Theatre 322: Period Styles

Artstor and other museum sites will provide you with a wealth of information on the objects you are interested in using. All of the fields shown below on the right side of the image are used to identify the item and to help navigate when you are searching. Beyond a title and date, you will also find the types of materials it's made of, measurements, and the institution that owns the item.

Artstor also offers you the option of a traditional citation. Artstor displays the citation in APA, MLA, and Chicago styles.

I recommend taking a screenshot of the item information page (like the one at the top of this page) so you can easily refer back to the information if you need to refer to it later. The screenshot, if you include the image, will help you if you need to match up your downloaded images with their label information.

Here is an example of labels and download options from the V&A Museum. I searched for 'suit' and limited my time period to 1600-1750. The item I chose includes a lot of detailed information, including the fabric and trim descriptions plus information and context on the clothing of the period.

You can download a pdf version of the info, which includes a small version of the image. This is a great option if you are searching for lots of images and want to go back to see the information later.

You can also download a full-size version of the image (button above pdf link in the above image) and save it for your portfolio.