<a name=top>LC Subject Headings, ARLIS/NA workshop
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Workshop 6: Subject Cataloging First Aid for Art Librarians

March 31, 2001
Answers and Resources {almost finished!}
LC Subject Cataloging for the Art Library
Speaker: Julia Wisniewski

Answers to Exercises | Resources | Return to Exercises

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Answers to exercises

  1. Subject analysis: What's this about? What LC terms express this?
  2. Art subject heading strings: Place of origin
  3. Art subject heading strings: Historical periods, post-1500 and pre-1500
  4. Art subject heading strings: Permanent location
  5. First aid station: What's wrong?
  6. First aid station: Themes
  7. First aid station: Catalogs and other subdivisions
  8. First aid station: What's this about? What terms express this?

1. SUBJECT ANALYSIS: What's this about? What LC terms express this?

a) The great age of fresco : Giotto to Pontormo ...

This looks to be about Italian fresco. Giotto and Pontormo don't share a common century or style, so Italian fresco is as specific as I can be without examining the work itself.

Searching in Library of Congress Subject Headings under Fresco, I find a "see" reference to Mural painting and decoration. Here is the relevant part of the authority record:

 
010          $a sh 85088531  
150          $a Mural painting and decoration  
450          $a Ceilings, Painted  
450          $a Fresco painting  
I now have the heading for the art form, Mural painting and decoration, and H 1250 1. a. shows I need a national qualifier. Checking Mural painting and decoration, Italian in LCSH, I see it is established:
010          $a sh 85088581  
150          $a Mural painting and decoration, Italian  
450          $a Italian mural painting and decoration
Mural painting and decoration, Italian is the correct 'translation' of Italian fresco. There is no geographic subdivision, because Italian implies Italy as a place of origin, per H 1250 1., c.

b) Asian arts : the online journal for the study and exhibition of the arts of Asia

Take a look at articles published (you can, because it's online!) and you can see the scope of Asian arts is primarily visual but also includes some literature and dance. Literature and dance seem to make up less than 20% of the work. H 180 1. General rule says:

Assign to the work being cataloged one or more subject headings
that best summarize the overall contents of the work and provide
access to its most important topics. 
LC practice: Assign headings only for topics 
that comprise at least 20% of the work.
H 1250 defines Art as "the collective term for fine art, architecture and the decorative arts", and expressed by the heading Art. Follow H 1250 1. a. and qualify by the region to getArt, Asian. Here is the relevant part of the authority record:
010          $a sh 85007549  
150          $a Art, Asian  
450          $a Art, Asiatic  
450          $a Asiatic art  
550          $a Art, Oriental

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2. ART SUBJECT HEADING STRINGS: Place of origin

H 1250 1., a. mentions Theme as an aspect to bring out in a heading, but themes are not subdivided. H 1250 1., c. says not to subdivide if the national qualifier implies place of orgin, if the ethnic group qualifier and place of origin are identical, or if the period qualfier implies the place. These headings are therefore fine as they stand:

Vases, Greek
Greece would be redundant as a subdivision after the qualifier Greek. If the vases were from a particular location within Greece, then you would subdivide, e.g. $z Greece $z Athens.
Hunting in art
Lions in art
Sculpture, Yoruba
The native area of the Yoruba is West Africa, so the heading does not get the subdivision $z Africa, West.
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Catalan
Again, the native area $z Spain $z Catalonia is redundant here.

Beware of headings that "may be subdivided geographically", according to the authority record! Luminism (Art) was an American movement, so subdivide only if the work cataloged treats a place of origin within the United States:

010          $a sh 85078841  
150          $a Luminism (Art)  
550          $w g $a Impressionism (Art)  
550          $w g $a Landscape painting $y 19th century  
550          $w g $a Landscape painting, American  

These geographic subdivisions show place of origin, per H 1250 1. c.:

