Research guides

Spencer Art Reference Library creates digital research guides in conjunction with art exhibitions and special initiatives at the museum. Use these guides as starting points for research projects or exploring publications related to past exhibitions.

Databases and online resources 

The Library offers free access to significant subscription databases, including art encyclopedias, academic journals, and news archives.  

*Unless otherwise noted, these resources are only accessible from the Library’s reading room. 

Encyclopedias and dictionaries

Oxford Art Online – Grove Art Online 
Oxford Art Online – Benezit Dictionary of Artists 
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: The Metropolitan Museum of Art * freely available resource 
Missouri Remembers: Artists in Missouri through 1951 * freely available resource 

Articles: indexes and full-text

Art Bibliographies Modern 
ArticleFirst 
Art and Architecture Source 
Art Discovery Group Catalogue 
Art Index Retrospective 
Bibliography of Asian Studies 
Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA) * freely available resource 
Clase and Periódica: Index of Latin American Journals 
International Bibliography of Art 
Design and Applied Arts Index (DAAI) 
Firstsearch (OCLC Worldcat, ArticleFirst, and other sources) 
Scipio 
JSTOR: Archive of full-text scholarly articles & 3 million images 
Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts 
Teacher Reference Link 

Newspapers

The British Newspaper Archive *access generously funded in memory of Dr. Roger Ward 
New York Times Online (1851-currrent date minus 4 years): Proquest Historical Newspapers 
The Times of London Digital Archive (1785-current date minus five years) 
Newspapers.com (1700s-2000s): World Collection 

Art sales

ARTNET 
Art Price 
AskArt 
Invaluable 
Lugt’s Répertoire des Catalogue de Ventes *freely available resource 

Specialized resources

Art and Architecture ePortal (A&AePortal) 
Ancestry * not available off-site 
Archives Grid * freely available resource 
AATA Online: Abstracts of International Conservation Literature 
Collaborative ART Archive (CARTA) *access generously funded in memory of Dr. Roger Ward 
Chicago Manual of Style 
Digital Scriptorium *freely available resource

Nelson-Atkins resources

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Collection Search *freely available resource 
Digitized Collections *freely available resource 
Search the Museum Archives *freely available resource