Researching an Artwork

Searching the artist using the Grove Art Online: “Grove Art Online is today's foremost scholarly art encyclopedia covering all aspects of Western and non-Western visual art. It includes the full text of The Dictionary of Art, edited by Jane Turner (1996, 34 volumes) – the landmark reference work containing more than 45,000 articles (more than 21,000 biographies and 500,000 bibliographical citations) contributed by 6,700 scholars from 120 countries. Grove Art Online is maintained with a regular update program to articles and bibliographies. Each year, new articles are added to enhance the coverage of significant areas of the visual arts with the participation of more than 1,000 international art historians. All new content continues to be written and peer reviewed by scholars and specialists.” You can access the Grove Art Online from the Purdue Libraries Website: Grove Art Online

Munch, Edvard (b Løten, Hedmark, 12 Dec 1863; d Oslo, 23 Jan 1944). Norwegian painter, printmaker and draughtsman. Especially concerned with the expressive representation of emotions and personal relationships, he was associated with the international development of Symbolism during the 1890s and recognized as a precursor of Expressionism, particularly in his paintings and woodcuts. 1. Childhood and early work, to 1884. 2. The Kristiania Bohème and the first one-man exhibition, 1884–9. 3. Paris, 1889–92. 4. Berlin and the major cycles, 1892–1907. 5. 1908–44. Writings A. Eggum, ed.: Munch, Edvard/Schiefler, Gustav: Briefwechsel, 1902–14 (Hamburg, 1987) Bibliography Monographs R. Heller: Munch: His Life and Work (Chicago and London, 1984) Specialist studies E. Hoffmann: ‘Some Sources for Munch’s Symbolism’, Apollo, 81 (1965), pp. 87–93 Exhibition catalogues Edvard Munch: Master Prints from the Epstein Family Collection (exh. cat., Washington, DC, N.G.A., 1990–91) Reinhold Heller The Dictionary of Art will provide you with a biography of the artist. Make a list of Keywords - Symbolism -Expressionism Etc. It will also provide you with a bibliography Make a list of books you need to consult The author of the article is mentioned at the bottom of the page

2. Searching the Library catalogue: Search the catalogue using the artist’s name, the keywords you have identified, and the books listed in the dictionary of art You can access the Catalogue from the Purdue Libraries Website Purdue West Lafayette Libraries Catalog

Searching the catalogue can be very frustrating. Be persistent. Refine your search by format material, topic, etc. When searching books, pay attention to the date and the publisher, and take this information into account.

Most of the art history books are located in the 3rd floor of the HSSE Library Write down the information so that you can find the book

3. Searching OCLC World Cat: “WorldCat is the world's largest network of library content and services. WorldCat libraries are dedicated to providing access to their resources on the Web, where most people start their search for information.” You can access World Cat from the home page of Purdue Libraries Website

Requesting book via Interlibrary Loan: “Interlibrary Loan supports the instructional, research, and scholarly activities of currently employed or enrolled West Lafayette faculty, staff, and students by obtaining research material not owned by the Purdue University Libraries.” You can access the Interlibrary Loan Library at: https://www.lib.purdue.edu/services/interlibrary-loan

Use the bibliography in the books: The best and easiest way to research an artist is to find a book with a good bibliography that list all the books and articles written on the artist. The more recent the book, the more complete the bibliography will be. Catalogues Raisonnés and catalogues of retrospective exhibition are generally the best place to start. Dissertations and thesis, if available, will usually have a very extensive bibliography (see below).

You can access JSTOR from the Purdue Libraries Website: JSTOR 6. Searching on JSTOR: “JSTOR is a not–for–profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive of over one thousand academic journals and other scholarly content. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.” “JSTOR offers a high-quality, interdisciplinary archive to support scholarship and teaching. It includes archives of leading academic journals across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, as well as select monographs and other materials valuable for academic work. The entire corpus is full-text searchable, offers search term highlighting, includes high-quality images, and is interlinked by millions of citations and references.” You can access JSTOR from the Purdue Libraries Website: JSTOR

7. Searching the Dissertation and Thesis PQDT: “Index of theses and dissertations from U.S. and international universities.” You can access Dissertation and Thesis from the Purdue Libraries Website: Dissertations and Thesis

8. Other useful Databases: Art Bibliographies Modern For 19th -20th centuries Art Index/ Full Text For all periods and cultures Arts & Humanities Citation Index Vital for bibliographic and intellectual mapping You can access these databases from the Purdue Libraries Website: Art and Humanities Databases

9. Contact a research specialist: Jean-Pierre Hérubel, Ph.D. M.L.S. Associate Collections and Art, Anthropology/Archaeology, & Philosophy Librarian Professor of Library Science  HSSE Library Purdue University Phone:  (765) 494-2832 E-mail:  jpvmh@purdue.edu “Remember—in your searches you need to think creatively as to where you may find materials pertinent to your research topic. Journals that do not readily identify themselves as art history or art historical in nature can be extremely valuable for art history topics.”