Background Information
Use the following reference databases to find background information on the subject you are researching.
- Encyclopedia Britannica
The complete academic encyclopedia, related articles, images, and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.
- Oxford Art Online
Art encyclopedias and dictionaries online, including full-text access to the fundamental Grove Dictionary of Art.
Instructional Services Librarian
Introduction
This guide is designed to help students enrolled in Caty Telfair's World in a Frame: Nineteenth Century Portrait Photography around the Globe class (HAAVC-3000) perform research.
Start by searching for secondary sources related to your subject (encyclopedic entries, books, and digital articles) before trying to find primary sources (the specific portraits you will analyze and any contemporaneous materials). To do this, search for books in the CCA Libraries collections and article databases such as Jstor and Art & Architecture Source (linked below).
Most books on photography-related subjects will be located in Meyer Library in Oakland, but they can be delivered to San Francisco's Simpson Library for you.
CCA Libraries Book Search
Scholarly Article Databases
- Art & Architecture Source
Full-text articles and citations from journals and books related to fine, decorative, and commercial art, as well as architecture and architectural design.
- JSTOR
Scholarly articles from hundreds of journals in a wide range of academic subjects, including art and design.
Finding 19th Century Portraits
The following platforms allow you to search digitized historic photographs. Use these services to try and find the 19th century portrait(s) you will analyze.
- ArtstorHigh-resolution digital images for the arts, architecture, humanities, and sciences. As of 2024, all Artstor content is now hosted on JSTOR.
- Digital Public Library of AmericaSearch platform that contains digitized texts, images, and media from thousands of libraries, archives, and museums around the United States.
- Europeana CollectionsArtworks, artifacts, books, film, and music from participating European museums, galleries, libraries, and archives.
- Library of Congress Historic PhotosDirect link to searching 19th-century images in the Library of Congress' digital collections.
- Getty Museum Search GatewayOpen content from the Getty Museums in Los Angeles, California.
- Metropolitan Museum 19th Century PhotographsAdvanced search of the Met Museum's collection set for photographs from 1800-1900.
- U.S. National Archives Image SearchImages in the collections of the United States National Archives.
