When conducting art research it is very important to note where the information is coming from. In Art research, whenever possible, get the knowledge from the artist’s site. Almost all important artists have sites (even dead ones). Art critic sites can have good information, but these sites can also have a lot of opinion as to the meaning and messages behind the art. Here is a checklist of things to consider before using and trusting an art website.

• Is this the official site of the artist?
• Is this a site run by a school (URL= .edu) or Museum? (URL= .org or end in a country code example: .ie for Ireland. Click here for a list of country codes)
• Is the site an auction house? World renowned auction houses will have some of the most accurate information. To tell if it is a credible auction house, research the company or ask me.
• Is it a site provided through school? (ex: worldbook)
• Can the information gathered by this site be confirmed by another, unaffiliated site?

If you can answer yes to one or more of these questions then the site should provide good and accurate information. However, the last question is very important. Art research almost always has multiple sources for one piece of information.

 Below are several sites that I know are already reliable. You will notice that several of them are art museum sites. These sites generally have Virtual Tours as well as information about the artists in their collect. Remember, some of these sites require a username and password. Ours is ankeny5 (username) aea11 (password)