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March 2001
Darwin F. Scott, Creative Arts Librarian
The Fine Arts Department offers programs in studio art and art history at the undergraduate level only. The department also offers a post-baccalaureate certificate in studio art. There is no graduate program.
Art history courses have broad appeal to undergraduates and are very popular options for the general university requirements in the creative arts.
Appropriate art history courses are options in various interdisclipary studies concentrations and programs, including:
The Fine Arts Collection covers the full scope of the fine arts (LC classifications N [general arts]; NB [sculpture]; NC [drawings/illustrations]; ND [painting]; NE [engraving/woodcuts]; NK [decorative arts]; NX [the arts]), architecture (NA), and photography (TR).
The primary purpose of the Fine Arts Collection is to support the undergraduate curriculum in art history and art-related courses in various interdisciplinary concentrations and programs. The studio art courses generally require minimal use of library materials.
Within certain limits (based mostly on English vs. foreign language material), the Fine Arts Collection supports the research interests of the Brandeis faculty and provides research materials for the Rose Art Museum curators.
The scope of the fine arts collection includes all periods of Western art history from antiquity to the present-with emphases on Greco-Roman, Christian, medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, 19th-century French, 20th-century (international), and American art; the interaction of art and high/popular culture; modern sculpture; American avant-garde film and video;Boston architecture; 19th- and 20th-century architecture; photography; and the art of China and Japan.
Women artists of eastern Europe (excluding Greece) and Israel-Boston Library Consortium, Cooperative Collections Committee, Art History Group. Formal agreement is for Exhibition Catalogs of Women Artists; because of the paucity of materials published in the areas of Brandeis's responsibility, however, we have broadened our collecting area to include all materials covering women artists from the area as well materials containing reproductions of works by female and male artists (e.g., Polish artists in the 80s).
No geographical areas are excluded. Emphasis is on United States, Latin America, Africa, Europe (both East and West), Middle East (particularly Israel and Islamic art), India, Japan, and China.
No limitations. Art history courses deal with all periods of art; no one historical period is emphasized.
Emphasis is placed on the acquisition of relevant current publications. Some retrospective acquisition of art materials remains important, however, since in the literature of art history, which includes publications from many countries, few items ever become really outdated. Main sources for retrospective materials are gifts, faculty/student recommendations, interlibrary loan requests, and specific offers from vendors.
Varies according to subject matter:
Exhibition catalogs: Emphasis is on English-language texts, but foreign language texts are acquired if the subject matter of the exhibition and/or reproductions supports the established scope of the collection.
Catalogues raisonnés or exhaustive studies of artists: (content is primarily images, provenance information, etc.) Emphasis is on English-language texts, but foreign language publications are acquired depending upon artist's importance, scarcity of English language materials, and/or relevance to the established scope of the collection.
Monographs: (content is mostly text rather than images) Principle and preferred language is English. Important primary resources (e.g., writings of significant artists) may be purchased in original languages. Fundamental writings on art history in foreign languages are usually collected in English translation only.
Reference materials: Largely limited to English, unless subject matter or international scope of the resource is fundamental to the collection.
Periodicals: Primarily English; a few core periodicals in French, German, Spanish, and Italian published by significant foreign institutions are also acquired.
Current trade, university press, institutional, and government publications acquired, including gallery guides and reports, and exhibition catalogs from museums, galleries, or private collections. Limited acquisition of retrospective materials.
Subscriptions primarily to English-language journals and monthly magazines in art and art history, and to annuals and serial publications of prominent museums and galleries. Monographs published in series are purchased individually based on relevance to the collection.
Up-to-date English-language encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographies, catalogs, iconography sources, and research guides. Selective acquisition of directories and other guides to the current art scene. Older reference sources of historic importance. Very selective acquisition of newly published foreign language reference materials.
Selected specialized indexing and abstract resources in art and art history primarily to support undergraduate and interdisciplinary research. Full texts of key dictionaries/encyclopedias and English-language journals. Growth of Creative Arts Electronic Research Center will lead to selective acquisition of digitized image collections, perhaps in tandem with the Art Department's slide library.
Microform reproductions are primarily limited to the retrospective acquisition of essential books and periodicals that are unavailable or prohibitively expensive in other media. Large, research-oriented microform sets of art materials generally fall outside the scope of the collection.
Generally not collected unless subject area is directly related to the needs of the curriculum (usually purchased only by faculty recommendation)
Acquisition is primarily curriculum-based as requested by faculty. Some videos of wide interest (such as PBS programs) purchased to enhance general art collection. Preferred medium is now DVD (if available) over videocassette.
Area open to development based on faculty demand and as technology becomes more available in classrooms. Collecting in the area will also increase with the development of the Creative Arts Electronic Research Center.
Not collected.
Not collected unless produced by a major artist and directly related to curriculum.
Not collected except for very selective acquisitions of portfolios of prints and woodcuts.
Very selectively purchased (depending upon available funding) to support established special collections.
Materials are primarily acquired for the circulating collection and reference. Facsimile reproductions, costly books of art reproductions, collections in loose leaf, or books that are likely targets for vandalism are housed in special collections (cage).
Special collections are maintained in the subjects of Books of Hours (and other illuminated manuscripts), Leonardo da Vinci, and Honoré Daumier.
Subject Area |
Collecting Levels |
| Ancient art | Undergraduate study |
| Christian (including Byzantine) art | Undergraduate study |
| Medieval to 19th-century art | Undergraduate study |
| 20th-century/contemporary art | Graduate study |
| American art | Graduate study/research |
| Architecture (perspective is historical rather than practical) | Undergraduate study |
| Decorative arts (perspective is historical rather than on antiques and collecting ) | Undergraduate study |
| Crafts | Basic |
| Photography | Undergraduate study |
| Catalogs of museums, galleries, private collections | Undergraduate study |
| Museum administration, and curatorship | Basic |
| Restoration and conservation | Basic |
None Specified