Art and Art History

Browsing for books on the shelves can be a very useful way to gather materials on a topic. For libraries using the Library of Congress system for classifying books, all books on a topic are shelved together. 

Use Knox Primo to find books. Some useful keyword searches are:

• mexico indian art
• mexico indian pottery
• indians north america art
• indians baskets
• mesoamerican art

In addition to the journal article databases listed on the Find Articles page in this guide, these two databases may also have relevant scholarly sources on topics in Native American art. 

• America: History & Life -- This database covers the scholarly literature published in history and related journals spanning North American history.
• Historical Abstracts -- Covers the scholarly literature published in history and related journals for areas outside of North America.
• Handbook of Latin American Studies -- Covers both journals and books on topics in Latin American Studies.

Reference books are helpful starting places if you need:

1. An overview of topic, person, place, or event. These are good sources for contextual information about artists and their cultural and social histories.
2. To browse for topic ideas.
3. Help with focusing or narrowing your topic.
4. A list of core resources for your topic. Many reference books provide a short bibliography and/or suggested scholarly readings. These readings usually represent the best scholarship for the topic at hand up to the time the reference work was published.

Reference sources focusing on Indigenous peoples include:

• American Indian Religious Traditions: An Encyclopedia --  Seymour Library Main Stacks E98 .R3 C755 2005

• Encyclopedia of American Indian Costume -- Seymour Library Main Stacks E98 .C8 P37 1994

• Encyclopedia of North American Indians -- See especially the article on contemporary art.

• Encyclopedia of the Great Plains Indians -- Seymour Library Main Stacks E78.G73 E53 2007

• Handbook of North American Indians -- Seymour Library Reference E77 .H25 -- This is organized mostly tribes in geographic areas. Each volume has a separate index; try these terms: arts, architecture, pottery, basketry.

• Indians of Central and South America: An Ethnohistorical Dictionary -- Seymour Library Main Stacks  F1434 .O45 1991

American Indian Art Magazine published (1975-2015) with the purpose: "to be rooted in an earnest desire to portray the art forms of the American Indian in a manner and format that will do justice to the art and its creators."

See the index to the magazine to look for topics covered in the issues. Issues of this magazine are available in Seymour Library.