ART, ARCHITECTURE, & FASHION HISTORY
Interesting web sites that give background information and links to art and artists, art history, clip art, digital images, museums, architecture and architects, fashion history and costumes, comics and cartoon strips, handicrafts and home improvement
General | Digital Images | Fashion
History | History of Art
Museums & Galleries | Comics & Cartoons
| Architecture
GENERAL
Art
Deadlines List
Monthly newsletter providing juried exhibitions & competitions,
jobs, contests, fellowships & scholarships, and many other
opportunities for funding.
Art
Guide
Contains information about 1,900 artists, 650 museums, and 4,500
individual or comprehensive exhibition listings.
Artcyclopedia:
The Fine Art Search Engine
Search for links by artist, title, or art museums; by movement, medium,
subject, nationality, or women artists. Also checkout the monthly
Feature Archive.
ARTNET
Links to exhibitions, artists, auctions, galleries, art fairs, museums,
and jobs.
ARTSOURCE
Gathering point for
network resources on art, architecture, original materials, new media,
and organizations.
AskART.com
A database with
25,000 American artists, including biographies, an impressive image
gallery, museums and exhibitions, and auction records.
AXIS: For
Information on Visual Artists
Provides access to
and promotes information about visual artists living and working in
Great Britain. No comparable US site has been found. The site includes
sculptors, graphic designers, jewelers, metal workers, and furniture
makers, along with large images of the artists' work as well as a vita
with contact information
Fine Art
Marketplace
Promotes the idea and realization of virtual museums and exhibits on
the Web, with links to exhibits, Web site reviews, and artist
information, ranging from ancient sites to contemporary art.
Momentary
Vignette
A couple of images and brief paragraphs on artists, architects, works,
movements, or even terms.
Sculptor.org
Labeled "a comprehensive resource for sculptors," this is the
nonprofit, personal site of Richard Collins. It is the only free,
comprehensive site on sculpture currently available. Includes
educational, professional, and marketing information.
HISTORY OF ART
Art
History
Resources on the Web
Creator of the site, Christopher Witcombe, is a scholar in Italian art
history. A comprehensive site, with searches available by period and
style, by museums and galleries, and research resources. Prints are
organized by collection. The Spencer Museum of Art and Wesleyan
University both offer substantial information.
Frida Kahlo
& Contemporary
Thoughts
Features a Web site
about the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (1907-1954). It is divided into
the following sections: updated news, biography, critical essays,
bibliography, Frida and contemporary arts, and exhibitions (both
permanent and temporary). Includes a flash movie "Frida e-motion". In
English.
Georgia O'Keeffe
Text alternates
with quotations drawn from O'Keeffe's writings; images consist of many
photographs of the artist and 16 lovely color paintings; although it
lacks analysis of the artist's oeuvre, it can be enjoyed for its
high-quality
design.
Making Sense
of Marcel Duchamp
Copyrighted
by Andrew Stafford, this site is a fit tribute to the artist, with a
timeline from 1887 to 1968. If the only Duchamp you know is Nude
Descending a Staircase No. 2, you are in for a visual treat!
Metropolitan Museum of
Art's Timeline of Art History
"The Timeline of Art History is a chronological,
geographical, and thematic exploration of the history of art from
around the world, as
illustrated especially by the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection."
Covers
prehistory to 1800 A.D.
National Gallery of Art: Dolls from the Index of
American Design
Presents selections
from the Index of American Design at the National Gallery of Art in
Washington, D.C., which consists of watercolor renderings of American
decorative
arts objects from the colonial period through the 19th century.
Features
renderings of American-made dolls and discusses how dolls were made.
Links to the home page of the National Gallery.
Picasso
at the Lapin Agile Home Page
Useful but quirky
site; following a condensed biography, identifies a list of 34 Picasso
sites.
Rock Art in
Arkansas
Contains a database
of 150 rock art elements, resources, and a photo gallery.
SAC Art History 1303
Many fabulous links
to art history sites, courtesy of Prof. Marleen Hoover,Visual Arts and
Technology Department at San Antonio College.
Vincent Van
Gogh Information Gallery
Over 2000 graphics
including information about ALL of Vincent Van Gogh's paintings, plus
biographical information, letters, and news, authored by "David."
Vistas: Visual
Culture in Spanish America, 1520-1820
"...offers a critical selection of
color images, primary sources, and interpretive essays on colonial
history and
culture."