Sculpture, Brazilian$z Brazil, Northeast
Sculpture alone implies the widest geographic scope. Sculpture, Brazilian is fine for Brazil as a place of origin, but when subdivided by Brazil, Northeast, it accurately expresses the particular part of Brazil where the sculpture orginiates.
We need two headings here to bring out the votive nature of the sculpture. Remember H 1250, 1. a. and assign all appropriate headings. One heading is seldom enough to express all of the author's concepts.
Art, Chinese$z China$z Hong Kong
Like the Brazilian heading, Art, Chinese needs geographic subdivision to express a place of origin within the country. H 830 explains indirect subdivision; i.e., the LC practice of putting the nation, state, or province before the city name. That is why China comes before Hong Kong in the subject heading string.
Vases, Red-figured$z Greece
The set Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum catalogs vases of ancient, Mediterranean orign now held in collections world-wide. This title does not reveal the place of origin, just the present location: Japan. Vases, Red-figured is a valid style heading, which H 1250 1.a. says may be subdivided to show place of origin. Subdivisions such as Greece, or Italy $z Magna Graecia, or Greece $z Athens would express appropriate places of origin for red-figured vases.
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Gothic$z Spain$z Catalonia
This title needs more than one heading to express style and period (Gothic) and place of origin (Catalonia). There is already a valid heading expressing origin with a qualifier, so here we add an indirect geographic subdivision to the period/style heading.

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3. ART SUBJECT HEADING STRINGS: Historical period, post-1500

For the modern (post-1500) period, H 1250 1., d. distinguishes between
  • art from a particular place, and
  • art not limited by place or ethnic group.
The Larousse title is not limited by place, and covers two modern centuries: the 19th century and probably most of the 20th. H 1250 1., d. refers to already-established period subdivisions and to a new memo, H 1148, for free-floating period subdivisions under art forms. In this case, two headings would be appropriate:

Art, Modern$y 19th century
Art, Modern$y 20th century

These headings have qualifiers that imply the same place of origin, so only need period subdivisions from H 1148:

Prints, Scandinavian$y 20th century
Art, African American$y 20th century
Portrait painting, English$y 16th century
Portrait painting, English$y 17th century

The Genoa title is limited geographically, but covers the 16th-18th century period. H 1250 1., d., (1) (a) shows that the heading without period subdivision covers the modern period in general. You only need two headings to bring out both geographic and period scope of the work:

Drawing, Italian$z Italy$z Genoa
Prints, Italian$z Italy$z Genoa

If patrons find it helpful, you could also provide access to each art form by each century, per H 1148:

Drawing, Italian$z Italy$z Genoa$y 16th century
Drawing, Italian$z Italy$z Genoa$y 17th century
Drawing, Italian$z Italy$z Genoa$y 18th century
Prints, Italian$z Italy$z Genoa$y 16th century
Prints, Italian$z Italy$z Genoa$y 17th century
Prints, Italian$z Italy$z Genoa$y 18th century

H 1250 1., a. shows headings expressing Style, movement, etc. are not subdivided chronologically, so Luminism (Art) is fine as is. In fact, the heading implies the United States and the 19th century. Remember the broader terms in the the authority record:

010          $a sh 85078841  
150          $a Luminism (Art)  
550          $w g $a Impressionism (Art)  
550          $w g $a Landscape painting $y 19th century  
550          $w g $a Landscape painting, American  

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3. ART SUBJECT HEADING STRINGS: Historic period, pre-1500

These headings are already qualified to express a pre-1500 period or style per H 1250 1. d. (2) (a), and only need a subdivision reflecting place of orgin:

Mosaics, Byzantine$z Cyprus
Mural painting and decoration, Byzantine $z Cyprus
Glass painting and staining, Romanesque$z England$z Canterbury

These headings are qualified by ethnic or national qualifiers. Chinese, Japanese, and Korean art have separately established chronological subdivisions; others may be subdivided by the free-floaters listed on H 1148:

Glass painting and staining, English$z England$z Canterbury$y 12th century
Art objects, Chinese$z China$z Xi'an (Shaanxi Sheng)$y Qin-Han dynasties, 221 B.C.-220 A.D.
Art objects, Chinese$z China$z Xi'an (Shaanxi Sheng)$y Three kingdoms-Sui dynasty, 220-618
Art objects, Chinese$z China$z Xi'an (Shaanxi Sheng)$y Tang-Five dynasties, 618-960

H 1148 has no period subdivision suitable for Art, Egyptian. We turn to H 1250 1. d. to see that other headings can be used to express the period:

Egypt$x History$y Old Kingdom, ca. 2686-2181 B.C.

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4. ART SUBJECT HEADING STRINGS: Permanent location

All but one title describe art from permanent collections. To express the concept of art from a permanent collection, assign a pair of headings: one for the unqualified art form subdivided by the location of the present owner, and one heading for the owner. The named collection (Burton Y. Berry) also gets a heading, per H 1427, Collections of Objects.

