ARTS - VISUAL ARTS
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Whether you're browsing for the sake of discovery or have a specific research goal, the Library's collection offers a rich variety of materials on the visual arts. Below you will also find links to local art resources and worthwhile web sites.
DATABASES
Antiques Reference - p4A
Antiques Reference - p4A contains both valuation and reference information about antiques, collectibles and fine art. Composed by experienced editors to ensure a wide range of useful material from common to rare items, the p4A database has pictures for every record and is updated daily.
Biography InContext
Biographical information on people throughout history and around the world. Includes the Complete Marquis Who's Who. Search by occupation, ethnicity, nationality and/or gender!
Credo Reference
One stop shopping for encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri and books of quotations, not to mention a range of subject-specific titles. Be sure to try the "Concept Map", it's really cool!
CREDO TOPIC PAGES
Art Deco is a style in the decorative arts that influenced design and architecture, and is particularly associated with mass-produced domestic goods. It emerged in Europe in the 1920s and continued through the 1930s, achieving greatest popularity in the USA and France. Art Deco pulls together aspects of abstraction and cubism to create a deliberately modern style, which was originally called Jazz Modern. Its features include angular, geometrical patterns and bright colours, and the use of materials such as enamel, chrome, glass, and plastic. In Britain Art Deco style is found in the work of pottery designers Susie Cooper and Clarice Cliff, the industrial designer Douglas Scott, and the architect Giles Gilbert Scott, who designed Battersea Power Station (1932-34) with an art deco interior. Learn More..
Art Nouveau is a decorative style in the visual arts, interior design, and architecture that flourished from 1890 to 1910. Art Nouveau is characterized by organic, sinuous patterns
and ornamentations based usually on twisting plant forms. In England, it appears in the
illustrations of Aubrey Beardsley; in Scotland, in the
interior and exterior designs of Charles Rennie Mackintosh; in France, in
the glass of René Lalique and
the posters of Alphonse Mucha; and in the USA, in the lamps and metalwork of Louis Comfort Tiffany. Learn
More..
A movement in painting that originated in France in the 1860s and had enormous influence in European and North American painting in the late 19th century. The Impressionists wanted to depict real life, to paint straight from nature, and to capture the changing effects of light. The term was first used abusively to describe Claude Monet's painting Impression: Sunrise (1872). The other leading Impressionists included
Paul Cézanne,
Edgar Degas,
Edouard Manet,
Camille Pissarro,
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
, and Alfred Sisley,
but only Monet remained devoted to Impressionist ideas throughout his career. Learn More..
Movement in art, architecture, and design in Europe and North America about 1750-1850, characterized by a revival of classical Greek and Roman styles. Leading figures of the movement were the architects Claude-Nicolas Ledoux and
Robert Adam; the painters Jacques-Louis David, Jean Ingres, and Anton Mengs; the sculptors Antonio Canova, John Flaxman, Bertel Thorvaldsen, and Johann Sergel; and the designers Josiah Wedgwood, George Hepplewhite, and Thomas Sheraton. Learn More..
View additional Art Credo Topic Pages
Learn more about other art forms as well as biographies of major artists on Art - Credo Topic Pages. Each topic page provides an overview as well as magazine articles, websites, images and books for further reading. Learn More..
ARCHITECTURE
Architecture - Credo Topic Page
Gothic architecture is a form which emerged out of Romanesque and developed mainly in France from the 12th to 16th centuries. The development of the pointed arch and flying buttress made it possible to change from thick supporting walls to lighter curtain walls with extensive expansion of window areas (and stained-glass artwork) and resulting increases in interior light.
Modernist architecture, referred to as the Modern Movement, began in the 1900s with the Vienna School and the German Bauhaus and was also developed in the USA, Scandinavia, and France. With functionalism as its central precept. Its hallmarks are the use of spare line and form, an emphasis on rationalism, and the elimination of ornament. It makes great use of technological advances in materials such as glass, steel, and concrete and of construction techniques that allow flexibility of design. Notable practitioners include Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, and Charles Edouard Jeanneret, known as Le Corbusier.
Learn More about other types of architecture in our Architecture - Credo Topic Page and take a Architecture: Virtual Tour.
