The City of Pasadena is noted for its arts communities (notably, the USC Roski School of Fine Arts started offering its first courses ca. 1895 in an arts studio in Pasadena), and boasts some of the finest art museums in Southern California.
The USC Libraries hold many art exhibition catalogs from Pasadena museums, as well as books that examine and analyze the development of contemporary artistic practices in Southern California. To locate these materials, search HOMER, the USC Libraries catalog, by using such key terms as "Pasadena exhibitions" or "modernism art California," or by using names of specific artists.
The Historic Los Angeles Times online provides news articles on the various museums, including those published when the museum buildings were designed and built.
The Art Full Text database features full text magazine and journal reviews of art exhibitions and discussions of artists' works.
If you take the Gold Line to Pasadena, you will notice that all stations have a public art component. For more information on the history of public art on the Gold Line, check the USC Libraries archive, Going for the Gold.