Remember, both H 180 and H 1250 allow for several subject headings if necessary to bring out the major aspects of a work. Don't try to fit every aspect into one subject heading! Exercises 2-4 break down the guidelines in H 1250 for expressing orgin, location, and period of an art form. Put all the headings together, and they should make sense, e.g.:

Prints, Scandinavian $y 20th century          origin, period
Prints $z England $z London                   present location
Vases$z Germany$z Erlangen
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. Antikensammlung
Prints$z England$z London
British Museum
Painting$z Russia (Federation)$z Saint Petersburg
Gosudarstvennyĭ Ërmitazh (Russia)
Jewelry$z Indiana$z Bloomington
Berry, Burton Y. (Burton Yost)$x Art collections

The last title describes a loan exhibition held at two institutions. No owner is given, so the only heading is one for the art form qualified by place of origin:

Marine painting, American

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5. FIRST AID STATION: What's wrong?

1. Altarpieces $z New York (State) $z New York
To show present location, subdivide the unqualified heading. The qualified heading Altarpieces, Romanesque expresses the period/style of the art form. So, both headings are necessary to describe Romanesque altarpieces in a permanent collection in the city of New York.
H 1250
2. Mosaics, Islamic $z Spain $z Córdoba
Subdivide indirectly; i.e., interpose the name of the country. There are exceptions; for example, cities in Canada are entered after the province. See the memo:
H830
3. Painting, Italian $z Italy $z Venice $y 17th century
Valid qualifiers are national, regional, religious, or ethnic. Beware of older bibliographic records with obsolete qualifiers!
H 1250
4.  Art, French
is the correct heading to express modern (post-1500) French art. Use Art, Modern when there is no place or ethnic focus. You may add period subdivisions if the French art under discussion is limited to fewer centuries than the 16th-21st.
H 1250
5.  Landscape painting $z Maryland $z Baltimore
Like the Altarpieces example, omit the qualifier to show present location. The qualified heading, Landscape painting, British, expresses the orgin of the art. You need two headings to express two places: one for origin, one for location.
H 1250
6.  Panel painting, Flemish
Omit the subdivision Flanders; it is the native area of things Flemish.
H 1250
7.  Relief (Sculpture), Carolingian
France $x Civilization $y 700-1000
There's no free-floating period subdivision for the 9th century. An additional, historic heading may express the time period.
H 1250

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6. FIRST AID STATION: Themes

Heading typeTagHeadingSubdivision
[topic]--[subdiv.]600Isaac (Biblical patriarch)--Sacrifice$x In art
[topic]--[subdiv.]650Bowling--Equipment and supplies$x In art
lived before 1400600Akhenaton, King of Egypt$x In art
lived before 1400600Ruth (Biblical figure)$x In art
True, the Sacrifice of Isaac and your favorite bowling ball have nothing 
in common, but think of the type of heading when deciding how to express 
that subject as a theme in art.
These first four examples are all subdivided by $x In art.
lived after 1400600Ruth, Babe, 1895-1948$x Portraits
lived after 1400600Sacagawea, 1786-1884$x Portraits
Both persons lived after 1400, so their headings are subdivided by $x Portraits.
UT as physical object630Bible$x In art
When depicted in art as an object, e.g. as a roll or a codex, Bible is properly 
subdivided by $x In art. 
Compare with the depictions of biblical subjects in art below.
countries, cities, etc.651Great Britain--Biography$x Portraits
The combination $x Biography $x Portraits is valid after countries, cities, etc.  
It expresses the place of origin of those portrayed.  Compare with the heading 
Portrait painting, English, which expresses the place of origin of the art form.
city651Butte (Mont.)$x In art
countries, cities, etc.651Turtle Creek (W. Va.)$x In art
The subdivision $x In art expresses the concept of these places depicted in art.
deity or legendary fig.650Athena (Greek deity)$x Art
Like legendary figures or people who lived before 1400, deities are also
subdivided by $x Art.
[topic] in art650Sasquatch in art
[topic] in art650Turtles in art
[topic] in art650Prints, Japanese, in art
The authority record for Art (sh 85-7461) first gives instructions
for $x Art, then $x In art, as subdivisions added to the basic heading.
A final category is a topic which has in art added as a phrase.  The phrase 
is not "free-floating"; each _____ in art is a separately-established heading.
Turtles and Turtles in art are two distinct LC headings.
(The others are for illustrative purposes only, although Prints, Japanese, in art 
is correctly punctuated per H 362!
corporate bodies610Cistercians$x In art
Corporate bodies are subdivided by $x In art.  Another valid subdivision 
under corporate bodies, $x Biography $x Portraits, expresses a different 
concept: the depiction of individual members in art.
class of persons650Poets, Georgian$x Portraits
ethnic group650Georgians (Transcaucasians)$x Portraits
The first heading is a class of persons (poets, qualified by ethnic group).  
The second is an ethnic group (Georgians).  Both types of heading are
subdivided by $x Portraits.
individual war650Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1965$x Art and the conflict
individual war650Zulu War, 1879$x Art and the war
Make sure the subdivision $x Art and the _____ has the correct noun 
to agree with the heading:  revolution, conflict, war, and so on.
subj. of sacred work630Bible. N.T. Revelation$x Illustrations
subj. of literary form650Laudatory poetry, Yoruba$x Illustrations
person's written works600Blake, William, 1757-1827$x Illustrations
These last examples -- a sacred work, literary form, and individual author -- 
are all subdivided by $x Illustrations to express pictorial representations
depicting the subject of the work, found in the work, or in works by the person.
Compare the heading for a biblical subject in art with that for the Bible 
represented as a physical object.
Compare the heading for illustrations of an author's work with that for the 
author himself portrayed in art.  

