Art History

a guide to library resources

Contents:

Searching by subject

Reference books:

Guides to the literature; Encyclopedias and handbooks; Dictionaries; Biography; Iconography; Directories; Finding journal articles; Bibliographies;

SEARCHING BY SUBJECT FOR ART HISTORY RESOURCES

BearCat, the online catalog, is the key to the library collection. In it is listed almost all the material available in the library. If one does not have an author's name or the title for a particular work, one must search under appropriate subject headings. The subject headings provide an index to the library collection. For periodical articles, the indexing and abstracting journals are the basic tools providing subject access to contents of magazines. See section 7 for a discussion of indexes to art periodicals. The online catalog and the periodical indexes use similar, but not always identical, subject headings.

Subject headings in the field of art history are often of the following types:

1. Names of artists, eg. DURER, ALBRECHT, 1471-1528. Do an Author search to find books written by that person and Subject Heading searches to find books about the person. Individual subject headings such as this will be given for a book dealing with up to 4 artists. For books of broader scope - a more general subject heading will be applied - such as one of the following.

2. Periods of time or schools in art history. For example:
ART, PRIMITIVE ; CUBISM ; ART NOUVEAU ; ARCHITECTURE, GOTHIC ; MANNERISM ; ART, RENAISSANCE ; etc.

3. Types of art. For example:
DRAWING ; BRONZES ; ENGRAVING ; PORTRAITS ; PAINTING ; etc.

4. Themes and uses of art works, i.e. iconography. For example:
SAINTS--ART ; ALTARPIECES ; PARADISE IN ART ; CATHEDRALS ; CHRISTIAN ART AND SYMBOLISM ; etc.

5. Problems in art history. For example:
AESTHETICS ; PROPORTION (ART) ; COMPOSITION (ART)

Place is another important factor in art history subject headings. Names of places are often used as subdivisions or qualifiers for other subject headings. For example:
ART, AFRICAN ; SCULPTURE--EUROPE ; ARCHITECTURE--NEW YORK (CITY) ; PAINTING, FRANCE (refers to paintings located in France) ; PAINTING, FRENCH (refers to paintings by French nationals)

Since these subjects may be combined in many topics, there will be subject headings such as:
PAINTING, MODERN--20TH CENTURY--CANADA

Other subdivisions of subject headings important for art history include ones such as these:

PRERAPHAELITISM--BIBLIOGRAPHY (a list of writings on Preraphaelitism)

ENGRAVINGS--CATALOGS (refers to dealers or general sales catalogs)

PAINTINGS--EXHIBITIONS (refers to catalogs of particular exhibitions)

MUSEUMS--DIRECTORIES (address of museums)

And, of course, the subdivision "History" is also frequently used, eg.; ART, AMERICAN--HISTORY or ART--ASIA, CENTRAL--HISTORY

Other subject headings used in the online catalog are given in the large red books nearby --Library of Congress Subject Headings. The "BT", "RT", and "NT" cross references which follow many subject headings are intended to guide the user to additional material under related subject headings.

Subject headings range from general to specific. A book is given the most specific subject heading (or headings) that adequately identifies the contents. If you fail to find enough material under your specific heading--move on to more general headings, using the "see also" references, where you will find books listed, some parts of which may deal with your topic.

REFERENCE AIDS FOR THE STUDY OF ART HISTORY

1. GUIDES TO THE LITERATURE OF ART HISTORY

These guides attempt to organize the published information in art history, and suggest frutiful searching methods.

• Fine arts: a bibliographic guide to basic reference works, histories and handbooks 1975. Ref. N 7425.A1 E47 1979
• Reading and writing in the arts: a handbook. Useful section on writing a research paper in fine arts. 1972. Ref. N 5300.A1 G6 1972
• Guide to art reference books. A dated but still useful annotated bibliography. 1959. Ref. N 7425.A1 C45 1959
• Guide to the literature of art history. A good list, with long annotations. Organized by artistic medium, with section on general reference works and good author/title and subject indexes. Ref. N 380.A1 A67 1979

2. ENCYCLOPEDIAS AND HANDBOOKS OF ART HISTORY

These range in size from one volume to many volumed sets. They provide background information, and often references to key sources.

• For online art resources see our Selected Art Resources web page
• Grove Dictionary of Art. (Ref N 31 .D5 1996) - a 34 volume encyclopedia. The best starting point for research on art topics or artists.
• The Encyclopedia of Visual Art. Vol. 1 - "A History of Art"; Vol. 2 - "A Bibliographical Dictionary of Artists" Ref. N 25.E53 1983
• Encyclopedia of World Art. Especially useful for its bibliographies, extensively illustrated, 15 volumes, 1959-1968. Ref. N 31.E533
• Praeger Encyclopedia of Art. A good source for the general reader and student, 5 volumes, 1971. Ref. N 33.P68
• Larousse Encyclopedia of.....art. The three volumes deal with art from Byzantine and medieval to modern, no bibliography, 3 volumes, 1965. Ref. N 6450.H813
• The Oxford Companion to Art. A dictionary of terms and names, with references. 1970. Ref. N 33.O9
• Britannica Encyclopedia of American Art. Includes a guide to U.S. Museums and a bibliography, 1 volume, 1973. Ref. N 6505.B73
• 300 Years of American Art. Biographical information on American painters, 2 volumes. Ref. ND 236.Z44 1987
• Contemporary Art Trends, 1960-1980. Alphabetical entries under kinds of contemporary art (e.g. Kinetic art, Body art, etc.) and recent art trends by country. Also includes a bibliography of books and journals. Ref. N 6490.A1 B44 1981

See also the "Pelican History of Art" in the online catalog for the call numbers to this series of art history books (totaling 48 volumes when complete).

