Primary sources are first-hand accounts. In the Art and Art History world, they include paintings, sculpture, letters from or to an artist, statements from an artist, interviews, and more. Here you will find primary source documents in OWHL resources and across the internet.
Art & Museum Websites
Google Images is a great first step to find images that match your topic, or find a known piece of art. You can even reverse image search to find out more about a piece of art. However, make sure you are clicking on only authoritative results (museums, organizations, etc). If you're browsing art or art collections, use the links below.
Addison Gallery of American ArtThe Addison Gallery's permanent collection includes significant paintings, prints, works on paper, sculpture, decorative arts, and photography by generations of American artists from Colonial times to the present.
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (Metropolitan Museum of Art)This site will provide you with some background info on the artists and works that you choose. Use the “Search the Timeline” box in the upper right-hand corner of the page to find your artist.
The Isabella Stewart Gardner MuseumThe Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum's preeminent collection contains more than 2,500 paintings, sculptures, tapestries, furniture, manuscripts, rare books and decorative arts. The galleries house works by some of the most recognized artists in the world, including Titian, Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli, Manet, Degas, Whistler and Sargent.
The Museum of Fine Arts (Boston)The MFA is one of the most comprehensive art museums in the world; the collection encompasses nearly 500,000 works of art. Visitors experience art from ancient Egyptian to contemporary.
The Museum of Modern Art (New York)A collection of modern and contemporary art, MoMA is dedicated to the conversation between the past and the present, the established and the experimental.
Smart History. Art, History, ConversationSmarthistory is a leading resource for the study of art and cultural heritage. A collection of videos and essays are designed to be engaging and conversational and cover art that ranges from the paleolithic to the present. Everything on Smarthistory is completely free and content is offered with no advertising. A small non-profit organization based in New York, but we reach millions of learners around the world.
