Articles and E-Books
Library staff have curated the following collection of online resources to support users in exploring art history, research, and scholarship. These resources include digital libraries, museum publications, exhibition catalogs, and scholarly essays, providing free and reliable access to a wide range of art-related materials.
Free & Open-Access Resources for Art Research
The Arcadia Fine Arts Library recommends the following freely available resources for scholars, students, and artists. These resources provide open access to images, digitized books, primary sources, and controlled vocabularies commonly used in art history and visual culture research. Please confirm rights and licensing on each host site before reuse or publication.
Curated list of freely accessible resources.
| Resource | What it offers | Access / Notes | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Met — Open Access | High-resolution images and metadata for public-domain works; many files released under CC0 for unrestricted reuse. | Free to download and reuse; attribution recommended for scholarly practice though not legally required for CC0 items. | Met Open Access |
| National Gallery of Art — Free Images | Downloadable images from the NGA collection (tens of thousands of works); search and download interface for public domain items. | Free access and downloads for works identified as Open Access; check individual records for rights statements. | NGA Free Images |
| Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) | Aggregated portal to millions of U.S.-based images, texts, audio, and video from libraries, archives, and museums nationwide. | Searchable aggregator that links to host institutions; rights vary by item—filter and confirm usage rights at the item page. | DPLA |
| Europeana Collections | Pan-European aggregation of digitized artworks, books, and archival objects from European institutions. | Extensive cross-institutional coverage; licensing / reuse varies by object—check item-level rights statements. | Europeana |
| Getty Research Portal | Search platform for digitized art-history texts, exhibition catalogues, and monographs—many public domain titles available for download. | Free to search and download public-domain works; some contributed items may have restrictions—read item details. | Getty Research Portal |
| OAIster (OCLC) | A large union catalog of records harvested from open-access institutional repositories worldwide—good for locating free full texts. | Search aggregator; results usually link to the provider repository for the actual full text or image file. | OAIster |
| Digital Scriptorium | Union catalog of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts held by U.S. libraries and museums; descriptive records and selected images. | Free search access; many records include images and detailed descriptions—useful for manuscript studies and paleography. | Digital Scriptorium |
| Getty Vocabularies (AAT, ULAN, TGN) | Authoritative, machine-readable controlled vocabularies for art & architecture terms, artist names, and geographic names—downloadable and accessible online. | Free to use; vocabularies support cataloging, metadata work, and linked-data projects. Full downloads and SPARQL endpoint available. | Getty Vocabularies |
Usage Notes
- Always confirm the specific rights statement on the host item page before reuse or republication—even within open collections some items may have restrictions.
- For classroom use, public talks, and scholarship the Met, NGA, and many national collections explicitly provide permissive reuse for public-domain works; cite the source and museum record in scholarly work.
- Use Getty Vocabularies to standardize artist names, object types, and place names in your cataloguing and research projects.
eBooks on the Web
Resource | What it Offers | Access / Notes | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
British Museum Publications | Museum research catalogues, publications, and journals written by staff and external experts. | Offers award-winning illustrated books and journals for general readers, students, and researchers. | |
Canadian Online Art Book Project | Digital library of original works commissioned by the Art Canada Institute on Canadian artists. | Expert-authored, peer-reviewed books on artists critical to Canada’s art history. | |
Fundacion Juan March (Madrid) | Online access to 205 exhibition catalogues from its three venues since 1973. | Catalogues from Madrid, Cuenca (Museo de Arte Abstracto Español), and Palma de Mallorca (Museu Fundación Juan March). | |
Getty Publications Virtual Library | Over 300 Getty publications to download and read for free. | Includes books on art, photography, archaeology, architecture, and conservation. | |
Getty Research Portal | Free online search platform for digitized art history texts. | Search and download publications on art, architecture, material culture, and related fields. | |
Guggenheim Museum Publications | Museum publications provided by the Internet Archive. | Access publications related to the Guggenheim Museum. | |
HathiTrust Digital Library | Millions of digitized titles from libraries worldwide. | “Full View” books readable online; some cannot be downloaded. | |
Heritage Preservation (World Monuments Fund) | Publications on heritage preservation issues. | Extensive resources including reports, brochures, and guides. | |
Internet Archive Open Library | Free digital library with over 45,000 art titles. | Wide range of art-related books and publications. | |
Latsis Foundation E-Library | Publications on Greek art and archaeology. | Focused on cultural, artistic, and historical research. | |
Metropolitan Museum of Art Publications | MetPublications portal with books, online publications, and journals from the last five decades. | Includes over 500 free books, Metropolitan Museum Journal, and The Met Bulletin. | |
MoMA Exhibitions | Exhibitions from MoMA’s founding in 1929 to the present. | Many include downloadable PDFs of older catalogs, checklists, press releases, and installation images. | |
National Gallery of Art Publications | NGA publishing program balancing print and digital access. | Free backlist titles available online. | |
OSCI Museum Catalogues | Getty’s Online Scholarly Catalogue Initiative. | Access to catalogues from: Art Institute of Chicago, Freer/Sackler Galleries, LACMA, NGA, SFMOMA, Seattle Art Museum, Tate, Walker Art Center. | |
Smithsonian Books Online | Smithsonian Libraries online books. | Most books are public domain; free to download, use, and remix. | |
Video Art & Artists Essays | PDFs of essays on video art and individual artists. | Commissioned by the Video Data Bank; covers a range of artists and works. |
PAFA is a non-profit school accredited through the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).
PAFA is an applicant for licensure with the State Board of Private Licensed Schools.
PAFA, like any other college or university, cannot guarantee that credit earned will transfer to another institution. Transfer of credit is regulated by the criteria established by the receiving institution. It is the student's responsibility to confirm whether credits will be accepted by another institution of the student's choice. All PAFA officials are required to accurately represent the transferability of any courses, programs, and certificates offered by PAFA.