Fine art: useful websites

The Internet is increasingly a good source of reference for both academic and visual information. Listed below are links to some of the key websites for your subject area, including people, organisations and subject gateways. You may also find it useful to visit web resource pages for other subjects, those for Film Studies, Graphic Arts or History for example. Advice on how to evaluate websites can be found on the Internet Detective site.

If you have any ideas for other websites for inclusion, please contact your subject librarian.

Clicking on any of the categories below will link you to a list of relevant websites:

Selected sites

Title Description
[a-n] The Artists Information Company Web resource providing information, advice and debate for visual and applied artists.
Art Guide Comprehensive Internet guide to the art collections of Great Britain and Ireland.
ArtNetwork Created by the National Association of Fine Arts, this site provides resources to assist artists with the marketing and selling of their work.
The Art of War A gallery of the cartoons, sketches, paintings and concept art that were created to help mobilise the war effort during WWII.
Artists' Papers Register A location register of the papers of artists, designers and craftspeople held in publicly accessible collections in the United Kingdom.
Arts on Film Archive of the Art Council's film collection which chronicles over 50 years of British art. A unique record of British and international post-war art, as well as of documentary film-making in the UK which includes material on Francis Bacon, Stanley Spencer, David Hockney and the Young British Artist (YBA) group.
Audio Interviews BBC4 archive of interviews recorded with a number of renowned painters, sculptors and photographers.
Fineart Launched as a celebration of the "history and achievements of Britain's art schools", this website is the prototype for a national web-based collection of work by staff and students of UK higher education institutions.
Folk Archive Project which attempts to collect and exhibit folk art from all parts of Britain and Ireland.
inIVA Archive Documenting inIVA's artistic programme since 1994, the inIVA Digital Archive provides access to the work of contemporary visual artists, critics and curators from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Library of Unwritten Books Project inspired by its founders' belief that there exists amongst individuals a common desire to write a book. Members of the public are asked to record their unrealised ideas, fictional tales and personal histories out of which a limited edition mini-book is created.
Live Art Archive Developed as a research resource by Nottingham Trent University, the Live Art Archive holds information about existing Life Art/Performance Art materials, records and publications available primarily in the UK.
LUXonline Free, comprehensive online resource for people wishing to learn about and explore British artists' film and video. Those interested in and making artists' moving image work can subscribe to the e-newsletter LUX NEWSWIRE.
New Exhibitions of Contemporary Art Listings of current and forthcoming contemporary art exhibitions being held in the UK.
Oxford Art Online Online art encyclopaedia which provides extensive coverage of all aspects of art & design and includes an online image gallery.
Screenonline Developed by the British Film Institute, Screenonline is a website devoted to the history of British Film and Television. It features hundreds of hours of video clips from the vast collections of the bfi National Film and Television Archive, alongside thousands of stills, posters and press books. For instructions on how to collect and install Southampton University's certificate on a computer on the University campus, see the screenonline section of the Library's Passwords page.
Stuckism Website of the anti-conceptual art movement.
Temporarysite.org Archive of curated contemporary art exhibitions.
Turner Prize Produced by the Tate, this website provides a good factual summary of the award.
Visionaire Visionaire is a limited edition album of fashion and art which, since its inception in the Spring of 1991, has offered a forum for works for both famous and emerging artists from around the world as well as fashion designers, art directors and image-makers. Issues of Visionaire produced since 1994 are held by Winchester School of Art Library.


Artists

Title Description
Andrea Zittel Informative site created by the American installation artist.
Antony Gormley Detailed site giving comprehensive coverage of Gormley's works to date.
Banksy Contains examples of the graffiti artist's work (including some film clips) plus press cuttings and discussion list.
Bill Viola Includes exhibition news as well as interviews and an artist biography and bibliography.
Bill Woodrow Has large, searchable database of the artist's sculptures, prints and drawings.
Carolee Schneemann Biography and selected works.
Carsten Holler French site displaying some of Holler's works, also includes biography and essay.
David Shrigley An extensive display of Shrigley's animation, photography and sculpture.
Georgina Starr Features examples of the artist's film, sound and installation works.
Hamish Fulton Includes information about exhibitions, publications and collections as well as images of the artist's work.
Jake Tilson Includes archive of web projects and information on other works produced by the artist.
Judy Chicago Website of Judy Chicago and Through the Flower, the non-profit arts organization dedicated to creating a cultural legacy built on the vision embodied in the work of Judy Chicago through education, exhibition and preservation.
Julian Opie Contains details of exhibitions, projects and new artworks.
Martin Creed Includes audio interviews with the artist plus video and music clips.
Martin Parr Features gallery of recent works, a list of exhibitions and bibliography.
Matthew Barney Offical site of the Cremaster Cycle film project which provides a synopsis, photo stills and a trailer for each work in the cycle.
Miranda July Website of the filmmaker and performance artist.
Orlan Principal website for the performance artist (text in French).
Richard Long Features a selection of Long's sculptures and textworks.
Stella Vine Website of the British painter.
Susan Hiller Provides images of past works, links to web projects and bibliography.

