Use these fantastic web sources for to understand your artist and his/her important role in art history:
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
(Use the "Search" box to search your artist by name and then read the "Thematic Essays" associated with your artist)
The Timeline of Art History presents the Met’s collection via a chronological, geographical, and thematic exploration of global art history. Targeted at students and scholars of art history, it is an invaluable reference, research, and teaching tool. Authored by the Met’s experts—predominantly made up of curators but also of conservators, scientists, and educators—the Timeline comprises 300 timelines, 930 essays, close to 7,000 objects, and a robust index, and is regularly updated and enriched to provide new scholarship and insights on the collection.
The Art Story
Search by artist, art movement, or timeline. Easy to use format provides a synopsis, key ideas, most important works by the artist,as well as an artist biography and other resources.
Artsy
Artsy features almost 200,000 high-quality contemporary art images from several major galleries, museum collections, foundations, artist estates, and art fairs. Search by artist or categories.