The information presented in the various Art Collections Online is derived from the catalog information the holding institution maintains about the original artwork pictured. In some Artwork Profiles, you may see reference to artist Gender and Race/Ethnicity, or Maryland Affiliation of the artwork, which is not maintained by the holding institution but added by Maryland ArtSource researchers for your interest and awareness.

Field names will not appear in the Artwork Profile if no information was entered into the field by the institution representative. If you have questions about the fields or content you see in this resource, please contact info@marylandartsource.org.

Here are definitions and examples of the types of information you will find presented in Artwork Profiles. Basic information relating to an artwork appears directly beneath the picture of the artwork as follows:

Artist Name: The artist first, middle, last names and suffix, such as Jr. or Sr., are presented directly beneath the picture of the artwork, e.g. Andrew J. H. Way; Joshua Johnson; Edward Goodwin McDowell, Jr.
Artist Dates: The artist birth- and death-dates are presented in parentheses in a range following the artist name, e.g. (fl. 1862-1880); (c. 1893-1946); (1689-1755); (n.d.) ["c." and "ca." or "circa" prior to dates means "about", "approximately"; "fl." was used historically to refer to the period of time during which an artist "flourished", or was active; "n.d." or "?" means that there is no birth- or death-date information on the artist].
Title of Artwork: The title or name of the artwork, usually presented in italics, e.g. Self-Portrait of the Artist.
Date of Artwork: The year the artwork was created, or the range of years, from beginning to completion, during which the work was created, e.g. c. 1862; ca. 1862-1855; no later than 1877; before 1955; after 1822; n.d.; mid-17th c. ["c." and "ca." or "circa" prior to dates means "about", "approximately"; "n.d" or "?" means that there is "no date" assigned to this artwork; "c." or "C." within phrases such as "mid-17th c." means "Century"].
Materials/Process: A free text description of the materials and techniques used to create the artwork, e.g. oil on canvas; ink and watercolor on paper; mixed media; albumen print from wet-plate negative.
Dimensions: The English height and width dimensions of the artwork, in inch units, e.g. 53 x 75 in., 8-½ x 6-3/4 in., or the Metric height and width in centimeters, e.g. 53.8 x 75 cm. You might also find other types of dimensions, such as volume or duration, as well as reference to what was measured. In some cases, you will see that the measurement was of a framed, as opposed to unframed, art object, e.g. 53 x 75 in. framed.
State: For works produced in multiples, the state of this particular impression, e.g. 1 of 5; artists' proof.
Edition: For works produced in multiples, the edition of this particular example, e.g. 1st.
Credit Line: The credit line, or any required mention or acknowledgment of the ownership of the artwork, e.g. Gift of Mrs. John Doe; Purchased with funds from trustees and friends in memory of John Doe.
Holding Institution: The name of the institution that houses the art object, e.g. Maryland Historical Society; by clicking on the text presented, you will link to the profile for the institutions within the Institutions feature of Maryland ArtSource, e.g. Maryland Historical Society.
Accession: The institutional accession number for the artwork, e.g. BCLM5432.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Artist: The artist first, middle, last names and suffix, such as Jr. or Sr, e.g. Andrew J. H. Way; Joshua Johnson; Edward Goodwin McDowell, Jr.
Artist Dates: The artist birth- and death-dates are presented in parentheses in a range following the artist name, e.g. (fl. 1862-1880); (c. 1893-1946); (1689-1755); (n.d.) ["c." and "ca." or "circa" prior to dates means "about", "approximately"; "fl." was used historically to refer to the period of time during which an artist "flourished", or was active; "n.d." or "?" means that there is no birth- or death-date information on the artist].
Birthplace: The city, state and country where the artist was born, if available, e.g. Manchester, England; New York, New York; Germany.
Place of Death: The city, state and country where the artist died, if available, e.g. Manchester, England; New York, New York; Germany.
Active Dates and Place: A biographical note about the period of time and place when and where the artist created a significant body of work, e.g. Active 1960s, Westminster, Maryland.
Gender: The gender of the artist, either Male or Female.
Race/Ethnicity: Race categories applied here are derived from, and in keeping with, the categories of origins of peoples for the 2000 Census: Black/African-American; Native American; Asian or Pacific Islander; Hispanic/Latino; White. In Maryland ArtSource, each artist can be identified as being of one or more race/ethnicity, e.g. Hispanic and Black/African-American.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Medium: The artwork described, so that it is related to other works of the same type:

