LibGuides: ART RESEARCH GUIDE: Primary Sources in Art History

Primary Sources - What are they? Where do I find them?

Primary sources are first hand accounts or direct evidence created by a witness about an event, object, or person. Some exapmles of primary sources include:

Artwork (painting, sculpture, print, performance piece, etc.)
Journals, Diaries, and Autobiographies
Correspondence or Letters
Interviews and Speeches
Photographs
Recordings (audio or visual)
Records (birth and death certificates, baptismal records, etc.
Reviews of art exhibitions (found in newspapers, magazines, and journals)
Maps

ArchiveGrid
ArchiveGrid is a collection of archival material descriptions, including records from WorldCat and finding aids harvested from the web. Archival collections represented include those held by thousands of libraries, museums, historical societies, and archives.
MoMA Archives
Holdings include administrative records and papers, artists' records, and organizational records.
Smithsonian Archives of American Art
"Founded at the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1954, the Archives of American Art collects, preserves, and makes available primary sources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States."
Indigenous Peoples of North America
Search for primary source documents covering the political, social, and cultural history of North American indigenous peoples from the sixteenth century until the twentieth century. Documents include manuscripts, monographs, newspapers, photographs, motion pictures, images of artwork, and more. (Gale)

Boatwright Memorial Library

ART RESEARCH GUIDE

Primary Sources - What are they? Where do I find them?