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Art History & Fine Arts

Subject specialist
Ruth Wallach
rwallach@usc.edu
(213) 740 6917


Reference services & research help

Doing Research through USC Libraries

To locate published books, exhibition catalogs, artists' books, and dvds on art related topics, and the location of journals (but not articles) use HOMER, the USC Libraries catalog.

To search for articles, go to the Databases link (for log-in from home, you must be a USC student, faculty, or staff. Point your browser to http://libproxy.usc.edu to log in). The most important databases to locate articles in journals and professional publications in art history and fine arts are:

  • ArtBibliographies Modern is an index that covers publications on contemporary art and photography, covering the history of art from the mid-19th century to present
  • Bibliography on the History of Art (BHA) is the most important and comprehensive index in art history for articles, books, and book essays. It covers publications in English and other European languages. HOMER lists journals which are in the USC Libraries.
  • Index to Christian Art
  • Index to 19th Century American Art Periodicals
  • JSTOR covers scholarly journals in a variety of fields and includes a limited number of important journals in art history. Articles are in full text pdf.
  • Wilson Full Text (select "Art Retrospective" and "Omni-File Full Text"). This source covers art-related articles from many standard English-language journals and magazines, although not everything is available in full text. HOMER lists journals which are in the USC Libraries.
  • ArtStor, provides access to almost a million high quality images of art and photography.
  • Dissertations and Theses search through Proquest (select "Dissertations and Theses" from the drop-down menu).
  • HOMER lists journals which are in the USC Libraries.
  • Refworks and the Chicago Manual of Style for formatting citations and bibliographies.

Archival and Specialized Sources:

Professional Standards and Competencies

Print materials on art history and fine arts are located primarily in the Helen Topping Architecture and Fine Arts Library, Watt Hall. Books and journals in related areas are also found in Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library, Rare Books & Manuscripts, Specialized Libraries and Archival Collections, Hoose Library of Philosophy, East Asian & Korean Heritage Library, Leavey Library, and Grand Avenue Library. The collection supports teaching and research through the doctoral level and beyond in the following areas of specialization:

  • Art History; Museum Studies; Public Art Studies; History of collecting and display; Catalogs of artist works

The collection also supports teaching and independent study through the undergraduate level in all areas of art and art history. Books and journals are in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Materials in the East Asian vernacular languages which are primarily text are usually collected in the East Asian Library. Materials on the ancient world through modern times are collected from around the world, but primarily from Europe (particularly Western), the United States, and East Asia. A wide variety of formats are collected, including:

  • Monographs; Journals and serials; Catalogs of collections; Museum and gallery exhibition catalogs; Festschriften; Artists' books; Art-oriented guidebooks; Conference proceedings; Electronic resources; videos and DVDs; electronic resources <P>

Instruction services for faculty

To schedule a class taught by the Art History and Fine Arts specialist, select "Request-A-Class" below. To inquire about tours for guests or orientations for new faculty or students, contact the Art History and Fine Arts specialist.