HEILBRUNN TIMELINE
Some assignments may require you to select works of art from different times or cultures from the Heilbrunn Timeline from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We recommend starting from the "Works of Art" link. You can browse here by time period, region, or theme:
- Smarthistory.org
"Smarthistory is a center for public art history with thousands of free videos and essays written by experts who want to share their knowledge with learners around the world. Smarthistory was founded in 2005 by two art historians, Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker."
Local Museums
1. Visit the website of the museums you visited or where the art is located. See if anything is written about your piece.
2. Look around their site for more description about the style or time period in which your piece(s) were made.
3. Visit other museum or gallery sites (Google search artist name + "site:.org" or "site:.edu" for most museums, or just the word museum) where your artist has work displayed. Repeat step 2.
- American Visionary Arts MuseumFolk/outsider/non-traditionally trained artists with a lot of talent.
- Corcoran GalleryDistinguished collection of historic and modern American art.
- Freer/Sackler GalleriesAsian art
- Hirshhorn MuseumModern and contemporary art and sculpture
- Phillips CollectionAmerica's first museum of modern art
Object Research Additional Sources
Use the websites below to find similar works and descriptive text about the artistic and cultural/historical context of works.
- Art History Resources on the WebMore links than you ever thought possible! Published by Dr. C. Witcombe, Professor of Art History
- Barnes Foundation of PhiladelphiaThe Barnes Foundation was established by Albert C. Barnes in 1922 to “promote the advancement of education and the appreciation of the fine arts and horticulture.”
- Google Art ProjectCollections from museums/galleries worldwide. Includes description of works.
- Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Online (Washington, DC)Contains digital images (pictures, photographs, prints, drawings, posters, architectural and engineering drawings) held by the Library of Congress.
- The LouvreParis, France. Need we say more??
- The Metropolitan Museum of ArtThis museum in New York City has large collections of ancient art, including Greek, Roman and Near Eastern.
- The National Gallery, LondonCollection images with comments.
- New York Public Library Digital GalleryProvides free and open access to over 700,000 images, including illuminated manuscripts, historical maps, vintage posters, rare prints, photographs and more.
- Philadelphia Museum of ArtDiscover works of art at one of the largest and most renowned museums in the country.
- Museum of Modern Art MOMAGood descriptions for key works.
Citation Examples
The most common citation styles used in art research are MLA and Chicago styles. Below are some examples of how to cite pages from the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History and Smarthistory.org. For more information on citation styles, including how to cite other formats, see our Citation Basics Research Guide.
Note: There are usually pre-made citations at the bottom of both Smart History and Heilbrunn essay pages, but they are not 100% accurate. (Citation styles change over time and many of these pre-made citations have not been updated.) Be sure to check your citation against the current formatting guidelines.
The above examples refer only to citations for Works Cited/Bibliography pages. For help with in-text citations, use the links below.
Chicago Style In-Text Citations (look at examples listed under "Notes" and/or "Shortened "Notes.")