Visual Resources Centre in East Campus Hall.
Image Library and Reading Room
The Image Library and Reading Room is located in ECH 1216 and is open daily, Monday to Friday, from 9:00 am until 4:30 pm, closing one hour for lunch.
The image collection developed to support teaching and research within the Department and consists of approximately 60,000 slides, 30,000 digital images and 2000 DVDs. The Fine Arts digital image collection can be accessed online with a user account and password (for access off-campus you must first connect to the University's VPN).
The Reading Room includes a study area and a collection of over 2000 books. The collection began through donations by retired faculty and friends of the department and recent purchases have helped round out the collection. These are available for browsing or research and can be signed out by Fine Arts students. View the book catalogue as of August 2024 (PDF).
Contact the Visual Resources Curator if you have any questions.
Photographing artwork
Cameras, tripods and lighting kits are available for students who wish to photograph their artwork. Speak to the Visual Resources Curator for assistance and to book the equipment. For advise on documenting artwork students can review the instructions for documenting artwork (PDF) and also view the videos from Otis College on how to digitally photograph two-dimensional artwork and three-dimensional artwork
Other research resources
Dana Porter Arts Library
The Dana Porter Library maintains an excellent collection of books on Fine Arts. The majority of these are located on the 8th floor, although film and photography books are mostly housed on the 10th floor. For help in using this collection, contact the Fine Arts Liaison Librarian, Stephanie Mutch, at extension 40344.
Also check out the Subject Guides for Fine Arts, Film Studies and Visual Culture and Provenance research.
Art History resources
- Art History Resources on the Web - Christopher Witcombe's site at Sweetbriar College includes hundreds of links to art history resources.
- Mother of all Art and Art History Links Page - one of the most comprehensive resources available online for those researching art and art history.
Sources for digital images
- The Library's Fine Arts subject quide provides links to several sites, including the ARTstor Digital Library.
- Art Images for College Teaching Allan T. Kohl image collection at the Minneapolis College of Art & Design
- Historic Illustrations of Art and Architecture - Allan T. Kohl image collection at the Minneapolis College of Art & Design
- Web Gallery of Art - a virtual museum and searchable database of European fine arts from 11th to 19th centuries.
- Wikimedia Commons
- WorldImages from California State University - contains approximately 100,000 images, is global in coverage and includes all areas of visual imagery.