LibGuides: Art History and Visual Culture Subject Guide: Online library support

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Subjects: Archaeology, Art History and Visual Culture, Communications, Drama, Engineering, Film Studies, History, Modern Languages and Cultures

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AHVC UG Dissertation Workbook

AHVC UG Dissertation search plan 2024

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Where to start your search

Library Search

Library Search will help you discover books, journals, articles, audio visual material and more on your chosen topic. This is a good place to start when you are beginning to research a topic as you can draw on content from a variety of different sources.

For more in depth research in databases and archives, use the A-Z Databases List.

Key databases

Academic databases

Search these collections to find academic literature on art history and visual culture. These collections contain primarily secondary sources of information such as journal articles, books, conference proceedings, reports and more.

Art & Architecture ePortal Discover key monographs in the history of art and architecture, as well as exhibition catalogues, collection catalogues and Catalogue Raisonne from some of the world's finest publishers and museums. The Image Search allows you to explore images from the publications available within the A&AePortal collection.
Arts & Humanities Database Full-text journal articles covering art, archaeology, anthropology, classical studies, history, philosophy, music, literature, theatre, modern languages and cultural studies. Some magazine, book and trade content.
Bloomsbury Art Markets Bloomsbury Art Markets is a comprehensive guide to art galleries, auction houses, art fairs, and agents from multiple national and historical contexts. This scholarly resource has been designed to serve the expanding research areas of art market studies, art historiography and provenance research.

Gugenheim Museum art book collection View more than 200 books about modern art available online. Not only can you read them online, but you can download them in PDF or ePub formats at the Internet Archive.

AATA (Art and Archaeology Technical Abstracts) Online Free research database containing abstracts relating to the preservation and conservation of material cultural heritage across the world. Includes abstracts from more than 180 journals and conference proceedings from the conservation field’s essential literature, plus abstracts from hundreds of other publications from heritage conservation and allied fields from antiquity to the present. Provided by the Getty Conservation Institute.
Bibliography of the History of Art and Repertoire de la litterature de l'art An index to literature and commentary in the history of art
Humanities Index Index to scholarly literature across the Humanities.
Humanities International Complete Index to scholarly literature in the Humanities from around the world.
JSTOR JSTOR provides access to scholarly book, journal and primary sources via an easy to use search interface. Search the collection for information relating to art history and visual culture.
MLA International Bibliography Subject index to scholarly publications in the fields of modern languages, literatures, linguistics, drama, and folklore literature. Also covers ethnomusicology.
Oxford Art Online A database of art reference works with regularly updated peer-reviewed content and a substantial digital image collection.
Project Muse Project Muse provides access to scholarly book, journal and primary sources via an easy to use search interface.
Web of Science Web of Science is a vast database spanning a wide range of subjects, including art history and visual culture. It is an index, so does not contain full text, but individual search results should link to full text sources, where we subscribe.

Discover biographies of artists and art movements.

American National Biography Online Access to thousands of biographies of the individuals who have shaped American history. Intuitive search and browse options are available to facilitate searching by name, date, occupation and more.

Dictionary of Irish Biography An authoritative reference work of nearly 11,000 lives for scholars of Irish history, society and culture

Oxford Art Online Database of art reference works. Useful for researching artists and art movements.
Oxford Bibliographies Online Scholarly research guides on a variety of academic topics. Use it for short introductions and in depth bibliographies on relevant topics.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Online reference work for information about people who have helped shape British history, life and culture. The Dictionary offers concise, up-to-date biographies written by named, specialist authors.
Who's Who Online listings and biographical information on influential people across the world who have an impact on British life.

Image databases

Primary source collections of searchable images.
A full list of image databases can be found here in the A to Z database list.