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7. FIRST AID STATION: Catalogs and other subdivisions

Each heading may have more than one possible subdivision, or 'right' answer. Consider both the type of heading and how the heading is used:

Heading typeTagHeadingSubdivision
corp. body, not art museum610California Cattlemen's Association$x Art collections
This is definely not an art gallery or museum!  A work about any art it owns would 
need the heading for the Association subdivided by
$x Art collections.
If a work about the art fit the definition of a catalog (see sh 99-1246),
subdivide the heading for the Association by
$x Art collections $v Catalogs.
An exhibition catalog describes items on temporary display.  Art owned by the 
Association, wherever exhibited, may be described in a catalog.  The subdivision is
$x Art collections $v Exhibitions.

Compare the subdivisions for this non-art coporate body with those
for an art museum.
corp. body, not art museum610L.L. Bean, Inc.$x Art collections
Another non-art institution, so works about any art owned by L.L. Bean, Inc. 
would take the subject headings described for the California Cattlemen's Association.

What about the famous catalog?  Check sh 99-1246; subdivide the company name by
$v Catalogs.
indiv. collector600Frank, Jane, 1942-$x Art collections
indiv. collector600Kress, Samuel H. (Samuel Henry), 1863-1955$x Art collections
Both headings are valid for works about that person's art collection.
Check sh99-1275 or sh 99-1246 to see if further subdivision by $v Exhibitions
or $v Catalogs is appropriate.

Jane Frank happens to sell art through her gallery, Worlds of Wonder.  Consider 
the guidelines (sh 99-1246) before assigning a heading for a
person selling under his own name or under the name of a firm.
subject650Hunting in art 
objects650Painting 
objects650Pyxides (Toilet paraphernalia) 
objects650Bronzes, Islamic 
artist600Myron, 5th cent. B.C. 
artist600Sham, Foon, 1953- 
archaeological site651Dur Site (Umm al-Qaywayn, United Arab Emirates) 
art corp. body610Museum of Bad Art (Boston, Mass.) 
art corp. body610 Walters Art Museum (Baltimore, Md.) 
indiv. collector600Walters, Henry, 1848-1931 
families600Hohenzollern, House of 

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8. FIRST AID STATION: What's this about? What terms express this?

Art form, (nat'l., regional, ethnic, relig. qualifier)$z Place of origin$y Period
Artist[no place][no period]
a) Painting, Flemish  
Painting, GothicFlanders 
Painting, RenaissanceFlanders 
b) Moses, Grandma, 1860-1961  
Painting, American  
Primitivism in artUnited States19th century
c) Portraits, AmericanNew England 
Primitivism in artNew England 
New England--Biography--Portraits
d) Art, African  
ArtOceania
ArtRussia (Federation)--Siberia
e) Primitivism in artFrance 
f)Art, Prehistoric
Art, Primitive

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Resources

    Guides to LC Subject Heading Practice
  • "Art subject headings, general principles," compiled by Anna Smislova. Art Documentation. Vol. 2, no. 2 (May 1983).
  • "Architecture subject headings," compiled by Anna Smislova. Art Documentation. Vol. 2, no. 3/4 (Summer 1983).
    Still invaluable after nearly 20 years: well-organized, easy to consult, and giving examples of LC guidelines as they are applied. Be sure to verify the headings and subdivisions in current guidelines.

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