Searching for Encyclopedias or Reference Books?

Dictionaries of Art 

Dictionaries of artist biographies  

Searching for Books?

Books about art history

Books about drawing techniques 

Books about painting techniques

Looking for information on Canadian Painters?

Canadian Visual Artists File

The London Public Library's artist files (over 5000) encompass early Canadian artists as well as contemporary local and regional artists. Located in the Arts and History Department on the third floor of the Central Library, they include,

• exhibition announcements
• small exhibition catalogues
• some mounted reproductions
• other ephemeral material

The files are indexed in an in-house database and are also accessible on the Internet through the Canadian Heritage Information Network ;(CHIN) by name of artist.

Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN)

The CHIN site acts as a gateway to museums, galleries, and heritage information in Canada and around the world. It includes the Artists in Canada database, an alphabetical and descriptive listing of Canadian artists, including painters that indicates which libraries (including London Public Library) own information files on these artists. The Dictionary of Canadian Artists is also available online through this Canadian Heritage Information Network site.

• Search for an artist by browsing the Artist Index --for example type in “Paul Peel”.
• At the end of the entry on this artist, click on “A Dictionary of Canadian Artists” and read the extensive entry on Peel.
• In some cases, there is also a hyperlink to another online resource, -- the National Gallery of Canada –Artist Biography database (Cybermuse).

Recommended Websites

Art Gallery of Ontario
The site offers information on collections, exhibitions and special events. It includes images of works of art at the Gallery, and links to the gallery's research library and archives.

Artcyclopedia: The guide to Museum-Quality Art on the Internet
Thus site highlights feature artists and museums and allows for searching works by artist.

Artists in Canada: a directory
This commercial site is dedicated to raising the profile of the visual arts in Canada by maintaining a national directory of internet links to artists and art resources.

ArtLex - art dictionary
This site provides basic definitions of over 2,800 art terms, numerous illustrations, pronunciation notes, quotations, and links to other websites of interest.

Artnet:Research Library
This site contains thousands of concise versions of articles from the Grove Dictionary of Art (available at the Central Library r703 Dic v.1-34)including biographies of fine artists, and information on art materials, techniques, styles and movements.

Artvalue.com
This international Internet portal dedicated to art was launched in 2007.  The site offers free and unlimited on-line access to art auction results, illustrated with pictures  from auction houses around the world. The site supplements the annual print edition of  Mayer International Auction Records (for the Fine Arts) held by London Public Library   - R700.29 May.

ArtsJournal.com
This daily digest of arts, culture and ideas,includes daily summaries of and full-text links to significant arts stories selected from a wide range of international English-language sources, fully archived and keyword searchable.

AskART
This site specializes in American art. Free features include museum and gallery directories, searches of "about 32.000 American artists" for their inclusion in these museums and galleries, special features and an art glossary.

Canada Council for the Arts
The Canada Council for the Arts home page. The national arm's-length agency fosters the development of the arts in Canada through grants, services and awards to professional Canadian artists and arts organizations.

Canadian Heritage Information Network
The CHIN site acts as a gateway to museums, galleries, and heritage information in Canada and around the world. It includes the Artists in Canada database, an alphabetical and descriptive listing of Canadian artists, including painters, print makers, graphic artists, etc., that indicates which libraries (including London Public Library) own information files on these artists.

Canadian Women Artists: Historical Sources Database
This database - a project of Concordia University - is intended to provide a research tool that brings together the growing body of literature about women artists born between 1800-1950 and who worked in Canada.

Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art Database
The purpose of the Canadian Art Database project is to introduce and showcase Canada's leading professional artists and art writers.

McMichael Canadian Art Collection
The official site of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ontario. It includes information on events and exhibits, and offers virtual tours of the collection, a section on how to care for art, and a link to the McMichael library archives.

National Gallery of Canada
The official webpage of our own National Gallery in Ottawa. It includes current information on exhibitions, programs, services and collections , as well as links to other galleries.
If you enjoy listening to podcasts, the website offers "Meet the Artist" videos, interviews and discussions, "Curators talking about the collections" and even "Art technique" videos.

Ontario Artist
 An Ontario Government website for finding information and links to programs and services for artists, including visual artists.

Ontario Arts Council
This is the arm's-length agency of the Ontario government that provides money and services to artists and art organizations across the province. The site contains current information on arts grants, awards, services, publications and more.

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts home page. The Academy is the oldest national organization of professional Canadian artists. The overall objective of fostering the visual arts remains the Academy's goal.

Royal Ontario Museum
The official site of the Royal Ontario Museum. It includes information on events, exhibitions, programs and more.

Union List of Artist Names (ULAN)
This database contains over  "225,000 names and biographical and bibliographical information about artists and architects, including a wealth of variant names, pseudonyms, and language variants."  The database, from the Getty Research Institute, is searchable by name, role, and nationality, and browsable by alphabet.

Virtual Library Museums Pages
This site offers the most extensive Web directory of museums worldwide, with links to their Web sites. Many Canadian museums are included.

Visual Arts Ontario
This non-profit organization addresses the interests of artists, arts organizations and the public interested in art. The organization provides training, creates opportunities and makes members aware of what is potentially available to them.

Web Gallery of Art
A virtual museum and searchable database of European painting of the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque periods(1150-1800),currently containing reproductions, biographies and commentaries.

World Wide Arts Resources
This is a searchable directory of art sites with more than 3000 categories including the fine arts. It is a comprehensive listing of visual arts information that includes links to many museums and galleries.

In My Community 

Art Rental and Sales Gallery of Museum London
The Art Rental and Sales Gallery of Museum London is located off the main foyer in Museum London. This recently launched website contains images of the entire current collection of art available through the gallery for rental or sale.

City of London
The City of London home page. Check listings under the heading of "Creative City" for information on and links to art galleries, museums, and visual arts resources in London.

Fanshawe College
The home page of Fanshawe College, where information on art and art related courses can be found.

LondonArtists.ca
LondonArtists.ca is a free interactive website for visual artists in London and surrounding areas. The site offers biographical information and examples
of art work by many local artists.

London Arts Council
The London Arts Council home page. The Council is an umbrella organization for the arts in London, including the fine arts. The Council's mission includes "nurturing awareness of, involvement in, and commitment to, excellence of all levels of Arts and Culture" for Londoners. The site offers art news, an arts calendar, as well as information on grants administered by the Council.

London - Museum London
The home page of Museum London, "where art and history meet", London's public art gallery, whose mission is to enrich public knowledge and enjoyment of the art and history of the London region and Canada. The site offers current events and programs, gallery information and exhibition schedules, as well as featuring images from the collection.