Modern and Contemporary Art Research Guide
- Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Resources
- Select Websites
- Video Channels
- Art World News
- Smithsonian Arts Education
- Additional Smithsonian Resources
- Associations and Organizations
- Appraisal Services, or "How Much is My Art Worth?"
Welcome to the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives' Modern and Contemporary Art Research Guide. This is a select list of mostly freely-available resources for students, teachers, and reserachers to learn about modern and contemporary art and resources on the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden's collections and history. Contact Us with questions or suggestions for additional resources.
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Resources
- Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden: Homepage for the Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. The site includes information for planning a visit to the museum, a digital collection to view anywhere, and a calendar of upcoming events.
- Hirshhorn Library: Homepage for the Smithsonian Libraries Hirshhorn Library. The site includes information about planning a research visit, a description of our special collections, and links to our online catalog to view anywhere.
- Hirshhorn Collections Search: Search the art and artists in the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Gallery collection by artist name, title, or attribute, such as "portrait," "red," or "abstract." Available to view anywhere.
- Hirshhorn Eye (Hi for short): The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden's award-winning, in-gallery art guide that uses image recognition to scan art as you go, unlocking exclusive artist videos and insider info. Connect with contemporary art like never before. Scan artworks and see eye to eye with artists, instantly.
- Hirshhorn's YouTube Channel: The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden's YouTube channel, featuing artist interviews, lectures, and behind-the-scenes videos.
- Hirshhorn Museum Library Audio Archive: A repository of 306 digital audio files reformatted from audio cassettes ranging in date from 1969 to 2004, containing event recordings and interviews dating back to the founding days of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, interviews of renowned modern and contemporary artists, lectures and symposium focusing on significant themes in 20th century art. For copyright reasons the full recordings are only available at the library and cannot be copied.
- Hirshhorn's ARTLAB+: A radically inclusive, free after-school digital arts program for teenagers between 13 and 19.
- Historical Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden documents at the Smithsonian Archives: The majority of documents on the history of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden have been transferred to the Smithsonian Institution Archives. On the Archives website, you will find a synopsis and chronology of the museum's history, a bibliography, historic images, and a finding aid for the Hirshhorn records.
- Hirshhorn History Reading List: A bibliography on the history of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.
- The Founding Donor: A brief biography of the museum's founder, Joseph H. Hirshhorn.
- The Architect: A brief biography of the architect of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Gordon Bunschaft, plus a synopsis of the design concept and siting of the museum, and technical information about the building.
- History of the Hirshhorn Library, Part 1, Part 2: An interview with the first Hirshhorn Librarian, Anna Brooke, who headed the research collection from from 1971 until 2016.
Select Websites
- ArtNet: ArtNet is an art market tool with current information on prices, trends, news and analysis, but it also provides brief bios on artists and images of their work. The "view to scale" feature on many images is particularly useful in placing the size of an artist's work in context.
- The Art Story: A non-profit art association that attempts to demystify modern art and further art appreciation for non-experts. Provides timelines and clearly written topic pages on artists, movements, and ideas in art from approximately 1850 to 1980.
- Artsy: Artsy is a site that connects collectors to art, offering artwork for sale, but it also maintains a magazine and artist profiles. Their Art Genome Project is particularly powerful tool that maps characteristics connecting artists, artworks, archicture, and design objects across history. You can explore artists and artwork grouped by a myriad of facets, including subject matter, e.g., "related to games;" visual qualities, e.g., "biomorphic;" medium and technique; time period; geographic regions as specific as "Brooklyn;" and an exhaustive list of styles and movements.
- Google Arts and Culture: Discover art, collections, and stories from around the world. Zoom in on cultural treasures in extraordinary detail.
- Smarthistory: A non-profit website that providesconversational videos and essays covering art and cultural objects that range from the paleolithic to the present, using objects from world-class museums and cultural sites.
- Tate Modern Art Terms: Definitions, most with illustrations, of over 400 terms including artist groups and art movements, techniques, media and other art jargon.
- Timeline of Art History: The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History pairs essays and works of art with chronologies, telling the story of art and global culture through the Museum’s collection.
Video Channels
- Museum YouTube channels are an excellent place to view artist interviews, lectures, panel discussions, and behind-the-scenes videos. Here are just a few selections:
- Hirshhorn's YouTube Channel
- Museum of Modern Art's YouTube Channel: Includes the "In the Studio" series of tutorials on the techniques of modern masters.
