Five Online Libraries for Art Students

As an art student attending one of the best online universities you probably don't want to leave your home to go to a library to find reference material. That is one of the reasons why online art libraries are useful, the other is of course that they are usually free and great for someone living on a college budget. So, take off your coat/shoes, save the travel money and just turn on your computer, all of your art reference materials are right where you want them, online. Here are the top five best online art libraries.


Artcyclopedia




Artcyclopedia is exactly what it sounds like. An encyclopedia of art, if you aren't sure what an encyclopedia is, it is a comprehensive collection of information regarding a subject. In the case of Artcyclopedia this means everything from expansive libraries of art history and information to a collection of over 8,000 digital art images (many of them classics) that are available for free to use as reference (or reading) material. Artcyclopedia allows students to search by artist name, by title and by location (for art museums). A few of the artists available include Van Gogh, Picasso, Da Vinci, Monet and more!

Intute




While Intute is not solely an art library, it does have an expansive arts and humanities section. The online library features articles, information, reference material in all sections of art including dance, visual, fashion, design, music, theatre and drama, and the visual arts. The library also features short training programs for basic information about the arts as well as a good search system that can be used to bring up specific artists, performances and more. The website is a UK based site, however, the information is intended for worldwide use and may be used anywhere. If you are required to use only American reference material than you may want to discuss using Intute with your adviser before actually using it. It should also be noted that what is currently on the site is all that will ever be added to the site as it was closed in June 2011.


WWW: Virtual Library:History of Art



The World Wide Web: Virtual Library: History of Art is a long name and as a downside can take a lot of time to type when referencing, but hey, its free and it has a lot of great information. The library allows free access to art history, large image prints of art, articles on art sites, periods, themes and more as well as references for art students and much more. Everything can be searched using the sites easy search features and the site also allows access to the virtual museum of art. It should be noted that this site is also a UK address but is updated from worldwide database's.

Dadabase 




This site is a Canadian art website that allows access to one of the largest collections of virtual art on the internet. Dadabase features not only a very large art photo gallery but also information on artists and mostly features modern art. Other features of the website include a list of real-life art exhibitions, dates and times, etc. For the artist studying modern art, Dadabase is a great tool that can be used to extensively research the style and form of modern art as well as to find inspiration and reference material.

Oxford Art Online 




Oxford Art Online is an online art library developed by (you guessed it) Oxford University. The site does require students to sign up to it but it allows access to the online version of the Grove Art Online and the Benezit Dictionary of Artists. Both of which can be used as reference material at any university or college. Oxford art online is an art history research center, a digital art image library of over 40,000 images and has over 23,000 subjects, 21,000 biographies and information on art movements and more.