Art FAQ: Journal articles

Most of the art databases index exhibition reviews, and Art Index also indexes art reproductions (images) in magazines and journals. Information about accessing newspapers at Princeton may be found in this guide .  

Articles+ can be useful for locating content in newspapers. 

The main periodical indices for art, art history, architecture, and design are available via the Art & Archaeology page of Princeton databases and some of the below also index book content:*

• Art & Architecture Source (back to 1929; all arts; some full-text; sources are not as scholarly as some of the others below, and not as extensive foreign language sources)
• Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals (architecture and design; citations only)
• ArtBibliographies Modern (modern and contemporary art; photography; indexes books also; citations only)
• Bibliography of the History of Art (history of Western art to modern; scholarly; includes all Western European languages; citations only; covers journal articles, books, conference proceedings, etc., 1975-2007, includes RILA, International Repertory of the LIterature of Art, and provides links to RAA, Répertoire d'Art et d'Archéologie (same as HAB), and IBA - see below)
• Design & Applied Arts Index (design and decorative arts; European focus)
• Frick Art Reference Library Periodicals (1850-1969; American and European fine and decorative arts)
• International Bibliography of Art (2008+; successor to BHA--below--with a more global scope; citations only)
• OpenBibArt (1910-2007; important resource providing access to early and important art historical indices)

*NOTE: While all above index periodical articles, some also include monographs (i.e. books and catalogs), sales catalogs, festschriften, and other. For simultaneous searching: via EBSCO: select Art & Architecture Source, Art Index Retrospective, Art Magazine Collection Archives (Antiques, Art in America, ArtNews), Frick Art Reference..., Index to 19th Century American Art Periodicals and other important historical and general humanities databases to search simultaneously. Select CHOOSE DATABASES at the top of the screen to select more than one. Via ProQuest, it is possible to search simultaneously Art & Architecture Archive (digitized art magazines), Avery Index, ArtBibliographies Modern (ABM), International Bibliography of Art (IBA) and Design and Applied Arts Index (DAAI). Choose your databases at the very top left of the screen: "Change Databases." ProQuest allows you to select all Arts databases only, which makes it easy (click on "use selected databases" after selecting Arts), and then perform a search.

Once you have a citation for an article (e.g. author, title, name of journal, volume, year, page numbers):

• Click on the orange Find it @ PUL button next to the citation, if there is one. That will tell you if we have the article in an online format, and, if not, will link you into the library catalog to locate the print version in the stacks. [NOTE: this SFX link is not perfect, if no results are found, double-check by cutting and pasting the name of the journal and doing a title search in the catalog.] Make sure to check Princeton’s holdings to determine: 1. what years we have online, or 2. what years we have in the stacks (issues we are lacking should be noted), OR

• Do a Title Starts With . . . search in the online catalog to find out the location of the journal in the stacks (and/or online). Select JOURNAL under FORMAT.

There are many more databases available to you at Princeton. See the Databases page to direct you to additional databases, i.e. electronic resources.

Choose a more specific subject along the left-hand side (menu).