Women Artists of the American West, Past
and Present
Developed as an Internet course, the content is uniformly high in quality
and reliability. Susan Ressler is the editor. Currently, it contains illustrated
essays on Community, Identity, Spirituality, and Locality. Most of the links
offer images from the artists.
DIGITAL IMAGES
Art
Images for College Teaching (AICT)
Royalty-free image
exchange for the educational community; divided into five sections:
Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque, 18th-20th centuries, and
Non-Western.
Corbis
Digital imagery
archives includes international art, entertainment, animal, travel, and
cultural images.
Photo Net
Helpful guide with
photo tips. Operated by Philip Greenspun, teacher at MIT.
Mark Harden's
Artchive
A collection of
over 2200 graphics from cave paintings to abstract expressionism.
Downloadable only for non-profit educational use.
Sito
A place for
image-makers to meet and display their works by sponsoring
collaborative
works whereby artists from all over the world contribute to a single
graphical image; also includes individual works by artists in many
media
categories. It is virtually always mentioned in any list of good art
sites.
Symbols
Online version of
Carl Liungman's Thought Signs.Contains more than 2,500 Western
signs, organized into 54 groupings based on graphic characteristics,
plus 1,600 brief articles which discuss the history and meaning of the
ideograms. Includes astrological symbols, alchemical glyph, scientific
ideograms, and even hobo signs. Indexes by image and by name of
symbols.
Time
Inc. Picture Collection
For professionals
who want to purchase the rights, and for casual browsers or students
who want to look at history, this collection is wonderful. It exists
primarily to market Time-Life images but also gives students and
scholars a glimpse of the visual images of the 20th century. Anyone can
gain
access by registering, then type in descriptors for the events you want
to study. Multiple descriptors and search strategies may be necessary
to discover all the treasures in this massive collection.
World Wide Arts Resources
Offers images from
over 8000 artists. For a specific artist, use the search engine
at the base of the Artists' index page.
MUSEUMS & GALLERIES
Amon Carter
Museum
Founded in 1961 to
house Amon G. Carter, Sr.'s collections of Frederic Remington and
Charles M. Russell, the museum has grown to over 250,000 objects of
American
art from the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Archives of
American Art
Founded in 1954,
the Archives have been part of the Smithsonian since 1970. 13 million
documents about American visual arts from the 18th century on are here,
including the Inventory of American Paintings and Sculpture.
Art Atlas: Art Galleries of the
World
This database lets you find addresses of over 5000
international art galleries. Some entries provide additional
information on the gallery, like opening hours or a link to its
homepage.
American
Museum
of Photography
Taken from the
collections of photo-historian William B. Becker, covers work from 1939
to 1970's. Offers outstanding examples of photography in an artistic
layout.
Australian Museums
On-Line
A broadly based
project of several levels of government and a large number of museums
and galleries. AMOL is impressive in its inclusiveness, representing
1,000 institutions. Search capabilities are extensive and links are
reliable and easy to find.
Frick Collection
and Frick
Art Reference Library
Probably everyone's
favorite small museum in New York, housing choice European paintings
from the 14th through 19th centuries, sculptures, and decorative arts.
About half of the works are accompanied by illustrations, catalog-type
information, and a short artist biography. The illustrations can be
viewed either in small scale or clicked to a larger size.
The Getty
Includes an
architectural tour of the art museum; 200 video clips related to
artists,
conservation, special exhibits, and artworks; a library catalog of
800,000
entries; and Explore Art, consisting of 3,300 images, 1,500 artist
biographies,
and 1,500 definitions.
Los Angeles County
Museum of Art
Premier visual arts
museum in the western United States, owning more than 150,000 works of
art. Site includes information on the permanent collections,
exhibitions, films, and music.
The
Louvre
The Louvre's web
site is well-organized and comprehensive. It is divided into three
major sections: Palace & Museum, Activities, and Information. The
Collections section is divided into seven subcategories: Oriental
Antiquities & Islamic Art; Egyptian Antiquities; Greek, Estruscan,
& Roman Antiquities; Sculpture; Objects d'Art; Paintings &
Graphic Arts. Each subcategory provides photographs and information on
selected Major Works. Home of the Mona Lisa, of course.
