Print biographical resources - general
Art Now, vols. 1-4Call Number: N6490.4 .A37ISBN: 382281444XPublished between 2002 and 2013, these four volumes each contain profiles of dozens of different contemporary artists from around the world
Contemporary Artists by Call Number: ref N6490 .C6567 2002ISBN: 1558624899Publication Date: 2002-01-01'Contemporary Artists' features comprehensive profiles of nearly 850 of the most significant artists woring in the contemporary era, with the vast majority of artists featured having produced their most significant work in the years after 1960.
Cream 3: Contemporary art in culture (10 curators, 100 contemporary artists, 10 source artists)Call Number: N6490 .C742 2003ISBN: 0714843113The Cream books feature works by 100 contemporary artists. The library also owns Fresh Cream (2000) and Ice Cream (2007).
The Painter speaks : artists discuss their experiences and careers by Call Number: ND205 .P35 1993ISBN: 0313289158Jerome Library, Main floor. Interviews with Chuck Close , Jim Dine, Sam Gilliam, Sally Haley, Al Held, Carl Morris, Joan Nelson, Barbara Noah, Elias Rivera, Dan Smajo-Ramirez, Emmi Whitehorse, Lisa Young.
Print biographical resources - the Americas and international artists
101 : a guide to 101 modern & contemporary Indian artistsCall Number: N7304 .J53 2005ISBN: 8175084235Jerome Library, main floor
Artists from Latin American cultures: A Biographical DictionaryCall Number: N6502.5 .C657 2002ISBN: 0313315442
Latin American and Caribbean Artists of the Modern EraCall Number: ref N6502.4 .S45 2003ISBN: 0786410574Reference Collection, Jerome Library, main floor. A biographical dictionary of more than 12,700 artists.
Modern Chinese artists : a biographical dictionaryCall Number: N7348 .S85 2006ISBN: 0520244494Jerome Library, main floor
St. James guide to Black artistsCall Number: ref N40 .S78 1997ISBN: 1558622209Reference collection, Jerome Library, main floor.
Biographical dictionary of Japanese artCall Number: N7350.B448ISBN: 0870114883Jerome Library, main floor- Who's Who in ArtCall Number: N40.W6Publication Date: 1982 (v. 20)Who's Who in Art covers British artists. It can be a very good place to find information on more obscure artists.
- Who's Who in American Art/Who Was Who in American ArtCall Number: N6536.W5, N6536.W56Publication Date: 1985, 1997-2002Brief biographical entries on American artists. Sometimes the only reference source for more obscure artists.
Print biographical resources - specific media
The Thames and Hudson encyclopaedia of 20th century design and designersCall Number: NK1390 .J85 1993ISBN: 0500202699Jerome Library, main floor
The Thames and Hudson encyclopedia of graphic design and designersCall Number: ref NC997 .L54 1992ISBN: 0500202591Reference collection, Jerome Library, main floor- Contemporary designersCall Number: ref NK1390 .C655 1997ISBN: 1558621849Reference collection, Jerome Library, main floor
- Museum of American Folk Art encyclopedia of twentieth-century American folk art and artists byCall Number: NK808.R6 1990Jerome Library, main floor
Contemporary photographersCall Number: ref TR139.C663 1988ISBN: 0912289791Reference collection, Jerome Library, main floor
Dictionary of American sculptors : "18th century to the present," illustrated with over 200 photographsCall Number: ref NB236.O64 1984ISBN: 0938290037Reference collection, Jerome Library, main floor
Print biographical resources - women artists
North American women artists of the twentieth century : a biographical dictionaryCall Number: ref N6503 .N67 1995ISBN: 0824060490Reference collection, Jerome Library, main floor
Women artists in the 20th and 21st century by Call Number: N8354 .W66 2003ISBN: 3822824372Jerome Library, main floor
Contemporary women artistsCall Number: ref N8354 .C66 1999ISBN: 1558623728Reference collection, Jerome Library, main floor
Find books
Find books about individual artists by searching these three catalogs:
- BGSU Libraries CatalogSearch for books, videos, music scores, CDs, journals & newspapers, and archival and special collections available at the BGSU Libraries.
- OhioLINK Library CatalogSearch for books, periodicals, electronic resources and other items in the 100+ OhioLINK member libraries.
- WorldCat (OCLC FirstSearch)WorldCat contains catalog records, locations, and library borrowing information for books, journals, videos, sound recordings, archival materials and more owned by millions of libraries all over the world.
Find articles
Look for both exhibition reviews and longer scholarly articles in these databases:
- Art Full Text & Art Index RetrospectiveIndexing for hundreds of international art publications, including peer-reviewed journals, yearbooks, and museum bulletins, with full text provided for many.
- JSTOROver a thousand full-text scholarly journals and books covering all subjects in the humanities, sciences and social sciences. History, economics, art, literature, and mathematics are particularly strong. All journal titles are archived back to the first issue, many dating from the early 1800s.
- New York Times HistoricalThe entire contents of the New York Times from 1851 to three years ago.
- Other newspapers onlineTry Nexis Uni (formerly LexisNexis), ProQuest Newsstand or Access NewspaperARCHIVE to search in newspapers from around the world.
More databases
- Academic Search Complete
A multi-disciplinary full-text database that includes scholarly journal articles on all subjects as well as magazines, books and book chapters, reports, conference proceedings, and more.
- Avery Index to Architectural PeriodicalsA comprehensive index of journal articles published worldwide on architecture and design, archaeology, city planning, interior design and historic preservation.
- Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA) and Répertoire international de la littérature de l'art (RILA)Index to scholarly articles published between 1975 and 2007 on the history of Western art from antiquity to the present.
Online sources for biographical information
- Oxford Art OnlineOxford Art Online includes the peer-reviewed, regularly updated Grove Art Online, The Benezit Dictionary of Artists, The Oxford Companion to Western Art, The Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, and The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms, providing access to thousands of articles spanning ancient to contemporary art and architecture, as well as images of works of art, structures, plans, and artist signatures.
Access limited to 3 users at a time.
- AskART.comA good place to find information about lesser-known artists, view reproductions of work. Entries include bibliographies. Students can purchase full access for 24 hours for $13.50, but much of the site is available for free.
- Archives of American ArtFrom the Smithsonian, includes digitized images, letters, and more as well as descriptions of primary source materials in the Archives, many of which have been microfilmed and can be borrowed through Interlibrary Loan.
- Biography Reference BankBiographical information on approximately half a million people, from antiquity to the present, plus thousands of images.
- Modern & Contemporary Art & Artists (TheArtists.org)Modern and contemporary art and artists; search by movement, school, style, medium, or art prize.
- Designinform Research Guide: Internet Sources of Biographical Information on Artists, Designers, Architects and CraftspeopleLinks to free biographical information websites, arranged by genre of art and artist's country of origin.
- The Complete Marquis Who's Who BiographiesFull-text biographies from 20 Marquis Who's Who publications, including Who's Who in America, Who Was Who in America, and Who's Who in the World.
Web Resources
- ArtnetGallery and auction information; also includes listings and links to contemporary artists and their work.
- Cornell Kroch Library Asia CollectionsFrom the Cornell University Libraries. The collection resides physically at Cornell, but these are online biographies of Chinese Avant-Garde artists.
- PBS: Art in the 21st CenturyWebsite for documentary series from PBS on 21st Century art. Biographies, videos, slideshows, A-Z artist index.
- Video History Project: Experimental Television Center"The Video History Archive contains information, writings, and images by and about people and organizations involved with the production, exhibition, distribution and support of video art, community television, and other forms of independent production."