ARTH 207 - 20th Century Art

• Check the location, availability and call number before heading to the shelf
• Not sure how to read a call number? Watch this video on Youtube.
  
• Books are organized by subject, so take time to browse the shelves. You might find something useful you didn't see in the catalog.
• Get books from other SCAD locations or place a hold with the request service

Browsing for books and articles? Search Catalog+  to find a variety of resources all in one place:

Looking for a specific book title or author? Search the Classic Catalog below:

To identify scholarly books, check for:

• A university or academic publisher (e.g. Oxford, Cambridge)
• Authors/editors are scholars, professors, curators, etc.
• Extensive bibliographies/reference lists are provided

Exhibition catalogs can be an especially helpful scholarly source.

• Documents a gallery or museum exhition
• Includes scholarly essays and high quality printed images of the works in the exhibit
• Published by/in collaboration with a museum (e.g. Getty, Met Museum)
• SEARCH TIP: add the keyword 'exhibitions' to your catalog search. E.g. cubism exhibitions

Catalogues raisonnés are another kind of scholarly art book.

• Documents the complete works of a single artist
• Includes extensive research information and a variety of images
• Tend only to address late-career, prolific artists
• SEARCH TIP: add the keyword 'raisonne' to your search. E.g. duchamp raisonne

Use call numbers to browse the shelves for ideas and information:

• N--Visual arts 
• NA--Architecture 
• NB--Sculpture 
• NC--Drawing. Design. Illustration 
• ND--Painting 
• NE--Print media 
• NK--Decorative arts 
• NX--Arts in general

Want to browse the shelves for a particular subject? Explore the call number guide below:

When analyzing a work of art, it's helpful to develop and apply a list of relevant questions. Consider:

• Subject matter - What is being depicted? (May require researching a related place, figure or event - e.g. from religion or mythology)
• Material and form - What is the size, shape, line, texture, color, etc.? How do these affect the way you "see" the subject?
• Social and historical contexts - When, where, and why was the work made?
• What were the artist's intentions (if known)?

Barnet's A Short Guide to Writing About Art provides many useful examples of analytical questions and is a required/recommended text for most Art History courses.

Looking for online resources? Log into your SCAD account from the library homepage to access ebooks and databases from home.

Searching for other library materials available online? Learn how to find eResources through SCAD Libraries with the video below:

Need more help? Ask a Librarian to connect you with library resources.