McNay Art Museum
Features the museum
at San Antonio, Texas, with links to the House, Collection,
Exhibitions, Events, Membership, and the Library. Unfortunately, no
list of individual artwork.
Metropolitan
Museum of Art
A virtual
introduction to the largest art museum in the US. The most engaging
aspect is "My
Met Gallery," a unique feature allowing the user to design a personal
gallery by building a set of links to favorite entries. Each work of
art is presented in an expandable thumbnail view, accompanied by basic
information on the object, its provenance, and related links.
MoMA (Museum of
Modern Art)
A valuable resource
for introductory research, providing numerous glimpses of recent
exhibitions and multiple links to other sites. Especially useful is the
section
profiling modern artists.
National
Gallery of Art--The Collection
Provides a
phenomenal tour of the National Gallery, including full screen images,
information about artists, and critical writing about works of art.
Cited as one
of the best sites on the Internet.
National Museum
of American
Art
Usual museum
information; search results can be displayed as thumbnails, which can
be expanded to a small review image with accompanying identification.
Also provides access to Smithsonian databases. This site also offers Helios.
National Museum of American Art: Helios
Offers photography
online, with two main parts: American Photographs, the First Century,
with 175 works from the early days of photography, including the Civil
War, and Between Home and Heaven, displaying contemporary American
landscape photography.
National
Portrait Gallery
Those exploring
London's Gallery via the Web can search the online database of 11,000
works, including paintings, sculptures, drawings, engravings, and
photographs, by "sitter" or person pictured, by an artist or by title.
Advanced searches are available by profession, time period, and some
limits. Directions are given for obtaining clearance for using images
for one's own Web site. A useful site to visualize historic characters
in British history, as
well as some interesting caricatures.
San Antonio
Museum of Art
From the museum
located in San Antonio, Texas, lists News, Exhibits, and Calendar.
State
Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
The Hermitage
remains the premier art collection of Russia. Their site may be visited
in Russian or English through Quick Search, which offers a Glossary and
the following headings: Antique Art, Western European Art, The Arsenal,
Oriental Art, Russian Culture, Numismatics, the Golden Rooms, the
Palace of Peter I, and the Menshikov Palace. Select color images are
available under each heading, together with the equivalent of a museum
label.
Tate Gallery
The Tate is
the national collection of British art since 1500, and of international
modern art. Illustrates over 8,000 works of art, with good quality
images.
WebMuseum
A virtual museum of
several hundred images with excellent reproductions of works from the
Louvre. Its developer is an art enthusiast, Nicolas Pioch, not the
Louvre.
Witte Museum
Features the Witte
Museum, at San Antonio, Texas, with Events, Exhibits, History. Although
this museum features mainly history and science exhibits, artwork is
often involved in the exhibits.
World
Wide Web Virtual Library: Museums
Hosted by Oxford
University, it covers museums in Canada, Japan, Luxembourg, Romania,
Russia, Spain, Sweden, the UK, and the US, as well as exhibitions and
virtual exhibitions.
ARCHITECTURE
Ancient
City of Athens
Photographic
archive of archaeological and architectural sites.
Architectural
& Interior Design for 20th Century America, 1935-1955
Archives over
29,000 images of architectural photographs by Samuel Gottscho and
William Schleisner, from the Library of Congress's American Memory
project.
Architectural
History 102
Slides from
Renaissance and Baroque architecture.
Architectural
Web Sites
New South Wales
Faculty of the Built Environment presents images by architecture and
interior architecture students.
Art
Deco Architecture
Lara Goeke has
created a site centering on the art deco of New York city, including
history, examples, and architectural sources.
Art
Nouveau World Wide
Created by Frank
Derville, this site includes a photo-gallery, map of locations, and a
history of architects involved in this movement. Doors and furniture of
this
period are also included.
Asian Historical
Architecture
"...a photographic survey of Asia's architectural
heritage. Here you can view over 6350 photos of 451 sites in
seventeen countries, with background information and 'virtual tours'."
Byzantine Architectural Project
Includes topography
of Constantinople and a structural analysis of Hagia Sophia.
Digital
archive of American architecture
Web site created
and maintained by Jeffery Howe focuses on American architecture of the
17th-20th centuries. The web archive contains (presently) nearly 1,400
digitzed
images with explanatory material.
