Modern Art History

Please read this explanation of Primary and Secondary Sources

Resources
Digital Image Database
A very good Art History Writing Guide is available from University of NC at Chapel Hill.
Excellent Guide to Modern and Contemporary Art from SF MOMA.
Citation Machine: Free webtool to help you turn bibliography items into correct format.

Primary Source Material in Anthologies
Primary sources are writing or objects created either during the time period being studied or soon afterward by people reflecting on their involvement in the events of that time.
Art in Theory 1900 - 1990	An Anthology of writings by artists, critics, philosophers, politicians, and literary figures of the century.	Reserve N 6490 A7167
Art in Theory 1815 - 1900	An anthology of writings by artists, critics, philosophers, politicians, and literary figures of the century.	Reserve N 6450 A779 1998
Art Retrospective	Enormous bibliographic database covering hundreds of art magazines from 1926 to 1984. But this is not a full-text database. You will find only citations and then you must find the actual magazine. Most magazines from before 1990 must be paged from the Circulation Desk. The Library owns very few magazines from before 1950.	Available online through the library website
Artists on Art	An anthology of short excerpts of writing by artists from the 14th to the 20th centuries.	Non-circulating N 79 G57 1972
Aspects of Modern Art	An anthology of writing on modern art from L'Oeil, a European art magazine.	Non-circulating N 7443 O3
A Century of Artists' Letters	Reproductions of over 50 letters from many of the most famous painters in Paris between 1855 and 1968. Nicely illustrated.	Non-circulating N 6847 S6 2004
Letters of the Great Artists: From Blake to Pollock	Reprints of over 250 letters and other words by modern artists/	N 40 F8 1963a (Vol. 2)
Manifesto: A Century of Isms	An anthology of original writings and manifestoes. 1855 to 1985.	Reserve CB 427 M287
Modern Art in the USA: Issues and the Controversies of the 20th Century	Short excerpts from journals and books. Organized by decade.	Non-circulating N 6512 H47
Modern Arts Criticism	Each volume covers 20+ artists and about each there is a biographical introduction, statements written by the artists	Ref. N 40 M63
Modernism: An Anthology of Sources and Documents	Short exceprts of writings from the time including the emergence, aesthetics, avant-garde, manifestos for art and literature.	Non-circulating PN 49 M478 1998b
Primitivism and Twentieth-Century Art: A Documentary History	Essays of historical importance pertaining to the encounter between Western modern artists and "Primitive art" written mostly in the first half of the 20th century.	Reference N 72 P68 P75
Reflections on Art	Anthology and source books of writings by artists, critics, and philosophers published in 1958.	Non-circulating N 79 L2
Selected Writings on Art and Artists	Baudelaire's discussion of Delacroix, Igres, and Corot, among other writers and musicians of the period.	Non-circulating NX 65 B3813
Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art	Anthology of writings by important artists.	Reserve N 6490 S765
Theories of Modern Art	Authoritative anthology of theoretical source materials on painting and sculpture since Cezanne.	Reserve N 6450 C62 T396
Voices of Women Artists	Anthology of writings from letters, journals, interviews, and autobiographies. Artists include Cassatt, Kollwitz, O'Keeffe, Kahlo, Nevelson, etc.	Reserve N 43 S5

Cultural, Social, and Historical Context
Looking at source materials for the period being studied is a good method to determine context. Luckily there are many histories and anthologies which include reprints of original materials such as diary writing, ads, photographs, and newspapers. These reprinted materials actually could be considered secondary sources because an author/editor selected what to include based on their own bias and interpretation, thereby changing the original context. How we think about what is a primary source, however, is rapidly changing because of the digital revolution. Libraries are now providing digitized images of original sources over the Web.
Ads That Put America on Wheels	Early 1900's through 1960's. Shows through actual ads how automobiles were marketed.	Reserve HF 6161 A9 D74
Advertising and the Motorcar	Early 1900's through 1960's. Shows through actual ads how automobiles were marketed. An essay is included.	Reserve HF 6161 A8 F74
American Century: Art & Culture 1900 - 1950	Based on a Whitney exhibition, this is an in-depth overview of art of the period.	Reserve N H335 1999
American Decades	One volume per decade beginning with 1950's. Organized with chapters on world events, education, politics, lifestyles, media, the arts, etc.	Reference E 169.12 A419 1994
Fashions of a Decade 8 volumes	Just fashion. We have the 20's through the 90's.	Reference GT 596 C837
Hulton Getty Picture Collection 6 volumes	One volume per decade. All pictures with captions. We have the 20's through the 70's.	D 426 Y367 1998
This Fabulous Century 7 volumes	One volume per decade beginning with 1900-1950. Overview of the popular culture of the period. Mostly images.	Reference E 161 T55
20th Century Day by Day: 100 Years of News	Headlines and front pages of newspapers from 1900 through 1999.	D 422 C53

Websites of Interest:
Ad Access	Images and database information for over 7,000 advertisements printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines between 1911 and 1955.
AdFlip	Archive of classic ads from 1940 to the present.
American Cultural History: The Twentieth Century	The purpose of these pages is to present a series of web guides on the decades twentieth century. The pages are perpared by the Reference Librarians. Period pictures used.
Decades in 20th Century America	Students, or anyone else interested in American history and culture, will find a serviceable collection of print and online sources for each of the century's decades, as well as several that cover more than one decade. Annotated and regularly updated.
Year by Year 1900-2001	This site describes historic events of the twentieth century by year and by decade.
Calisphere	Provides access to more than 150,000 images, documents and other primary source materials from the libraries and museums across California, including photographs, documents, newspapers, political cartoons, works of art, diaries, transcribed oral histories, advertising, and other cultural artifacts that reveal the diverse history and culture of California and its role in national and world history.