LibGuides: Art and Design Research Guide: Articles and Databases

Art and Design Articles and Databases

On this page, you can learn when articles are most useful for research and how to borrow articles from other libraries with Interlibrary Loan.

We’ve also curated the most relevant Art and Design databases for image collections, subject overviews, periodicals, and journal articles. They are split into categories to help you find the best match for your research.

Please note that you'll need to log in with your UML credentials before you can view article or database content.

Best Bets

These are top resources we recommend for getting started with your research:

Art and Architecture Complete
A key research collection of full text articles and books covering architecture, art and art history, film, interior and landscape design, and much more. Articles are from either specialty art and architecture magazines, or academic journals and books.
Grove Art Online
A core art encyclopedia and one of the most important sources for background information in the arts. Also a component of Oxford Art Online, including articles on individual artists, eras, materials, regions, with many images of key artistic works.
JSTOR
A key collection of both high-quality academic journals and high-quality art and history images. Now including Artstor, over 1.8 million images in art, architecture, humanities, and social sciences, with tools to view, present, and manage images. Most journals include full backfile, dating from the first issue, reaching back decades or even over 100 years. Most journals do not include the most recent 1-3 years. Covers topics across the disciplines, from arts and humanities to social sciences, sciences, and engineering.

Exploring More

Try these options to expand your research:

Films On Demand
A key collection of over 41,000 full-length documentaries and educational films to stream. The content spans all academic disciplines and comes from producers and distributors like the BBC, PBS, A&E, the History Channel, California Newsreel, Frontline, National Geographic, and many more.
Fine Arts Collection
Over 300 full-text journals and magazines covering drama, music, art, filmmaking and more.

Coverage: 1980 - present
The Fine Arts & Music Collection contains nearly 300 full-text journals with over 100 of those peer-reviewed with a focus on titles indexed in Wilson Art and RILM.
Project MUSE
Project MUSE is a long-standing source for essential arts, humanities, and social science research, providing access to hundreds of journals and thousands of books from leading university presses, scholarly societies, and related publishers.

Deep Dives

Bibliography of the History of Art
A core collection of articles from over 1,200 academic journals, covering European and American visual arts. Developed through collaborations between cultural organizations like the Getty, the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, and the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS).

Publication dates: 1975-2007
Getty Research Portal
A free online search platform providing access to an extensive collection of digitized art history texts. Affords researchers the ability to search and download complete digital copies of publications devoted to art, architecture, material culture, and related fields.

About Articles

What are Articles?

Articles are essays or reports published within a larger container like a journal, newspaper, or magazine. That larger container is called a "periodical" because it is published periodically, or on a regular basis. Different types of periodicals are made for different audiences (popular, scholarly, or trade) and you can learn more about those distinctions with our Types of Sources guide.

Articles are good for...

Current, up-to-date information
- Periodicals are generally quicker to publish than books or long-form films.
Literature reviews and other reviews of a topic
- These elements are often placed at the start of an article to set the stage.
A deep dive into a specific research question, experiment, or study
- Articles often focus on a narrower topic than books.
Peer-reviewed information
- Newspaper articles go through at least some fact-checking, while academic articles are typically reviewed by other scholars and dedicated editors.

To learn more about searching for articles, visit the Library’s Guide to Article Quick Search.

About Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

What is Interlibrary Loan?

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is a free service that allows UML Library patrons to access items we don’t own by borrowing from partner libraries.

How do I use Interlibrary Loan?

Create an account
- Visit our ILL Login Page and click "First Time Users."
- On the new page, scroll down and click "Continue to new user registration."
- Fill out the form and click "Submit Information."
Place your request
- Once you’ve created your account, visit our Guide to Interlibrary Loan to learn how to submit an ILL request through our Library’s catalog and databases.

Can I get Interlibrary Loan items quickly?

Depending on how rare the item is or which libraries own a copy, it might take longer to process your ILL request. Be sure to allow enough time for your item to arrive.
- Physical books, CDs, and DVDs usually arrive within 2-14 business days
- Articles and book chapters often arrive in 1-2 business days, sent by email as a PDF

If you have questions about your ILL request or account, please send an email to ILLSOUTH@uml.edu.