Frank Lloyd Wright
Spun off from the
documentary film, Wright's life and architecture are organized around
10 important projects. Includes generous quotes from Wright's Autobiography,
as well as period newspapers and periodicals. A clever component is the
locator which supplies an illustrated list by zip code, complete with
road maps, of nearby Wright buildings open to the public.
Great
Buildings Collection
1200 structures
around the world, including photographs, architectural information, and
live 3-D walk throughs and modes. Copyrighted 3-D models are available
for downloading for educational purposes, as long as the source is
cited.
International
Archive
of Women in Architecture (IAWA)
Concentrates on
women in architecture in the pre-1950s eras.
Islamic
Architecture in Isfahan
Covers a wide range
of Islamic architecture and styles.
Medieval
English Visual Arts
Images of sites
corresponding to Medieval England
Resource for Urban
Design Information
This web site is
funded by the University of Hertfordshire and Oxford Brookes
University. It provides information and links for teaching, research,
and professional activities in urban design and related disciplines,
bringing together materials from professionals, faculty, and students.
It claims linkage to about
2,200 web pages, including 6,000 images, utilizing full-text searching
using subject, keyword, or place-name options. The site's strongest
suit
is its European, especially British, content.
Skyscrapers.com
Subtitled The
World's Database on Buildings, this site claims to have the largest
database on tall buildings. Contains statistics and other information,
plus photos of buildings, including some since destroyed. Downloading
of up to 20
photos for educational use with proper credit provided for the
photographer and the site.
FASHION HISTORY
All
About Jewels
illustrated
dictionary of jewelry from EnchantedLearning.com (Firm)
Baroque Costumes
Contains historical
background from the 17th-18th centuries, including military uniforms,
etiquette and manners, and detailed engravings and paintings of
costumes
and hairstyles, fabric, lace, and embroidery.
Costume
Gallery
Costume Society of
America presents exhibits, an Online Costume Library, and La
Couti`ere Parisienne, with more than 500 images of fashion from
1400-1928, and the Handbook of German Dress, with color plates
from 1200 to 1800.
Costume
History at The Costumer's Manifesto
Tara Maginnis
presents a collection of Web sites related to the clothing, fashion,
and textiles of ancient and modern eras. Also see her excellent site: Asian
Costume Links
Costume
Page: Costuming Resources Online
Created by Julie
Zetterberg, this sites indexes over 2,000 costumes and costume-related
links.
Costume
Site
Lauren Podolak, an
amateur costumer, provides access to costume, ethnic and theatrical
images, and is especially strong in its access to ethnic costume.
Elizabethan
Costuming Page
Drea Leed presents
information on clothing worn in Europe during the 16th and 17th
centuries. The categories of the collection include underpinnings,
portraits and
pictures, costume patterns, colors and fabrics, hats and headware,
dress
accessories, and more.
History
of Costume
C. Otis Sweezey
reproduces 500 plates from the History of Costume,printed in
Munich from 1871 to 1880.
History
of Fashion, Food, Games and Entertainment
The Web directory
contains a collection of Internet resources on the history of fashion,
food, games, and entertainment. The directory offers access to
histories, glossaries, catalogs, timelines, recipes, biographies, and
more.
Regency
Fashion Page
Cathy Decker's
fabulous Regency site includes fashion plates, styles from 1790-1822
and 1827-1829, portraits, outer wear, men's fashions, Princess
Charlotte's Wedding of 1816, and many details on specific types of
dresses and hats.
Zulu
Beadwork
Offers information
on beadwork of the Zulu people from South Africa, presented by Stan
Schoeman. Includes photographs of traditional necklaces, as well as
head, chest,
and waist adornment.
COMICS AND CARTOONS
Comic Art &
Graffix Gallery Virtual Museum & Encyclopedia
Created and
maintained by Graffix Multimedia. It includes DCML: Disney Comics
History,
1930-1984.
Don
Markstein's Toonopedia
Vast electronic
encyclopedia with connecting links to hundreds of cartoons from the
past century of cartooning.
History
of Superhero Comic Books
Created and
maintained by Jamie Colville.
Links
to Comics and Graphic Novel Sites
Links to library
graphic novel web pages, pages of graphic novel publishers, as well as
pages of comic book creators.
UComics.com
Massive collection
of cartoon strips, including Adam, Citizen Dog, Garfield, and Mister
Boffo.
Comics.com
Another massive collection of cartoon strips, including Peanuts, Dilbert,
and Over the Hedge.