A comprehensive list of MLibrary's databases and indexes that relate to the humanities and more specifically art history can be found on Library Search.
The following databases and indexes are a good place to start your research.
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ARTBibliographies Modern (ABM)This database is the only specialist bibliography available for the study of modern and contemporary art. Covers all art forms, from painting, sculpture and photography to video, body art and graffiti. Full abstracts and indexing from the late 1960s onwards
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Art Source with Art Index RetrospectiveCovers fine, decorative and commercial art, folk art, photography, film, and architecture, and also includes a database-specific thesaurus.Art Source was developed from a merger of EBSCO Publishing's Art & Architecture Complete database and H.W. Wilson's Art Full Text database, and includes many unique sources that were never previously available online.
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Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA & RILA)These citation databases, searchable together, cover history of art material published between 1975 and 2007. Articles are taken from over 1200 journals, exhibition catalogues, theses and dissertations. Material published after 2007 is available through other U-M Library journal databases.
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CAA Reviewscritical reviews of books, exhibitions, and projects in all areas and periods of art history and visual studies
published by the College Art Association
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International Bibliography of ArtThe International Bibliography of Art (IBA) is an index to scholarly literature on Western art and art history, incorporating journal articles, monographs, essay collections, and conference proceedings. It is a successor database to the Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA). IBA includes citations for works published or indexed from 2008 through the present.
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ARLIS/NA ReviewsBook reviews written by members of the Art Libraries Society of North America.
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Oxford Art OnlineOnline version of the comprehensive art reference work covering all forms of the visual arts: painting, sculpture, architecture, graphic and decorative arts, and photography, from prehistory to the 1990s. Includes 41,000 articles and 10,000 color images.
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SmarthistoryA Public Art History Resource
Finding Articles - Selected Art History Journals
These titles are a sample of the history of art journals located in the Fine Arts Library. They also represent a sample of the many subjects within the discipline.
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African ArtsPublished by UCLA, this journal covers the arts and visual culture of the African continent.
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American ArtPublished by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American Art in Washington, DC.
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The Art BulletinPublished by the College Art Association
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Art HistoryPublished by Basil Blackwell
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The Art NewspaperInternational Edition, published in London, provides news of international art world.
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MargA journal of South Asian art and architecture, published in Mumbai.
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Das MunsterA journal of Christian Art and Symbolism, published in Munich.
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OrientationsA journal published in Hong Kong explores Asian art and culture.
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Revue de l'ArtPublished by the Comité français d'histoire de l'art
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SimiolusPublished in Maarssen, this journal covers Dutch art history.
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TableauA fine arts magazine published in Utrecht and global in scope.
Open Access Articles
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Arthistoricum.netSupports the open and free of charge access to academic information on the internet, and also electronic publishing in Open Access.
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British Art StudiesProvides an innovative space for new, peer-reviewed scholarship on all aspects of British art, architecture and visual culture
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Journal for Art Market StudiesAn academic peer-reviewed open-access journal for current international research on the art market of all periods.
Interlibrary Loan
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Interlibrary LoanIf you are unable to find the article you need through U-M Library try requesting it through Interlibrary Loan. Interlibrary Loan obtains items that are not available at the University of Michigan Library for the study and research of the University's patrons, including: books, dissertations, and microforms, copies of periodical articles or short sections of books.
Finding Dissertations
For information regarding access to dissertations please use the resource Acquiring U.S. Dissertations from the Library's Interlibrary Loan Service.
You may also want to visit the following sites:
Fine Arts Library -- Basic Information (including hours and accessibility)

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260 Tappan Hall
855 S. University Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1357
855 S. University Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1357
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734 764 5405 (p)
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Last Updated: Oct 27, 2025 2:16 PM
Subjects: Arts