Guide to Using Grove Art Online August 2007 Created by Rachel Crane, Music/Fine Arts Librarian Wichita State University

Grove Art Online is the electronic version of the Dictionary of Art, a 34 volume encyclopedia of art located in the reference section of the Library (1 st floor) under the call number N31.D5 and The Oxford Companion to Western Art. Grove Art Online contains articles on all aspects of the visual arts, world-wide, both fine and decorative arts, including articles on artists, forms, styles, movements, and places. Volume 34, is an index, providing access to more detailed information within larger articles. This resource is a good place to start looking for basic background information, dates, terms and to confirm spelling. The bibliographies found at the end of each article may be particularly helpful in providing leads to further information.

Access Grove Art Online through the library webpage by clicking on the link to “Electronic Datatases”:

Choose access “By Title” or “By Subject”:

Entering “By Subject,” click on the “Art” link located under the Fine Arts heading:

Select the “Grove Art Online.” Note that the Grove Art Online may be accessed off campus, by using your MyWSU ID and password, as indicated by the green triangle. Click on the “Off-Campus Access” link toward the top of the screen for further information.

From the initial screen you may search for article headings (not for names or terms within the articles, this is for HEADINGS ONLY). In this case we are searching for an article on the artist “Chagall”:

The results… Click on the links in green to enter the article. Link number 1 leads to an entry in the Grove Dictionary of Art. The second link leads to an entry in the Oxford Companion to Western Art.

The beginning of the article, with links on the left for “Writings”… (Note: You may print or the page by way of the links in the upper right portion of the screen.)

And the “Bibliography”…

To check an abbreviation in the bibliography enter the item in question in the “Find Abbrevs” box and press the “Enter” key. The results will be listed on the left:

If you are uncertain of a heading, browse a listing of all articles alphabetically:

Click on the letter of choice to move to another part of the alphabet: (You may also wish to browse “Abbreviations,” “Contributors,” or the “Index.”)

To search for terms, names or concepts within articles, choose the “Advanced Search” or “Full text” links:

Searching for the concept “ballooning”…

Results in the listing…

Because this is a “concept” search, the list will provide records not only with “ballooning” exactly, but also with variations of the word, such as “balloon,” “balloons,” and etc..

A “Pattern” search looks for terms with similar spelling… (Useful if you are unsure of the exact accepted spelling.)

Results…

Select the “boolean” option to combine multiple names or terms…

This results only in articles containing both terms:

For instance… (Useful in searching for relationships between people and terms.)

Search “Biographies”…

For listings of people by a given date or place of birth or death, by nationality or by occupation. Note: when searching for places, states are abbreviated. A search for “Kansas” would result in a listing of those born in “Kansas City” but not necessarily Kansas. Note that search tips are found on the bottom of all screens.

A search for those persons born in the state of Kansas (KS), results in the following listing:

The resulting entry for Gordon Parks: (Note the indication that this article has been updated twice in 2006.)

You may also perform a search through bibliographies only, or search only for article contributors.

You may also search for images on the web (“Search image links”), or through image collections such as the Bridgeman Art Library (“Art image collections”).

To search for images in art image collections, choose one such as the “Bridgeman Art Library”:

A search for “Napoleon” results in 1824 records: (Note: you do not need to login to the Bridgeman Art Library to explore the collection.)

To search art images found on external websites…

A search for the artist “Curry” results in 20 images. Click on the green image link…

Like so…

The new “Explore” features allow you to search by form/genre, geography, people, styles, cultures and eras. Use these options to investigate additional realationships and to confirm terminology.

For example, to explore articles relating to Australasia and the Pacific Islands, click on the “+” box next to Geography., Then select the appropriate link:

The resulting related links are displayed on the right:

If you have any questions or need further information, please contact me by at: or by phone at To return to the Fine Arts and Performing Arts Resources Page Click Here Click Here