3. DICTIONARIES OF TERMINOLOGY

Like some of the encyclopedias, these books give definitions of terms used in art.

• Artwords: a glossary of contemporary art theory. Ref. N 71 .P32 1997
• The Adeline Art Dictionary. Includes terms on architecture, heraldry, and archaelogy. Ref. N 33.A233 1966
• Dictionary of art terms and techniques. 1969. Ref. N 33.M36
• Lexikon der kunst. Five volumes, 1968-78. Ref. N 33.L45

4. BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARIES FOR ARTISTS

These provide facts about artists' lives--and often bibliographical references. Several of the best are not in English--but the references will include English sources.

• Index to Artistic Biography. An index to biographical dictionaries in the arts, 2 volumes. 1973. Ref. N 40.H38
• Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Kunstler von der Antike bis zur
• Gegenwart Most authoritative dictionary of artists, 37 volumes, 1907-47. Ref. N 40.T4
• Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Kunstler des XX. Jahrhunderts the standard dictionary for 20th century artists, 6 volumes, 1953-62. Ref. N 40.V6
• Dictionnaire critique et documentarie des peintres.....8 volumes, 1948- 55. Ref. N 40.B47
• Contemporary artists. Information on 1000 artists of reputation, including bibliographical references, 1983. Ref. N 6490.C6567
• Dictionary of contemporary American artists (6th ed.) Ref. N6512 .C854 1994
• Who was who in American art. Ref. N 6512.F26 1985

The dictionaries and encyclopedias listed in section 2 will also have entries for many of the artists included in the above volumes. 

5. ICONOGRAPHY REFERENCE SOURCES

• Encyclopedia of comparative iconography: themes depicted in works of art. Ref. N 7560 .E53 1998.
• The Oxford guide to classical mythology in the arts, 1300-1990s. Ref. NX 650.M9 R45 1993.
• A Dictionary of pictorial subjects from classical literature. A guide to their identification in works of art. Ref. N 7760.P68 1983
• Iconographie de l'art chretien. 3 volumes in 6, 1955-59. Ref. N 7830 .R37
• The mythology of all races.....13 volumes, 1916-32. Ref. BL 25.M8
• Dictionary of Symbols and imagery. Ref. BL 600.V74
• Outlines of Chinese symbolism and art motives. Ref. GR 335.W53 1976

6. Directories

Use directories to obtain addresses for museums, galleries and individuals.

• International directory of arts. Library keeps current issue. Ref. N 50.I6
• American art directory. Library keeps current issue. Ref. N 50.A54
• Art museums of America: a guide to collections in the United States and Canada.1980. Ref. N 510.S45
• Museums of the world.1973. Ref. AM 1.M76
• Museums in New York. 1967. Ref. F 128.15.M3
• Fine arts marketplace. A directory of places to buy and sell works of art, 1975/76. Ref. N 51.F55
• Curator's choice: an introduction to the art museum of the U.S.. Ref. N 510.5.N6F76 1981

7. FINDING JOURNAL ARTICLES

The reference books listed above and under "Bibliographies" below often list articles on the topics they cover. Also make use of the indexes listed on:

• Indexes for Art Periodicals - a list of available online and printed search tools

8. BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF ART HISTORY BOOKS

Retrospective bibliographies -

• 250 Years of Afro-American art: an annotated bibliography. Ref. N 6538.A1 I38 1981
• Art books. 2 vols. covering 1876-1949 and 1950-1979. Each has author, title and subject indexes. Ref. N 7425 .A77
• Art books: a basic bibliography on the fine arts. 1968. Ref. N 1.A1 L92
• Arts in America: a bibliography. 4 volumes. 1979. Ref. NX 503.A1 A77
• Mannerism in art, literature, and music: a bibliography. 1979. Ref. NX 450.6.A1 S85 1979
• Print reference sources. 1975. Ref. NE 850.A1 M37 1979
• Applied and decorative arts; a bibliographic guide to basic reference works, histories, and handbooks.1977. Ref. NK 1110.A1 E47 1977
• Twentieth-century Artists on Art. Lists 495 sources containing 14,000 citations to primary documents. 1985. Ref. NX 456.R59 1985
• Twentieth-century European painting: a guide to information sources. A selective bibliography arranged by artist name, movements, styles, countries, with a subject index. 1980. Ref. ND 458.A1 C87 1980
• American drawing: a guide to information sources. 1979. Ref. NC 105.A1 D68 1979
• American sculpture: a guide to information sources. 1977. Ref. NB 205.A1 E37 1977
• A bibliography of the arts of Africa. 1975. Ref. NX 588.75.A1 W47 1975
• Zeitschrift fur Kunstgeschichte. Bibliographie des jahr. 1965-1981. N 3 .Z53

ART FORMS

Reference books for specific art forms, including encyclopedias and biographical dictionaries and indexes to reproductions, will be found in the Reference Area at these call numbers:-

• PAINTING -- Ref. ND
• SCULPTURE -- Ref. NB ;
• DRAWING AND DESIGN --- Ref. NC ;
• PRINT MEDIA -- Ref. NE ;
• DECORATIVE ARTS & CERAMICS -- Ref. NK