Art & Architecture ePortal Search for art and architecture images from the world's greatest musuems and publishers.
Artcyclopedia An index of online museums and images. Use to view artistic works.
Artstor Images from some of the world's leading museums, photo archives, scholars, and artists. Subjects include the visual arts, the performing arts, architecture, maps, manuscripts, science, technology and industry.
The Artstor website was retired in August 2024. Content has transitioned to the JSTOR platform. All content and functionality is available there.
Art UK Searchable online showcase for public art collections in the UK.
British Cartoon Archive A national collection of socio-political cartoons from British newspapers and magazines, plus comic strips, newspaper cuttings, books and magazines, from 1904 onwards.
Digital Bodleian A collection of primary and contemporary material across a wide range of subjects, with scanned images of the Bodleian Libraries special collections, including rare books and manuscripts, classical papyri, maps, music, art and printed ephemera.
Gallica - The BnF Digital Library Gallica is the digital library of the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF). This vast digital library collection includes more than 70,000 volumes of digitised texts, 80,000 still images, and 30 hours of sound recordings.
Grand Tour A collection of primary and secondary sources relating to the Grand Tour and travel from 1550 to 1850. The collection includes books, diaries, art, photography and maps.
Index of Medieval Art
Oxford Art Online Database of art reference works. Useful for researching artists and art movements.
Pre-Raphaelite Online Resource Digitised collection of Pre-Raphaelite art from Birmingham Museums and Art galleries, including paintings, tapestries, drawings, prints, illustrated books, watercolours and archive material.
Underground and Independent Comics: Volumes I, II and III Scholarly, primary-source database focused on adult comic books and graphic novels. Works of artists both celebrated and overlooked, alongside interviews, criticism, and journal articles documenting this artform.
Visual Arts Data Service An art and design collection of copyright cleared images for use in learning, teaching and research in the UK.

There are lots of museum and gallery websites such as the British Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, Tate Galleries, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery etc. that have quality images of their collections.

However, copyright restrictions apply to the use of images, and this will vary depending on who owns the copyright and how you want to use the image. Check the licence details on the website if in doubt. See our Using Images LibGuide for more information.

These are just a few of the audio-visual databases that we subscribe to. You can see a fuller list in the A to Z database list here.

BFI Player On demand service streaming acclaimed, landmark and archive films from across Britain and the world. The collection focuses on British and European independent films, as well as international releases. First time users need to sign up to access all subscription content for free. Returning users need to sign-in. See More.
To sign up
1. Go to https://player.bfi.org.uk/students and create an account OR sign in if you already have one by selecting 'Already have an account? Sign in'
2. Select university from the dropdown list
3. Authenticate subscription using your university log-in

Once you've set up your subscription, you can simply login on BFI Player for the remainder of this academic year.
Bloomsbury Screen Studies Screen Studies is a dynamic digital platform taking users from script to screen and beyond – offering a broad range of content from Bloomsbury, Faber & Faber and the British Film Institute to support moving-image studies. This resource includes a wide selection of works on film history, theory and practice
Box of Broadcasts An online service for off-air recording, media streaming and archiving of TV and radio programmes from all scheduled free to air broadcast channels. BoB provides a facility for recording, creating clips and playlists of programmes.
British Council Film Collection Short documentary films made by the British Council during the 1940s, designed to show the world how Britain lived, worked and played.
British Pathe Archive of vintage film footage covering 20th century UK domestic and worldwide themes, events and news. Date coverage: 1897-1970
ERA Video Streaming Platform Curated clips from BBC TV and Radio archive. Browse by subject or search for clips across the archive. UK Usage only
You will need to register for an ERA account using your @exeter.ac.uk email address. You will also need a free personal BBC account to access some materials. Follow the onscreen prompts to set up accounts.
FedFlix Historic American Government produced films covering information, news, public affairs and training.
Kanopy Online video streaming platform. Includes critically-acclaimed movies, inspiring documentaries, award-winning foreign films and more. Films are discoverable via Library Search.

Sound collections

BBC Sound Effects Over 16,000 sound effects available for personal, educational or research purposes.
British Library Sounds Sound recordings from the British Library collections. Recordings include music, drama and literature, oral history, wildlife and environmental sounds as well as an interactive sound map of regional accents and dialect.
Ethnographic Sound Archives Online Brings together previously unpublished historic audio recordings and their supporting field materials, opening new paths for the study of music in its cultural context. The collection brings together 2,000 hours of audio recordings from field expeditions around the world, particularly from the 1960s through the 1980s—the dawn of ethnomusicology as a codified discipline.

Theses are academic sources of information and the result of substantial primary research into specialised topics. They provide very detailed data and analysis, and can provide information that is unavailable elsewhere. Their bibliographies can be a useful source of wider reading on a topic. They are extremely valuable sources of information.

Search for University of Exeter, UK and international theses here: Theses LibGuide.

Use the A-Z Database List to access the full list of databases the library subscribes to.

You can browse by subject e.g. Art History and Visual Culture or type (e.g.maps, news, images etc.) or search to find your required resource.

Allied subjects include Classics, Drama, Film Studies, History, Philosophy and Sociology. You will also find LibGuides available for these and other subject disciplines.

