Research Guides: Art History: Historical Research

Finding Newspapers

You may want to search historical newspapers and other periodicals to find contemporary reviews and other information about exhibitions or artists. You can search newspapers in OneSearch by looking for the Newspaper Search link at the top of the page.

You can also search directly in some of our historical newspaper databases.

America's Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Search more than 1,000 historical newspapers published in the US across three centuries, from all 50 states, chronicling the evolution of American culture and society through eyewitness reporting, editorials, letters, advertisements, obituaries, and much more. There is an option to limit your search to early California newspapers only.
Historical Newspapers: The New York Times with Index (1851-2013) This link opens in a new window
Full-text and full-image articles from the New York Times dating back to the first issue in 1851.
Historical Newspapers: San Francisco Chronicle (1865-1922) This link opens in a new window
Provides searchable access to articles as well as birth and death announcements, advertisements, editorials, cartoons, reviews, and more. Explore a N. California perspective on westward expansion, Chinese immigration, machine politics, 1906 earthquake, urban planning, war, public policy, and more.
The Times (London) Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
Search for news, business, sports, historical events and cultural events from London, 1785-2009, in one of the most highly regarded resources for the 19th – 20th Century history.
American Periodicals Series This link opens in a new window
Over 1,100 periodicals that first began publishing between 1740 and 1900, including special interest and general magazines, literary and professional journals, children's and women's magazines, and many other historically-significant periodicals.

Other Primary Sources

You may be able to find digital archives of some artists' letters and papers. Try searching google for the artist's name along with the words "archives" or "papers." If you'd like to work with a librarian to see what might be available, make an appointment!

Depending on your topic, you may be able to find relevant primary source material in one of the library's many primary source and archival databases. While this kind of information won't be useful for every research project, depending on your topic you may find something useful.

University Library

Art History

Your Librarian

Finding Newspapers

Other Primary Sources