Research Guides: AAAS/FA-75B : History of African American Art: Finding images

Lisa Zeidenberg

she/her/hers

Contact:

lzeidenb@brandeis.edu

781-736-4697

Subjects: Art, Architecture and Photography, Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies, Film Studies, Music, Theater and Dance

Grove Art Online (Oxford Art Online) This link opens in a new window
Online access to definitive reference works encompassing all aspects of visual culture; includes biographical and subject entries with bibliographies for further research and searchable images made available through Oxford's partnerships with museums, galleries, and other arts organizations.

Provides the most organized and direct path to a huge number of image links. Here's how to find the images after clicking on Grove Art:

Type artist's name into search box.
Select article on artist from the results list.
After article appears, click on the "External resources" link on the lower left.

Note: when clicked, the links connect directly with the museum or image site -- click your browser's back button to return to Grove Art Online.

Artstor This link opens in a new window
Image database featuring images from some of the world's leading museums, photo archives, scholars, and artists; the most comprehensive image resource available for educational and scholarly use, with many rare and important collections available nowhere else.

In pairs, identify an art historical context for one of Edmonia Lewis’ key works - the sculpture Forever Free (Morning of Liberty) (1867-88).

Using Artstor, find the image you’d want to use of this artwork (hint: there are numerous images of it).
Can you record the medium (materials), dimensions, and which collection it’s held in, if applicable?
Are there variants on the work’s title?
Write down some “keywords” that capture the subject matter and content of the work (this will be helpful in the next step) - such keywords could reference the type of figures, their posture, clothing, mood, historical reference, allegorical meaning, etc.
Find 1-2 artwork references that you might compare alongside Forever Free. Try and find works made in the same period (let’s say, ten years +/-), or that capture similar subject matter. Note the artist’s name, the work’s medium, date, dimensions, and collection/credit line.