Explore the full A to Z Database list:

Explore research materials available elsewhere

Library Hub Discover - Search the catalogues of over 100 major UK and Irish national, academic and specialist libraries to find books, journals and other materials
WorldCAT - Search the collections of over 10,000 worldwide libraries
The European Library - Access to the collections of the 48 National Libraries of Europe and leading European Research Libraries.
The Library of Congress - Catalogue records of the print and digital resources held in the Library of Congress collections (USA)
LibWeb - Find online library catalogues worldwide
CORE - Search the world's largest collection of open access research papers

Key journals and magazines

Art Bulletin Peer-reviewed scholarly articles and critical reviews spanning all aspects of art history as practiced in the academy, museums, and other institutions. Content dates from 1913 to now. Journal of the College Art Association of America.
Art Journal A peer-reviewed, professionally mediated forum for the arts; that explores relationships among diverse forms of art practice and production, as well as among art making, art history, visual studies, theory, and criticism; and is responsive to issues of the moment in the arts, focusing on topics related to twentieth- and twenty-first-century concerns; to promote dialogue and debate.
British Art Studies New peer-reviewed scholarship on all aspects of British art, architecture, and visual culture in their most diverse and international contexts.
Camera Obscura Camera Obscura provides a forum for scholarship and debate on feminism, culture, and media studies. The journal encourages contributions in areas such as the conjunctions of gender, race, class, and sexuality with audiovisual culture; new histories and theories of film, television, video, and digital media; and politically engaged approaches to a range of media practices.
Cultural Studies Examines how cultural practices relate to everyday life, history, structures of power, affect, ideology, economy, politics, knowledge, technology, and the environment.
Grey Room Contemporary journal of multi-disciplinary scholarly and theoretical articles from the fields of architecture, art, media, and politics.
International Journal of Arts Management Journal with coverage of a wide range of topics and viewpoints of direct interest to academics and practitioners in the Arts Management Community.
Nka: Journal of Contemporary African Art Nka focuses on publishing critical work that examines contemporary African and African Diaspora art within the modernist and postmodernist experience and therefore contributes significantly to the intellectual dialogue on world art and the discourse on internationalism and multiculturalism in the arts. Nka mainly includes scholarly articles, reviews (exhibits and books), interviews, and roundtable discussions.
Third Text International journal dedicated to the critical analysis of contemporary art in the global field. It has brought with that analysis a particular focus on both the impact of globalisation on cultural practices and the lessons of postcolonial theory.
Visual Culture in Britain Publishes original work that incorporates a wide range of media and related theoretical approaches that expand the realms of visual culture beyond the ocular to incorporate the emerging theories associated with the new materialisms in Britain.

American Art Peer-reviewed scholarship on the history of art and related visual culture. The journal critically engages with the material and conceptual conditions of art and provides a forum for the expanding field of American art history.
Art Bulletin Peer-reviewed scholarly articles and critical reviews spanning all aspects of art history as practiced in the academy, museums, and other institutions. Content dates from 1913 to now. Journal of the College Art Association of America.
Art History: Journal of the Association of Art Historians Peer-reviewed journal of international art-historical research
Art Journal A peer-reviewed, professionally mediated forum for the arts; that explores relationships among diverse forms of art practice and production, as well as among art making, art history, visual studies, theory, and criticism; and is responsive to issues of the moment in the arts, focusing on topics related to twentieth- and twenty-first-century concerns; to promote dialogue and debate.
Journal 18 (A journal of 18th century art and culture) Online, open access, peer-reviewed journal devoted to the art and culture of the long eighteenth century from around the globe. The first journal dedicated to the field of eighteenth-century art history, and one of the few online and fully open access journals for the discipline of art history more broadly.
Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians Journal on the history of the built environment. Each issue offers scholarly articles on topics from all periods of history and all parts of the world, reviews of recent books, exhibitions, films, and other media, as well as a variety of editorials and opinion pieces.
Renaissance Quarterly Leading American journal of Renaissance studies, spanning the period from 1300 to 1700 and covering the following disciplines: Americas, Art and Architecture, Book History, Classical Tradition, Comparative Literature, Digital Humanities, Emblems, English Literature, French Literature, Germanic Literature, Hebraica, Hispanic Literature, History, Humanism, Islamic World, Italian Literature, Legal and Political Thought, Medicine and Science, Music, Neo-Latin Literature, Performing Arts and Theater, Philosophy, Religion, Rhetoric and Women and Gender.

