Heather Gendron
Art Librarian
hgendron@email.unc.edu
919-962-1061

Can't find the article, book, or report you need at our library? You can request it from another library through interlibrary loan.

Select a category below. This is not an exhaustive list; search the library catalog for additional biographical sources.

• American
• African American
• Native American
• Hispanic/Latino and Latin American
• Chinese
• Japanese
• African
• Women Artists
• Folk and Outsider Artists

American

Who's Who in American Art
Art Ready Reference N6536 .W5
Covers Mexico and Canada as well as the United States.

Who Was Who in American Art: Compiled From the Original Thirty-Four Volumes of American Art Annual--Who's Who in Art, Biographies of American Artists Active From 1898-1947
Art N6512 .F26 1985

Jacobsen's Biographical Index of American Artists
Art Reference N6536 .J336 2002
Includes artists native to the United States or working in the United States from 1606 to 2002.

African American

St. James Guide to Black Artists
Art Reference and Stone Center Reference N40 .S78 1997
Includes biographical information on nearly 400 black artists worldwide, but mostly American, including some from the 19th century.

Afro-American Artists: A Bio Bibliographical Directory
Art Reference N6538.N5 C42

250 Years of Afro-American Art: An Annotated Bibliography
Art Refence and Davis Reference N6538.N5 I38 1981
This is also available on CD-ROM (Art CD-ROM 5-13), which can be searched by date, source, medium, subject, and locale, as well as by name, title, and keyword.

Native American

St. James Guide to Native American Artists
Art Reference E98.A7 S8 1998

Encyclopedia of Native American Artists
Art Reference N6538.A4 E94 2008

Biographical Directory of Native American Painters
Art Reference E54.5 .L478 1995

Cherokee Artist Directory
An online directory of Elder artists and the "Next generation" of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee.

Hispanic/Latino and Latin American

St. James Guide to Hispanic Artists
Art Reference N6502.5 .S85 2002
Includes biographical information on approximately 400 20th-century Hispanic artists from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central and South America, and American artists of Spanish descent.

Artists from Latin American Cultures
Art Reference and UL N6502.5 .C657 2002
Profiles 75 artists (both famous and relatively obscure) from the US and thirteen nations in Central and South America and the Caribbean.

Chinese

China Artbook
Art Reference N7345.6 .C47 2007
Includes biographical entries for 80 contemporary Chinese artists.

Dictionary of Chinese and Japanese Art
Art Reference N7340 .M867 1981
Includes biographical entries.

Dictionary of Ming Biography, 1368-1644
Davis Reference DS753.5 .A84 1976 v.1-2

Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing period (1644-1912)
Davis DS734 .U65 1970

Sung Biographies
Davis DS751.5 .S96

Modern Chinese Artists: A Biographical Dictionary
Art Reference N7348 .S85 2006

Japanese

A Dictionary of Japanese Artists: Painting, Sculpture, Ceramics, Prints, Lacquer
Art Reference N7358 .R6

Japanese Women Artists 1600-1900
Art N7353.5 .F57 1988
An exhibition catalogue of Japanese women artists between 1600 and 1900. Illustrated with accompanying texts regarding the life and work of the artists.

Dictionary of Chinese and Japanese Art
Art Reference N7340 .M867 1981
Includes biographical entries.

African

Monographs on African Artists: An Annotated Bibliography (publicly available)
By Janet L. Stanley, National Museum of African Art Library, the Smithsonian Institution Libraries. Covers 20th and 21st century African artists.

Art and Artists of South Africa
Art Reference N7392 .B47

Nigerian Artists: A Who's Who and Bibliography
Art Refence N7399.N5 K46 1993

Women Artists

Contemporary Women Artists
Art Reference N8354 .C66 1999

Women Artists of Color: a Bio-critical Sourcebook to 20th Century Artists in the Americas
Art Reference N8354 .W656 1999
Includes about 25 African-American, Hispanic, Asian Pacific and Native American artists.

Women Artists in the United States: A Selective Bibliography and Resource Guide on the Fine and Decorative Arts, 1750-1986
Art Z7963.A75 W65 1990

A Biographical Dictionary of Women Artists in Europe and America Since 1850
UL Reference and Art N6757 .D86 1989

Folk & Outsider Artists

Folk Artists Biographical Index
Art Reference NK805 .F63 1987

Self-taught, Outsider, and Folk Art : A Guide to American Artists, Locations and Resources
Art Reference NK805 .S46 2000

20th Century American Folk, Self Taught, and Outsider Art
Art Reference NK805 .S46 1993

Compendium of Canadian Folk Artists
Art Reference NK841 .K63 1985