Where should I start my research?
Start your research with Reference Sources to get the background and build context. Next, explore some General Sources or work through Area/Regional sources to help answer any contextual questions you have.
Where can I find books in the library?
Print material can also be found at the library by browsing the shelves for books related to Art using the call number ranges below:
What are reference sources?
Reference sources include dictionaries, encyclopedias, thesauri, handbooks, and other materials providing general information about various subjects. When you need the background on a topic, reference sources are the optimal source for who, what, when, where, and why questions.
Where can I find reference sources?
Search the library catalog or the reference section located on the Ground floor.
What if I'm off campus or not in the library?
Below are a selection of resources available through the Masland Library:
The Concise Dictionary of Art Terms by
From abstract art to woodcuts, and the Baroque Revival to ziggurats, this highly readable dictionary is the ideal reference source for students of Art and all related subjects, for gallery visitors, and for all people interested in the visual arts.
The Oxford Dictionary of Art by
The Oxford Dictionary of Art is the unrivalled one-volume guide to the art of the Western world. It provides a careful balance of fact and critical appraisal, ranging across painting, sculpture, and the graphic arts from classical times to the present.
Dictionary of Subject & Symbols in Art by
Provides information about the themes, sacred and secular, on which the repertoire of Western art is based.
General Material about Art and Art History
General material relating to Art and Art History can be found on the homepage of the Masland Library.
Searching a couple of keywords will help guide you in the right direction. Below are some sources we have available online.
For more results, try searching Art AND Art History to see our holdings.
Art History: the Basics by
The Basics is a concise and accessible introduction for the general reader and the undergraduate approaching the history of art for the first time at college or university. It will give you answers to questions like: What is art and art history? What are the main methodologies used to understand art? How have ideas about form, sex and gender shaped representation? What connects art with psychoanalysis, semiotics and Marxism? How are globalization and postmodernism changing art and art history? Each chapter introduces key ideas, issues and debates in art history, including information on relevant websites and image archives. Fully illustrated with an international range of artistic examples, Art History: The Basics also includes helpful subject summaries, further ideas for reading in each chapter, and a useful glossary for easy reference.
Critical Terms for Art History by
"Art" has always been contested terrain, whether the object in question is a medieval tapestry or Duchamp's Fountain. But questions about the categories of "art" and "art history" acquired increased urgency during the 1970s, when new developments in critical theory and other intellectual projects dramatically transformed the discipline. The first edition of Critical Terms for Art History both mapped and contributed to those transformations, offering a spirited reassessment of the field's methods and terminology.Art history as a field has kept pace with debates over globalization and other social and political issues in recent years, making a second edition of this book not just timely, but crucial. Like its predecessor, this new edition consists of essays that cover a wide variety of "loaded" terms in the history of art, from sign to meaning, ritual to commodity. Each essay explains and comments on a single term, discussing the issues the term raises and putting the term into practice as an interpretive framework for a specific work of art. For example, Richard Shiff discusses "Originality" in Vija Celmins's To Fix the Image in Memory, a work made of eleven pairs of stones, each consisting of one "original" stone and one painted bronze replica. In addition to the twenty-two original essays, this edition includes nine new ones--performance, style, memory/monument, body, beauty, ugliness, identity, visual culture/visual studies, and social history of art--as well as new introductory material. All help expand the book's scope while retaining its central goal of stimulating discussion of theoretical issues in art history and making that discussion accessible to both beginning students and senior scholars.
How Do I Locate Regional or Era Specific Resources?
Art material for specific regions or eras can be searched for on the homepage of the Masland Library. Searching a couple of keywords will help guide you in the right direction. Below are a few searches that may provide valuable results. Play around with your terms to see what is available.
Regional/Era Searches
African Art
Baroque Art
Egyptian Art
Greek and Roman Art
Latin American
Medieval Art