Frank Lloyd Wright - Credo Topic Page
Known as "the greatest American architect of all time" who designed more than 1,000 projects, which resulted in more than 500 completed works. Wright promoted organic architecture (exemplified by Fallingwater), was a leader of the Prairie School movement of architecture (exemplified by the Robie House, the Westcott House, and the Darwin D. Martin House), and developed the concept of the Usonian home (exemplified by the Rosenbaum House). His work includes original and innovative examples of many different building types, including offices, churches, schools, skyscrapers, hotels, and museums. Wright also often designed many of the interior elements of his buildings, such as the furniture and stained glass.
His colorful personal life often made headlines, most notably for the 1914 fire and murders at his Taliesin studio. Learn More..
Great Buildings Collection
Architecture reference site that documents major buildings and architects. Commentary and photographic images are included
Library of Congress Art and Architecture
Examine the elaborately decorated interior of the Jefferson Building and Main Reading Room, embellished by works of art from nearly fifty American painters and sculptors
The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Design Since 1900
This comprehensive guide embraces all aspects of modern design: graphics, products, interiors, furniture and industrial and architectural design.
Guy Julier examines not only the work of important designers worldwide, but also the many dramatic changes that have influenced design and its uses since 1900. Thus political and ideological concepts such as feminism and green design are defined and explained, as are technological advances, new materials and techniques, and influential movements in modern culture. The text incorporates extensive cross-referencing and full bibliographical notes.
The Virtual Sistine Chapel
Take a virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel. Just move your mouse around to view the entire chapel. Note: this may take a while to load so be patient.
ART - GENERAL
American Art Timeline
The widely renowned Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. has created this informative timeline on American art. An analysis of the artwork and biographical information on the artist are provided.
Art & Architecture Thesaurus
AAT contains more than 125,000 terms covering "fine art, architecture, decorative arts, archival materials, and material culture." It is more than a thesaurus, including brief definitions (the searchable "notes" field) and an impressive, easily navigable hierarchical tree. Extensive and still growing, it includes historic and contemporary terms. Any concept can list numerous variants (e.g., alternate spellings, plural form, synonyms) and may include brief citations for bibliographic sources and contributors.
Art History Resources on the Web
A gateway to resources on art history from ancient times to the present day.
ARTchive
This site contains over 2,000 scanned images of art by renowned artists plus information on art history, theory and criticism.
ARTcyclopedia
An index to the online exhibits of thousands of major artists searchable by artist's name, nationality, gender, associated movement, medium, and subject of art.
Artlex - Art Dictionary
Concise definitions for terms used in visual culture, along with thousands of images, pronunciation notes, and cross-references.
Arts and Humanities Through the Eras
Profiling milestones and movements in the arts, literature, music and religion from a specific period, each volume in this set helps students and researchers understand the various disciplines of the humanities in relation to each other, as well as to history and culture. An overview of the period and a chronology of major world events begin each volume.
Arts Wire
This site features national news updates on issues affecting arts and culture.
Comic Art of the United States through 2000, Animation and Cartoons.
Provides information on U.S. and Canadian comic art, animation, caricature, and gag, political, illustrative, and magazine cartoons. Provides citations of books, chapters, articles, and "fugitive" materials gleaned from a variety of sources worldwide, including many periodicals and journals.
Medieval Art: A Topical Dictionary
his dictionary focuses on the medieval period and the distinctive ways in which the subjects and symbols referenced in the work evolved and developed during the Middle Ages. It provides an overview of the evolution, development, popularity, and transformations that took place in medieval artistic iconography.
Smarthistory
A multi-media web-book designed as a dynamic enhancement (or even substitute) for the traditional art history textbook.
The Bloomsbury Guide to Art
Art in the classical world / Richard Brilliant -- Penetrating ecclesia, interpretations of Gothic architecture / Phillip Lindley -- Art and the Renaissance in Italy / N.S. Davidson -- Court art in seventeenth-century Europe / Joan Crossley -- Everyday life / Paul Barlow -- Portraiture / Shearer West -- Art institutions / Paul Duro -- The politics of the landscape in European art / Stephen Daniels -- "Other" art, approaching non-European cultures / Shaun Hides -- Art in North America, the United States and Mexico, 1820s-1920s / Lucretia Hoover Giese.