Museums & galleries

Title Title Title
Aspex BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art The Centre of Attention
Dia Art Foundation Fabrica Guggenheim Museums
Henry Moore Institute ICA Metropolitan Museum of Art
Modern Art Oxford Serpentine Gallery Saatchi Gallery
Sculpture at Goodwood Tate Galleries White Cube


Art exhibitions
Title Description
Brighton Photo Biennial National and international photography exhibition held at sites around the city
Brighton Photo Fringe Brighton Photo Fringe works in conjuction with the biennial. Exhibitions held at various venues around the city
Carnegie International Long-running showcase of new and emerging artists.
Documenta Held every 5 years, this exhibition of contemporary art reinvents itself each time taking a different set of leitmotifs for each show.
Fred Held in Cumbria each year, this is Europe's largest exhibition of site-specific art.
Frieze Art Fair Taking place every October in Regent's Park, Frieze Art Fair features over 150 art galleries, includes specially commissioned artists' projects and a prestigious talks programme.
Liverpool Biennial Promoter and organiser of the UK's international festival of contemporary art.
Manifesta 7 Pan-European biennial of contemporary art.
New British Art Tate Britain's triennial exhibition which showcases new developments in recent art.
New Contemporaries Touring show of UK art school talent.
Venice Biennale International showcase of the avant-garde encompassing art, theatre, music, dance, film and architecture.
Whitney Biennial Exhibits artworks by young or lesser known American artists.


Organisations

Title Description
Artangel Artangel has pioneered a new way of collaborating with artists and engaging audiences in an ambitious series of highly successful commissions since the early 1990s.
Arts Council Developing, sustaining and promoting the arts in England.
Axis Axis is a visual arts service that provides information about artists, craftspeople and makers living/working in Britain to a national and international audience, hosting the only national register of contemporary British artists.
BFI The website of the British Film Institute.
British Council The British Council promotes arts, literature and design from Britain, around the world.
British Society of Aesthetics Aims to promote study, research and discussion of the fine arts and related types of experience from a philosophical, psychological, sociological, historical, critical and educationial standpoint.
DACS Design and Artists Copyright Society - the copyright and collecting society for visual artists in the UK. DACS actively campaigns to create a fairer working environment for visual creators by administering and protecting copyright on behalf of the creators that it represents and by lobbying on behalf of all artists at both national and international levels on rights-related issues.
inIVA inIVA Online - the website of the Institute of International Visual Arts.
ISC International Sculpture Center - a not-for-profit organization founded in 1960, whose members include anyone with an interest in and commitment to the field of sculpture.
Jerwood Foundation Organisation dedicated to the funding and sponsorship of the arts, education, design and conservation.
National Museum of Photography, Film & Television Founded in 1983, the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television is part of the National Museum of Science and Industry in Bradford; boasting the world's first negative, the earliest television footage and the world's first example of moving pictures.
Printmakers Council Website of the Printmakers Council, founded in 1965 to promote the art of printmaking and the work of contemporary printmakers.
Regional Arts pages Web pages of the English regional arts boards, providing advice, support and funding for artists.
Royal Academy of Arts Website of the independent fine arts institution which supports contemporary artists and promotes interest in the arts through a comprehensive and ambitious exhibition programme.
Royal Photographic Society The Royal Photographic Society was founded in 1853 and its mission remains 'to promote the Art and Science of Photography'.
Sculpture at Goodwood A charitable foundation which aims to globally promote and enable British sculpture through a programme of commissioning, funding and marketing.

Gateways

Title Description
Artcyclopedia Guide to museum-quality fine art on the Internet which has an index covering thousands of online sites, includes a subject-specific search engine.
Art in Context Online reference library for contemporary art, provides access to information added by curators, dealers and artists from around the world.
Art Search Search engine which indexes web pages relevant to contemporary art from mainly UK-based sites.
Book Arts Web Features a large selection of book art sites, including professional organizations, tutorials, reference materials and image galleries, also offers a free mailing list service.
Digital Art Source Links to a number of curated sites on digital art.
Internet for Artists A catalogue of useful websites for Fine Art students, artists and art lecturers edited by Dr. Guillem Ramos-Poquí, Head of Fine Art and Theoretical Studies Kensington & Chelsea College.
Intute: Arts & Humanities Free online guide to high quality art & design sites on the Web.
Photosites Links to resources relating to photography including retailers, organizations, galleries and photographer sites.
Voice of the Shuttle Art and Art History websites - from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Wikipedia Free online encyclopaedia which provides information on a large number of arts-related subjects.

Discussion Lists

Title Description
Artnet Forum for discussion on all aspects of art
Printmaking Created for the discussion of matters relating to the practice of research or teaching in any field of printmaking including both old and new technologies

Images on the Web

Title Description
Finding images on the web Our guide to some of the key websites providing access to images, including search engines, galleries and commercial sites