ARTH 4394/6394 - Creating the Canon: Modern Art in New York  

This guide is designed to assist you in finding information about the history of the Museum of Modern Art for Dr. Zalman's 4394/6394 class. 

Click here to access Dr. Zalman's course reserves. 

For additional assistance, please contact the William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library's staff at archlib@uh.edu or 713-743-2340.

Watch the video on developing keywords at the bottom of this page, then craft your own search terms using appropriate synonyms.  Here are some examples:

"Museum of Modern Art" AND "women artists"  [quotes allow you to search phrases]

"Museum of Modern Art" AND photograph*  [asterisks will allow you to search photograph, photography, and photographer]

"Museum of Modern Art" AND ("Latin America*" OR Mexic* OR "South America*")  [parentheses allow you to isolate synonyms; OR allows you search multiple keywords at once]

"Museum of Modern Art" AND Picasso AND (prints OR printmaking)

"Museum of Modern Art" AND Dada*

You can use Simple Search screens with the short cuts described above.  It's easier, though, to use the Advanced Search screens and separate out your keywords. 

The Architecture and Art Library has a large collection of both new and older material, but remember that it has only been open since 1986.  If you are seeking older exhibition catalogs, make sure you search WorldCat.  You will find a link in the right column.  If you locate records for any we don't have, make sure you order them through our quick, convenient, and free interlibrary loan service.  (More information also in the right column.) 

Biennial Report. New York, 1967. Print.

Butler, Cornelia H, and Alexandra Schwartz. Modern Women: Women Artists at the Museum of Modern Art. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 2010. Print.

Hunter, Sam. The Museum of Modern Art, New York: The History and the Collection. New York, N.Y: H.N. Abrams in association with the Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1984. Print.

Lynes, Russell. Good Old Modern: An Intimate Portrait of the Museum of Modern Art. New York: Atheneum, 1973. Print.

The Museum of Modern Art Annual Report. New York, N.Y: Museum of Modern Art, 1970. Print.

Staniszewski, Mary A. The Power of Display: A History of Exhibition Installations at the Museum of Modern Art. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1998. Print.

Today and Tomorrow. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1960. Print.

Toward the "new" Museum of Modern Art. New York, 1959. Print.

Twenty-fifth Anniversary Ceremonies, October 19, 1954. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1954. Print.

(If any of these are checked out, order an extra copy through our interlibrary loan service by clicking on the QuickLoan button or ask a library staff member to recall a copy for you.)

The Bulletin of the Museum of Modern Art, vol 1-30 (1933-1963) is available JSTOR, one of the databases to which UH Libraries subscribes. 

Search these databases for articles using the search strategies in column 1.  Search in multiple databases. 

WorldCat contains all the tens of millions of records from library catalogs all over the world. representing 400 languages and materials in many different formats.  Click on the link below to use.  If there's anything we don't have, you can order it through interlibrary loan (see further below).