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Fine Art: Digital Resources

Research Databases

Bloomsbury Applied Visual Arts

This resource offers searchable access to over 170 eBooks on a broad range of visual arts subjects including fashion and textiles, design and illustration, photography, film and animation, architecture and interiors, marketing and advertising. Providing visual inspiration and ideas, practical advice and techniques.

Design and Applied Arts Index

Description: DAAI is an international index to the contents of design and crafts journals since 1973, and is the only database devoted to this subject area. Subjects covered include advertising, jewellery, metalsmithing, packaging, graphic design, fashion, textiles, design management etc. In addition DAAI also includes other searchable databases: international directories of associations, journals, educational establishments, archives and special collections.

Art Full Text

Description: Also includes Art Abstracts and contains bibliographic references and abstracts of articles from 280 periodicals - journals, yearbooks and museum bulletins. Subject coverage spans all aspects of art, from visual to performing arts, and ranges from Archaeology to Television and Video. Art Abstracts currently has 400,000 records and is updated monthly. It indexes periodicals from 1984, and includes abstracts from 1994 onwards.

SubCulture Archives

An educational & cultural research resource of primary sources exploring 100 years of youth culture through the scenes, styles, and sounds that forged them. From Rave, Punk, Rockabilly to Grime. Click “Log in via your University or Institution”,
Scroll to “Middlesex University” and click the Select button,
This displays the Middlesex University Sign In page where users sign in with their IT User ID and password.

Art-Based Websites

Useful Links

Quick links to useful pages and resources.

Image Resources

It is important to use good quality images in your work. This means not only high resolution but good provenance. This refers to the source of the image. Is there accurate, authoritative information about the object? For example:

  • Who is the creator?
  • When was it made?
  • Where can it be found?
  • What is it made of?

Instagram and Pinterest have lots of images, but information about the pictures is often very sketchy. Try to use good quality books, museums, galleries and archives or their websites.

These are links to some good quality sources of images:

Art Journal Databases

Subject Databases

Image of Ebsco   

Art Full Text  

Historical and contemporary fine art, some applied arts and design.

Some material is available in full-text. Click on Ebsco Databases at the top of the list

Image of ArtBibliographies Modern

ArtBibliographies
Modern

Mainly 20th/21st century coverage of fine art including design.

Image of Design and Applied Arts Index

Design & Applied
Arts Index

Covers all aspects of design, applied arts and crafts. There are links to some
full-text material.

Image of Arts & Humanities Citation Index

Arts & Humanities
Citation Index

Scholarly coverage of arts and humanities subjects including some design.

ARTSTOR A digital library of high-resolution images and related data in the visual arts, architecture, and the humanities.

Audio-Visual Resources

Newspapers

Other Art Resources

Art Collections in London

Victoria & Albert Museum

The world’s leading museum of art and design

National Portrait Gallery

Art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people

TATE

Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. 

Hayward Gallery

Art gallery within the Southbank Centre