Biographical Sources for Art
Using Biography and Genealogy Master Index as a starting point may direct you more quickly to exactly which biographical sources you need. Also consult the Dictionary of Art.
Biographical Dictionaries
Biographical dictionaries provide a brief overview of an artist's career and may include
details on the artist's life, education, exhibitions, and writings.
Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart. Thieme and Becker.
N40.T4 (Arts & Humanities, Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference Collection)
Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveurs de tous les temps et de tous les pays. Bénézit.
N40.B47 1999 (Arts & Humanities, Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference Collection)
Additional resources:
Dictionary of Art Historians
Who Was Who in American Art, 1564-1975: 400 Years of Artists in America.
N6536.W48 1999 (Arts & Humanities, Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference Collection)
Who's Who in American Art.
N6536.W5 (Arts & Humanities, Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference Collection)
Who's Who in Art.
N40.W6 (Arts & Humanities, Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference Collection)
See also the guide to Contemporary Art for biographical dictionaries on contemporary artists.
Biographical Indexes
Biographical indexes will point to dictionaries or other sources with biographical information.
Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon bio-bibliographischer Index A-Z = The Artists of the World: Bio-Bibliographical Index A-Z.
N40.A66 1999 (Arts & Humanities, Pattee, 2nd Floor - Ready Reference)
Artist Biographies Master Index.
N40.A78 1986 (Arts & Humanities, Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference Collection)
Index to Artistic Biography.
N40.H38 & suppl. (Arts & Humanities, Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference Collection)
Union List of Artist Names.
N40.U54 1994 (Arts & Humanities, Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference Collection)
To locate additional biographical sources, search the CAT using the keywords "biography" and [your topic].