Artforum International International monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art
Art Monthly UK magazine of contemporary visual art
Art Review (Online access) Independent international magazine of contemporary art
Cabinet Magazine Award-winning quarterly magazine of art and culture based in New York (since 2000) that looks to merge the concept of an art periodical, design magazine and scholarly journal. Featuring essays, interviews, and artist projects in a wide range of topics in language accessible to the non-specialist.
Flash Art International International bimonthly magazine and publishing platform dedicated to contemporary art
Frieze Magazine of contemporary art and culture
Triple Canopy Online magazine published since 2007 of the informal, nonhierarchical, geographically dispersed editorial collective, Triple Canopy. Includes digital works of art and literature, public conversations, exhibitions, and books.

Magazine archives

Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window
Archive of US and UK trade magazines from 1880-2015, covering film, music, broadcasting and theatre, together with film fan magazines and music press titles.
Illustrated London News Historical Archive This link opens in a new window
Archive of the Illustrated London News, a weekly newspaper published in London (UK) and the world's first fully illustrated newspaper. It presented a vivid picture of British and world events, including news of war, disaster, ceremonies, the arts, and science. Digitised article and full page scans, and OCR text. Date coverage: 1842-2003
London Life, 1965-1966 This link opens in a new window
Launched in 1965 and owned by Illustrated London News, this magazine title succeeded The Tatler and aimed to capture 'all aspects of life in London'. All issues are included here in full facsimile pages.
Picture Post Historical Archive, 1938–1957 This link opens in a new window
Complete archive of the popular UK magazine Picture Post. It provides a visual snap-shot of British life from 1930 to the end of the 1950s, and covers major social and political issues of the time through the use of photojournalism. Digitised article and page scans, and OCR text. Date coverage: 1930-1957
Vogue Archive This link opens in a new window
Archive of the magazine American Vogue. Includes all editions from 1892 to the present. The collection provides an insight into US fashion, culture and society.
Interwar Culture This link opens in a new window
Interwar Culture showcases popular and lesser-known periodicals published during the interwar period (1919-1940) in Britain, the US, France and Australia. Articles cover culture, entertainment, fashion, home and family life, world current affairs, class, social and welfare issues.
Underground and Independent Comics: Volumes I, II and III This link opens in a new window
The first database containing both scholarly and primary-source materials focused on adult comic books and graphic novels. Discover the works of artists both celebrated and overlooked, alongside interviews, criticism, and journal articles. Time coverage: 20th century onwards.

Digital Bodleian This link opens in a new window
A collection of primary and contemporary material across a wide range of subjects, with scanned images of the Bodleian Libraries special collections, including rare books and manuscripts, classical papyri, maps, music, art and printed ephemera.
Gallica - The BnF Digital Library This link opens in a new window
Gallica is the digital library of the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF). This vast digital library collection includes more than 70,000 volumes of digitised texts, 80,000 still images, and 30 hours of sound recordings.

Metropolitan Museum of Art
One of the world's premier art museums with collections spanning over 5,000 years of art from around the globe.
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
Digitalised collection of modern and contemporary art from one of the world’s greatest art museums
National Gallery
The National Gallery, London, houses one of the greatest collections of paintings in the world.
New York Public Library Digital Collections
Explore 895,963 items digitized from The New York Public Library's collections. This site is a living database with new materials added every day, featuring prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts, streaming video, and more.
Tate (Digtal Archive)
Digitised archive of the history of fine art practice in the UK. The collection includes letters, writings, sketchbooks, audio-visual material, photographs, ephemera, press cuttings and objects.
Victoria & Albert Museum
From ancient Chinese ceramics to Alexander McQueen evening dresses, take an incredible journey through 5000 years of human creativity with our online collections.

Primary Source collections

Use the Primary Sources Libguide to explore the Library's extensive range of online primary source collections, and quickly find the most relevant sources for your research. The collections include digitised copies of manuscripts, letters, books, photographs, newspapers and other key primary sources from archives around the world.

Our comprehensive online news collections range from local news to news publications from around the world and span a wide range of dates.

Find out more on the News Archives LibGuide

The Library's Special Collections department houses primary sources in many formats including letters, diaries, manuscripts and photos, which can be accessed via their dedicated reading room in the Research Commons, Old Library.

Visit the Archives and Special Collections LibGuide for more information.

Find out how to search the archives for rare books and materials here.

Use the Archive Catalogue Search to find out what is available.

Devon & Cornwall have a number of local archives that you can use when searching for primary sources. Find out more here.

These databases are nationally significant archives of the UK, covering many different themes, subjects and sources.