Women as artists and subjects / Marsha Meskimmon -- Modernism and modernity / Catriona Miller -- Grounding Postmodernism / Jonathan Harris.
The Bridgeman Art Library Archive
The world’s leading source of fine art, cultural and historical images.
Bridgeman Education’s content is drawn from collections throughout the world, covering all period’s, styles, concepts and mediums; from the classic masterpieces of national museums to the hidden gems of private collections. This resource covers not only the Fine Arts but architecture, ethnography, history, geography, medicine and science, sport, music, the applied arts and much more. Through this channel you will find a small selection of Bridgeman Education content.
The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art & Artists
International and up-to-date, this copiously cross-referenced dictionary provides information on a consuderable number of artists, paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, schools and movements, including essential information on contemporary art and artists, not available elsewhere, and on techniques, materials, terms, and writers who have influenced artists.
Timeline of Art History
The Timeline of Art History is a chronological, geographical, and thematic exploration of the history of art from around the world, as illustrated by the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection.
UNR Artwork Collection
This collection contains 281 paintings in the Special Collections Department of the UNR Library and features work by Western artists, including Maynard Dixon, Theodore Waddell, Will James, and Lorenzo Latimer, as well as Mildred Lane, Hildegard Herz, and Minerva Pierce, all of whom were founding members of Reno's Latimer Art Club.
ART GALLEREIS
Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art
The Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art showcases art by some of the world's most influential and renowned artists. The Gallery displays selected works from the collections of major art museums.
Contemporary Arts Center
The C.A.C. exhibits artwork by up-and-coming local and out-of-state contemporary artists.
Goldwell Open Air Museum
The Goldwell Open Air Museum is a 7.8 acre outdoor sculpture site near the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada, approximately 115 miles north of Las Vegas. All of the artworks have a contextual relationship to the surrounding Mojave Desert vistas.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The most encyclopedic collection of art west of the Mississippi, LACMA's web site provides useful information on current and upcoming exhibitions as well as detailed information on the permanent collection.
LVCCLD Gallery Exhibitions
The Las Vegas/Clark County Library District maintains galleries within many of its libraries. Click here for exhibition schedules.
New York Public Library Digital Collection
NYPL Digital Gallery provides access to over 275,000 images digitized from primary sources and printed rarities in the collections of The New York Public Library, including illuminated manuscripts, historical maps, vintage posters, rare prints and photographs, illustrated books, printed ephemera, and more.
ART ORGANIZATIONS & PUBLICATIONS
ArtsJournal.com
ArtsJournal is a weekday digest of some of the best arts and cultural journalism. Each day ArtsJournal combs through more than 200 newspapers, magazines and publications, featuring writings about arts and culture.
ArtsUSA
A program of Americans for the Arts, this site provides information about arts advocacy, arts education, promotion and funding, including essays, bibliographies and discussion of issues concerning the arts.
Community Link: Arts and Culture
This gateway site provides links to local arts related organizations and groups.
Modern Art Notes
One of the most respected visual arts blogs devoted to modern and contemporary art.
Neon: Shows and Events, Arts
Published by the Review Journal, this local events calendar lists exhibit and gallery information for the Las Vegas area.
Nevada Arts Council
NAC serves as a catalyst for arts programming throughout the state. Their web site includes information on the programs and services offered.
BIOGRAPHIES
A Biographical Dictionary of Artists
Covering over 1300 artists, this dictionary is made up of alphabetically arranged entries for painters (such as Monet), architects (such as Aalto), and sculptors (such as Brancusi) from pre-Christian times to the present (see, for example, Berlin painter, Hockney). The coverage of the book is truly global, with many Asian and African artists included. Each artist's entry includes dates, training, career, influences on his or her work, and, for approximately one-third of the artists, a bibliography of further reading.
Union List of Artist Names Online
Contains 220,000 names + terms.
SEE ALSO HOT TOPIC
SEE ALSO SEARCH BY TOPIC
Arts & Entertainment
Select Arts & Entertainment for other online resources for art.