You can access digital reproductions of artworks via specialist subscription databases as well as publicly available online collections provided by various museums, galleries and other cultural institutions.
The Library also holds a large collection of printed exhibition catalogues which you can find via Library Search.
The following online collections include digital reproductions of works of art in various media, including paintings, sculpture, photographs, ceramics etc.
Art & Architecture Archive is a major research resource comprising the digitized backfiles of many of the foremost art and architecture magazines of the twentieth century. Offering access to the archives of key consumer and trade publications, it is a unique collection of the essential primary sources for studying the history of these subjects. The magazines cover the spectrum of sub-disciplines, from fine and applied arts, through to interior design, industrial design, and landscape gardening.
National collection of socio-political cartoons from British newspapers and magazines, plus comic strips, newspaper cuttings, books and magazines.
A portfolio of visual art collections comprising over 100,000 images that are freely available and copyright cleared for use in teaching, learning and research in the UK.
A searchable archive of American Vogue, from the first issue in 1892 to the current month. The Vogue Archive preserves the work of the world's greatest fashion designers, stylists and photographers and is a unique record of American and international fashion, culture and society from the dawn of the modern era to the present day.
These resources provide information about artworks held in galleries, museums and other collections.
The following resources provide further primary sources relating to artists and their work.
The backfile of Artforum (later Artforum International), the leading magazine for coverage of international contemporary art, from its launch in 1962 to 2020. Spanning six decades of reporting on art in all media, Artforum offers features, reviews, and interviews relating to artists, exhibitions, publications, and other art world events / trends.
Coverage: 1962 - 2020
An archive (1897 to 2005) of the weekly British culture and lifestyle magazine, Country Life, focusing on fine art and architecture, the great country houses, and rural living. Country Life Archive presents a chronicle of more than 100 years of British heritage, including its art, architecture, and landscapes, with an emphasis on leisure pursuits such as antique collecting, hunting, shooting, equestrian news, and gardening.
Electronic Enlightenment is a wide-ranging online collection of edited correspondence of the early modern period, linking people across Europe, the Americas and Asia from the early 17th to the mid-19th century.
This resource brings together manuscript, printed and visual primary source materials for the study of global commodities in world history. The commodities featured in this resource have been transported, exchanged and consumed around the world for hundreds of years. They helped transform societies, global trading operations, habits of consumption and social practices.
An archive of the US (1867 to present) and UK (1930-2015) editions of Harper's Bazaar. This resource chronicles over 150 years of American, British, and international fashion, culture, and society, supporting researchers by offering unique insights into the events, attitudes, and interests of the modern era.
Searchable index of 42 art journals published in the US during the 19th century
The J. Walter Thompson Company Archive documents the history, operation, policies and accomplishments of one of the world's largest and oldest advertising firms. The papers here reveal many aspects of twentieth-century cultural, social, business, marketing, consumer and economic history while investigating the human psyche.
Selections from the John Johnson Collection of Printed Ephemera, offering insights into the daily life in Britain in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.
This resource presents a multi-national journey through well-known, little-known and far-flung destinations unlocked for the average traveller between 1850 and the 1980s. Guidebooks and brochures, periodicals, travel agency correspondence, photographs and personal travel journals provide insight into the expansion, accessibility and affordability of tourism for the masses and the evolution of some of the most successful travel agencies in the world.
Popular Culture explores the dynamic period of social, political and cultural change between 1950 and 1975. The resource offers thousands of colour images of manuscript and rare printed material as well as photographs, ephemera and memorabilia from this exciting period in our recent history.
A major online collection of working notebooks, verse manuscripts and correspondence of William Wordsworth and his fellow writers.
This digital resource presents domestic consumerism, life and leisure in America between 1850-1950 with Trade Catalogues and the American Home. This resource presents a wealth of highly illustrated primary source documents that highlight commercial tastes and consumer trends
This resource brings together hundreds of accounts by women of their travels across the globe from the early 19th century to the late 20th century. A wide variety of forms of travel writing are included, ranging from unique manuscripts, diaries and correspondence to drawings, guidebooks and photographs. The resource includes a slideshow with hundreds of items of visual material, including postcards, sketches and photographs. Sources cover a variety of topics including; architecture; art; the British Empire; climate; customs; exploration; family life; housing; industry; language; monuments; mountains; natural history; politics and diplomacy; race; religion; science; shopping; war.
An archival research resource comprising the backfiles of leading women's interest consumer magazines. Coverage ranges from the late-19th century through to 2005 and these key primary sources permit the examination of the events, trends, and attitudes of this period.
This resource presents the phenomenon of world's fairs from the Crystal Palace in 1851 and the proliferation of North American exhibitions, to fairs around the world and twenty-first century expos. Through official records, monographs, publicity, artwork and artefacts, this resource brings together multiple archives.
Youth and Popular Culture Magazine Archive showcases unique periodicals from 1940-present, highlighting topics and trends of youth culture such as fashion, rock and roll, sports, sexuality, dating, as well as youth portrayal in the media. These unique periodicals provide insight to what has and continues to influence youth culture, especially during times of rapid social and cultural change in the U.S. and the UK
The following museums and galleries provide online access to digital reproductions of items held in their collections.
Please note, the tab headings below relate to the location of the holding museum or gallery, not the place of origin of the original artworks.
A self-help tutorial on effective research with databases.
This guide to finding primary sources will show you where and how to find primary sources online and in print.
Our Introduction to finding and using archives in the UK guide provides further information about using UK archives for your research.
The University of Bristol's Special Collections contain a vast and diverse range of materials dating from the 11th century to the present day.