- The Tate's YouTube Channel: Includes the "How to..." series of tutorials on the techniques of modern masters.
- Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago YouTube Channel
- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art YouTube Channel
- The Art Assignment YouTube Channel: A PBS Digital Studios production that explores art and art history through the lens of things happening today.
- Whitehot Magazine's YouTube Channel: Whitehot Magazine's publisher Noah Becker presents videos about contemporary art and interviews with the leading artists, curators and museums.
Art World News
- Artforum.com: Considered the Vogue of the art world, this magazine which grew out of the West Coast art scene in the 1960s now covers the world's major art scenes and personalities.
- ArtNet: ArtNet is an art market tool with current information on prices, trends, news and analysis, but it also provides brief bios on artists and images of their work. The "view to scale" feature on many images is particularly useful in placing the size of an artist's work in context.
- Artnews.com: The oldest art magazine in the world continues its legacy with extensive digital content.
- The Art Newspaper: The Wall Street Journal of the art world, The Art Newspaper covers major economic and political developments in art, in addition to reviews of exhibitions and art fairs.
- Art Report: Offers socially-driven art world coverage targeted to art loving millenials. Features news, artist interviews, videos, and "listicles" such as "7 Things to Consider Before Visiting an Art Gallery".
- Black Art in America: Black Art in America is a media company that promotes contributions of the African American arts community. Much of the site is devoted to connecting collectors to art, but it also maintains free news articles and offers some educational resources. Some content is behind a paywall.
- Culture Type: Explores art by and about people of African descent, primarily through the lens of books, magazines and catalogs. Features original research and reporting, plus news collected from the web.
- Frieze.com: The website of the influentialannual art fairs in London and New York maintains news and editorials on the contemporary art world.
- Hyperallergic: Popular art criticism self-described as "a forum for serious, playful, and radical thinking."
- Sugarcane Magazine: A Black art and culture media company that focuses on the visual and performing arts from Africa and the African diaspora.
- Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art: Presents news, reviews, and interviews by seasoned and upcoming art journalists and writers.
Smithsonian Arts Education
- Smithsonian Learning Lab: A destination for millions of carefully curated, easily accessible, customizable, and shareable open educational resources.
- Smithsonian Libraries Education: Digital collections and activities for students, teachers, teens, and adults.
- Hirshhorn's ARTLAB+: A radically inclusive, free after-school digital arts program for teenagers between 13 and 19.
- Hirshhorn Education Programs K-12: Teacher workshops, classroom visits, and educational packages.
- Smithsonian American Art Museum Education Programs: Local and national programs for teachers, students, and adult learners.
- Smithsonian National Museum of African Art Education Programs: Teacher and classroom resources, distance learning, tours, and public programs.
- Smithsonian Freer and Sackler Galleries Education Programs: Teacher and classroom resources, professional development, K-12 school tours.
- Smithsonian Latino Center Education Resources: Educator and family resources related to art, history, music, science, and other Latino cultural themes.
Additional Smithsonian Resources
- Smithsonian Libraries: Homepage for the Smithsonian library system featuring information about the 21 different locations, in-person and online exhibitions, and our research tools and collections.
- Unbound: A Blog from Smithsonian Libraries
- Smithsonian Magazine
- Sidedoor: A Podcast from the Smithsonian
Associations and Organizations
- Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS)
- Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD)
- College Art Association (CAA)
- National Art Education Association (NAEA)
- The Art Museum Network (AMN)
- National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures
Appraisal Services or "How much is my art worth?"
A professional code of ethics prevents library or museum staff from offering authentication or valuation on works of art. Libraries may be able to supply you with information from which you may draw your own conclusions, using tools such as auction databases, catalogues raisonné, and other provenance reference tools. If you would like to learn more about a work of art in your collection, you may want to contact a professional appraiser. Prior to contacting a library or appraiser, we recommend taking detailed measurements and obtaining high quality photographs of original works of art, both front and back, with close ups of any signatures, dates, stamps, or stickers.
- American Society of Appraisers: Offers a directory of appraisers searchable by expertise or location
- Appraisers Association of America: Offers a directory of appraisers searchable by expertise or location
- Art Dealers Association of America: The ADAA Appraisal Service offers valuations of works of art