Architecture: the art or practice of designing and building structures, especially habitable ones.
Crafts: contemporary fine art and functional crafts, including works in ceramics, wood, textile/fiber, glass, metal.
Decorative Arts: historic functional objects, such as pottery, ceramics, jewelry, furniture, glass.
Design: landscape, fashion, graphic design.
Installation: site-specific installation art, to include murals and environmental art.
Interdisciplinary: artwork that consists of more than one medium, such as original poetry incorporated into another medium, such as painting.
Media Arts: digital, video or film.
Mixed Media: artwork consisting of different materials, such as a painting with found objects suspended within the paint on a canvas.
Painting: two-dimensional works of art using paint on a support other than paper.
Photography: general and holography.
Sculpture: three-dimensional art objects.
Works on Paper: prints (etchings, engravings, woodblocks, lithographs, silkscreens, aquatint), drawings, painting on paper, watercolors, pastels, posters, maps, illuminated manuscripts or artist books; NOT photographs.

Maryland Affiliation: The relationship of the artwork to Maryland, whether by:

Artist [the artist of the artwork was born here, depicted Maryland subjects, or was active while in residence]
Subject Matter/Sitter [the iconography depicted is that of a Maryland theme, or the person who sat for the portrait was a Maryland citizen];
Site or Landscape [the scene depicted is one within Maryland]; and/or
Donor or Collector [the donor or collector of the artwork was a resident or prominent citizen of Maryland]

Influences/Attributions: Notes about the artist's influences for the work, or scholars' attributions of the work if the artist is unknown or anonymous, e.g. Francis Guy; Attributed to Edward Green Malbone; Alfred J. Miller after Thomas Sully; William M.S. Doyle or Margaret Byron Doyle.
Description: A free text description of the generic subject of the artwork, or a free text description of the specific, named subject of the artwork (iconography), e.g. Pastoral landscape with cattle in fields in background; Charles Willson Peale; German immigrant farmers in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
Place Depicted: The names of any places that are contextually related to the artwork, preferably the specific site, city and state depicted, e.g. View from Monticello looking east, Charlottesville, VA.
Sitter's Life Dates: The range of years between when a portrayed human subject of an artwork was born and died, e.g. 1845-1900.
Signatures/Inscriptions/Labels: A free text description or transcription of any inscriptions, marks or labels on the artwork or its frame, including the location, medium, hand, and other details about each mark, e.g. signed, J.G., lower front.
Exhibition/Loan History: A record of when and where the work has been exhibited, e.g. Manchester Museum of Art, June 10-September 18,1976, "New Lines in Grand Masters".
Style/Period: A narrative description of the style or period of the artwork, e.g. Federalist; Art Nouveau; Post-Impressionism; Social Realism; Russian Folk.
Subject Headings: Index terms that describe the subject of the artwork, or resources about the artist(s), e.g. Indian art -- North America; Illuminated Manuscripts and Rare Books.
Related Resource(s): Links to other information about the artist or artwork, either within Maryland ArtSource or on external sites.
Copyright: This links to the copyright statement for the artwork, its rights holders, encumbrances and restrictions; in the majority of cases, rights restrictions for images of artwork are encompassed by the Maryland ArtSource Terms of Use / Copyright statement.
Search Maryland ArtSource for more information about this artist: By clicking on this message, you will initiate a simple search across all of Maryland ArtSource to search for the artist(s) associated with the artwork. If three artists are associated with an artwork, clicking on this button will search the site for all three artists.
Search Maryland ArtSource libraries for more information about this artist: By clicking on this message, you will be linked to the Library Catalogs page where you can access BAROC Partner libraries for more information about the artist(s) or subject(s).