Art FAQ  Tags: marquand art architecture archaeology library_faq  

• Search the online catalog for the artist both as a subject AND author, e.g. Delacroix Eugene. Find a book on the artist and write down the call number. Most major artists’ books will be grouped all together on the shelf, but it may be necessary to check both the octavo ("regular" size) and quarto ("oversize") sections in the stacks.  Also, pay attention to location: while most books on an artist should be in Marquand, some may be off-site in Annex A or ReCAP, or in Firestone or on reserve (or checked out or missing).  A catalogue raisonn é , often listed as a sub-heading next to an author's name as subject, is a complete, or nearly complete catalog of an artist's entire output, so can be a useful resource when trying to track down a specific work.
  

• Look for the artists' name in the following works, shelved in the reference room:
  
  Who's Who in American Art, Ref N51.W6 (if AMERICAN; or online: Who's Who on the Web, select Who's Who in American Art), or Who was who in American art, 1564-1975 : 400 years of artists in America, Ref N6505 .W48 1999 (3 vols.), and  Who's Who in Art (for Great Britain), N40. W62 (current vol. in Ref)
  
  Artist Biographies Master Index, N40.A78 1986 (has been superceded by the online database Biography and Genealogy Master Index)
  
  "Thieme Becker," Ref N40 .T4 1992 (Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Kunstler, 37 vols.); "Vollmer," Ref N40.T4 V8 (Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Kunstler, 6 vols., for 20th century); Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon (AKL), Ref N40 .A44; Allgemeines Kunstlerlexikon: bio-bibliographischer Index A-Z, Ref N40 .A437 1999; Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon bio-bibliographischer Index nach Berufen (by profession), Ref N40 .A363 2002; Künstlerlexikon der Antike, Ref N5333 .K867 2001; and online: Allgemeines Kunstlerlexikon (for ancient and classical art). Allgemeines Kunstlerlexikon is also now available online.
  
  Benezit, Ref N40.B4713 2006

• Look for the artist in the Grove Dictionary of Art (online), now part of Oxford Art Online. This 34-volume dictionary--more of an art encyclopedia--is available (N31 .D5 1996), but has been expanded and largely superceded by the online version, which is updated more frequently. One to three-volume sets on special topics have been published in recent years, many of which Marquand has, e.g. From Renaissance to Impressionism: Styles and Movements in Western Art 1400-1900, The Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts, The Grove Encyclopedia of Classical Art & Architecture (also online), Encyclopedia of American Art Before 1914, From Rembrandt to Vermeer: 17^th-Century Dutch Artists, Encyclopedia of Italian Renaissance & Mannerist Art, etc.

*For architects:

• Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects, Ref NA200 .M2
• International Dictionary of Architects and Architecture, Ref NA40 .I48 1993
• Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (Deceased), Ref NA736 .W5 1996
• Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals (online) (includes obituaries)

NOTE: There are countless other resources for tracking down information about an artist or architect, including the NYPL Artists' File on microfilm (MICROFICHE 42), the Museum of Modern Art artists files (MICROFICHE 7, and accompanying guide, N6490 .M945 1993, and via a search in MOMA's online catalog for more recent material), periodical indexes (Art Index, etc.), and/or simply doing a Google search on the Web.