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Art

This is a general guide to resources for art history research.

Writing about art

Writing Artist Statements

Writing an artist statement? Here are some resources from around the web that you may find useful:

Here are some writings on the topic that are available through the library's databases:

Citing using Chicago Manual of Style

Citation Guides

The Chicago Manual of Style is commonly used in the arts and humanities to create bibliographies and citations.  It is available in print in the library and online.   

Citing using MLA style

Citing images

Submerged Lamppost, Salton Sea by Richard Misrach

Richard Misrach, Submerged Lampost, Salton Sea, 1985, printed 2005. Chromogenic print from a digital file. Art Institute Chicago. https://www.artic.edu/artworks/191453/submerged-lamppost-salton-sea?q=photography&page=2

The main components to note when citing artworks are:

  • Artist's name
  • Title of work
  • Date of composition
  • Medium
  • Name and location of owning institution
  • Where you found the image

Chicago Manual of Style image citations
For Chicago Manual of Style image citations, consult the following sections of the manual:

MLA image citations

For MLA image citations, the general MLA image citation format should look like this:

Last Name, First Name. Title. Date, Institution, Location. Medium.

For images of artwork in a website, treat the book or website as a container.  For instance:

Misrach, Richard. Submerged Lamppost, Salton Sea. 1985, printed 2005, Art Institute Chicago. https://www.artic.edu/artworks/191453/submerged-lamppost-salton-sea?q=photography&page=2. Chromogenic print from a digital file.

Consult the MLA citation style guide for more information.

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