Artist Research - Art & Politics in Latin America (HAA 0520) - Oakland Campus

Search PittCat, a listing of all the books Pitt owns
1. Begin with a keyword or title search for an artist's name, for example, Alice Neel.
2. Click on a title that looks like it is about this artist.
3. This is what we call "a PittCat record." Look for "LC Subject Headings" and click on one with the artist's name.
4. You will see a huge list of subject headings - browse through this list to find a heading like these:
Neel, Alice, 1900-1984
Neel, Alice, 1900-1984 --Exhibitions.

This will provide you with a list of all the books that we have that focus on Alice Neel.

To find books that may devote only a chapter to her, or group exhibitions where she is one of many artists exhibiting, do NOT use subject headings. Use keyword searching.
Search Worldcat - the worldwide listing of books libraries own
Now that you have a subject heading for your artist:
1. paste that subject heading into the advanced search.
2. look at the list that is generated and look for books that Pitt does NOT own.
3. Request these books using E-ZBorrow or Interlibrary Loan (Links below)
Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
If you can't find the book in E-ZBorrow, request it using ILL. This gives you free access to books worldwide.

Many exhibition catalogs published may not be available online, largely due to the cost of image rights.

Exhibition catalogs contain valuable insight into the curator's and museum director's thoughts. These statements and essays can often address:

Some of the best databases to use for doing artist research include the following:

Art Full Text
Art Full Text is a bibliographic database that indexes and abstracts articles from periodicals published throughout the world. In addition to articles, Art Full Text indexes reproductions of works of art that appear in indexed periodicals.
ARTbibliographies Modern
The scope of ARTbibliographies Modern extends from artists and movements beginning with Impressionism in the late 19th century, up to the most recent works and trends in the late 20th century. A particular emphasis is placed upon adding new and lesser-known artists and on the coverage of foreign-language literature.
International Bibliography of Art
The International Bibliography of Art (IBA) is the definitive resource for scholarly literature on western art. Coverage from 1975-2007 is provided in the Bibliography of the History of Art database.
Bibliography of the History of Art Repertoire de la litterature de l'art
The Bibliography of the History of Art is the most comprehensive art bibliography available worldwide, covering European and American visual arts from late antiquity to the present. This database indexes and abstracts art-related books, conference proceedings and dissertations, exhibition and dealers' catalogs, and articles from over 4,300 periodicals.

Search Tips When Doing Artist Research:

Search for the artist name. Either use first name, last name, or try using last name, first name.
Search for the artist name and name of art movement.
Search for the artist name and medium of artwork.
Search for the name of an exhibition they were in.
Search for artists they may have been friends with during the period of time in question.
Search for the name a of a school or gallery they may have been associated with during the period of time in question.
Search for a specific work of art by that artist by its title and year.
Refine your searches by using AND, OR, NOT, etc between keywords.
If you are looking for a specific article and know the author, type in the name of the article AND the author's name.

University of Pittsburgh Library System