Archives Hub
A gateway to archive collections held in UK universities. Subject coverage includes the arts, humanities, social science, sciences and health, and source materials include personal writings, documentation, images and ephemera.
British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue
Search for information about the British
Library’s rich and unique archive and manuscript collections.
The catalogue contains descriptions of the majority of the British Library's manuscripts,
paper-based archives, photographs and an increasing number of digital archives.
The Library's sound archive collections and moving image collections are not included and Asian and African manuscripts are only partially represented.
British Library Digitised Manuscripts
A collection of digitised manuscripts and archives in the British Library’s collections.
British Library Newspapers
Full text UK and Irish national, regional and local newspapers from the mid 18th to the mid 20th century. Cross searchable with other newspaper archives via Gale NewsVault. We have access to the full collection (parts 1-6). Digitised article and full page scans and OCR text. Date coverage: 1714-1950
View more info about the collections
British Library Sounds
Sound recordings from the British Library collections. Recordings include music, drama and literature, oral history, wildlife and environmental sounds as well as an interactive sound map of regional accents and dialect.
Digital Bodleian
A collection of primary and contemporary material across a wide range of subjects, with scanned images of the Bodleian Libraries special collections, including rare books and manuscripts, classical papyri, maps, music, art and printed ephemera.
Discovery, the National Archives Catalogue
Full catalogue of the holdings of the National Archives and thousands of other archives in the UK. The National Archives is home to millions of historical documents, which were created and collected by UK central government departments and major courts of law. Wide subject coverage.

National Register of Archives for Scotland
The NRAS provides details of papers of historical significance in private hands in Scotland. The Register now contains over 4,200 surveys of private papers including the records of landed estates, private individuals, businesses, law firms and societies.

UK Government Web Archive
Archive of UK government information published on the web, from official documents, policy and acts, to a twitter archive.

Effective Searching & Referencing

It is important to plan your search strategy, and manage your search results so that you get the most from your online searching.

Keep a record of all the material you need to cite in your assignments, papers, projects etc.

Use the Search Techniques and Referencing guidance to assist you.

It is easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer breadth of information available to you.

Invest time in planning an effective online search strategy so that you can quickly and easily discover relevant and high quality information.

Use the Search Techniques LibGuides for lots of hints and tips on successful online searching

As you search you need to keep track of all the material you will be using in your academic work so that you can cite and reference it appropriately.

Top Tip

Always check your module handbook for specific departmental guidance on the style required for your assessed works and dissertations. Check with your personal tutor or dissertation supervisor if you need clarification.

For more guidance take a look at:

Library's Referencing LibGuide: includes guidance on referencing styles and referencing software

Cite Them Right Online referencing support tool

Academic Skills: Skills for Referencing online support

Build your skills and get help from the friendly academic skills teams.

Study Skills Support @ Exeter

Study Zone offers drop-ins, workshops and online guides on a range of study skills topics, including academic writing, referencing, time management, exams and revision, and digital skills.

ASK @ Cornwall

Find out all about academic skills support at the Cornwall campus. Take advantage of the online support materials available through the Study Hub.

Linking the University of Exeter Library to Google Scholar

Google Scholar is an online, freely accessible search engine for locating scholarly literature from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites. But not all full text content is free to access.

However, it is possible to link the University of Exeter online library to Google Scholar, making it quick to identify and access library full text content.

Just follow these instructions:

Click on Check for this @ Exeter or Access this @ Exeter options to view full text article:

Find out more here: Making the most of Google Scholar

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming how we study, work, and interact with technology. Whether you’re using AI to support your learning, automate tasks at work, check grammar, or assist with research, it’s crucial to understand its capabilities, limitations, and ethical implications.

The Understanding AI guide will help you develop AI literacy, learn how to use AI responsibly, and ensure you meet the University of Exeter’s policies.

Sage Research Methods Build your skills and knowledge in conducting research projects.
Includes varied support content such as book, journal, reference and audiovisual content covering all aspects of research methods. Sage LibGuides available for support.

Sage Research Methods Online (SRMO) is a great resource to use when you are planning and conducting your research.

It is targeted at social science researchers but is useful across all subject areas as it covers key research methodology topics that are applicable across the research spectrum.

Sage have produced a comprehensive LibGuide to help you get the best from the resource.

Dissertation students

If you are a dissertation student, at some point in your research, you may need to access resources held outside of the university library collections.

The library offers a number of services to help you access these materials. Find out more by exploring the guides below.

Inter-library loans and journal scans from other libraries

Become a SCONUL member to visit other libraries

Library and Archives Access Bursary
(Financial help to visit other libraries and archives)