Guides: Art and Art History: ​Finding Background Information

Online sources for background information

Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new window
The gateway to Oxford’s art reference works, including the peer-reviewed, regularly updated Grove Dictionary of Art and the Benezit Dictionary of Artists
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
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A starting point for research and learning that offers unlimited access to hundreds of full text reference books on every subject. Includes encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri and books of quotations.

Oxford Companion to Western Art
Covers Western Art with entries on artists and their works, styles and movements, art forms and art terms, combined with more modern methodologies.
Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms
Terms from the visual art world, including materials, techniques, and important styles and periods.
Encyclopedia of Aesthetics
A comprehensive survey of major concepts, thinkers, and debates about the meaning, uses, and value of all the arts.

Oxford Bibliographies Online - Renaissance and Reformation This link opens in a new window
Scholarly, annotated online bibliographies written and reviewed by scholars in the field.

Reference eBooks

Here is an example of reference eBooks from our collection. These include dictionaries and encyclopedias.

The Oxford Dictionary of Art by Ian Chilvers (Editor)
Publication Date: 2004
Hutchinson Dictionary of the Arts by Helicon
Publication Date: 2008
The Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (5 ed.)
Publication Date: 2015
Benezit Dictionary of Artists by Editions Grund (Editor)
Publication Date: 2006
First English-language edition of the classic work of reference. Incomparable source of art-historical information. Revised and expanded for a wider audience. Over 170,000 entries.
Concise Dictionary of Women Artists by Delia Gaze (Editor)
Publication Date: 2013
American Women in the Visual Arts by Carol Kort; Liz Sonneborn
Publication Date: 2015
The Concise Dictionary of Art Terms by Michael Clarke
Publication Date: 2010
Historical Dictionary of Neoclassical Art and Architecture by Allison Palmer
Publication Date: 2011
Pre-Raphaelites by Robert De La Sizeranne
Publication Date: 2014
Historical Dictionary of Surrealism by Keith Aspley
Publication Date: 2010
A Dictionary of the Avant-Gardes by Richard Kostelanetz
Publication Date: 2018

Print Reference Books for Art

Reference books on art are located on the main floor of the library. If you need help finding a reference book, please do not hesitate to ask. A selection of Art titles include the following:

Dictionary of Art Ref N31 D5 34 vols.
Encyclopedia of World Art Ref N31 E533 17 vols.
Contemporary Artists Ref N6490 C6567
Dictionary of Women Artists Ref N8354 D53 1997
Oxford Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Arts Ref NX70 O94 1990
Cambridge Guide to the Arts in Britain Ref NX543 C36 9 vols.

Art and Art History

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Online sources for background information

Reference eBooks

Print Reference Books for Art

Have a question? Ask a librarian! Email libref@stetson.edu. Call or text 386-747-9028.