Go right to the source! Does your artist have a website, or are they represented by a gallery or dealer that has images of their work online? Artists' and gallery websites often link to exhibition reviews or books & catalogs that review their work, which can be a great source to find more information.
Encyclopedias and other reference sources are excellent starting points to get background information on a topic.
Important note: Reference sources usually provide general or basic information and usually should not be your main source for research. They can provide critical details on where and when an artist worked, or the central ideas around a theme or movement, but do not provide a scholarly perspective on those details. These articles often cite other research, though, and
Scholarly art encyclopedia. Includes over 200,000 reference articles on every aspect of the visual arts from prehistory to the present, with selected images, written by over 6,800 scholars. Serves as the access point for Grove Art Online, the Benezit Dictionary of Artists, and other Oxford art reference resources. View a tutorial on this database here.
In addition to writings by or about an individual artist, look for the original essays or manifestos that described ideas and theories around a time, place, or movement.
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