Guides: Art: ​Finding Background Information

Background Information - Online Sources

Oxford Art Online
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
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
Scholarly, annotated online bibliographies written and reviewed by scholars in the field.

Reference Works on Art and Artists at Stetson

Below is a selection of reference books, both physical and digital, on art and artists available from the duPont-Ball Library.

The Oxford Dictionary of Art by Ian Chilvers This online edition was reviewed and selectively updated by the original author in 2011."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. Almost 3,500 entries provide the reader with readily accessible information, written in succinct and readable prose, about styles, techniques, collections, artists, and critics. Ideal for students, picture researchers, and art lovers in general."
Call Number: eBook

ISBN: 0191727628

Publication Date: 2004-06-10
The Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (5 ed.) by Ian Chilvers Over 2,500 entries. Covering Western art from the ancient Greeks to the present day, this best-selling and authoritative dictionary is more wide-ranging than any comparable reference work. It contains clear and concise entries on styles and movements, materials and techniques, and museums and galleries. It also includes biographical entries for artists, critics, collectors, dealers, and patrons, with places and full dates of birth and death (in many instances correcting misinformation that has found its way into other sources). For this new edition, entries have been thoroughly revised and updated, and almost fifty new entries have been added, for example Ai Weiwei and Anne Vallayer-Coster. Written in an engaging manner with many entries enlivened by quotations from artists and critics, this dictionary is a pleasure to browse, and it is ideal for artists, visitors to art exhibitions and galleries, and anyone with an interest in art.
Call Number: eBook

ISBN: 9780191782763

Publication Date: 2015
Hutchinson Dictionary of the Arts by Helicon Publishing Celebration of the achievements of human creativity through time.
Call Number: eBook

ISBN: 1859862446

Publication Date: 2008-01-01
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms by Michael Clarke The Concise Dictionary of Art Terms is an accessible and useful A-Z, covering a wide range of terms from the visual art world, including materials, techniques, and important styles and periods. In this new edition, the text has been fully revised and updated to reflect the latest developments in the field. It has also been expanded with more than 100 brand new entries, focusing primarily on modern and contemporary art materials and techniques. 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.
Call Number: eBook

ISBN: 9780191727146

Publication Date: 2010
Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art by James Hall The understanding and enjoyment of a work of art depends as much on the story it depicts as on the artist's execution of it. But what were once biblical or classical commonplaces are not so readily recognizable today. This book relates in a succinct and readable way the themes, sacred and secular, on which the repertoire of Western art is based. Combined here in a single volume are religious, classical, and historical themes, figures of moral allegory, and characters from romantic poetry that appeared throughout paintings and sculpture in Western art before and after the Renaissance. More than just a dictionary, this text places these subjects in their narrative, historical, or mythological context and uses extensive cross-referencing to enhance and clarify the meanings of these themes for the reader. The definitive work by which others are compared, this volume has become an indispensable handbook for students and general appreciators alike. This wholly redesigned second edition includes a new insert of images chosen by the author, as well as a new preface and index to highlight the ideas, beliefs, and social and religious customs that form the background of much of this subject matter.
Call Number: N7560 .H34 2008

ISBN: 9780813343938

Publication Date: 2014-03-01
Concise Dictionary of Women Artists by Delia Gaze This book includes some 200 complete entries from the award-winning Dictionary of Women Artists, as well as a selection of introductory essays from the main volume.
Call Number: eBook

ISBN: 9781136598944

Publication Date: 2013-04-03
American Women in the Visual Arts, 2nd ed. by Carol Kort; Liz Sonneborn A to Z of American Women in the Visual Arts, Second Edition is an informative reference work that covers American women in the world of the visual arts from the eighteenth century to the present day.
Call Number: eBook

ISBN: 9781438150062

Publication Date: 2015-12-01
Encyclopedia of American Folk Art by Gerard C. Wertkin This is the first comprehensive, scholarly study of a most fascinating aspect of American history and culture. Generously illustrated with both black and white and full-color photos, this A-Z encyclopedia covers every aspect of American folk art, encompassing not only painting, but also sculpture, basketry, ceramics, quilts, furniture, toys, beadwork, and more, including both famous and lesser-known genres. Containing more than 600 articles, this unique reference considers individual artists, schools, artistic, ethnic, and religious traditions, and heroes who have inspired folk art. An incomparable resource for general readers, students, and specialists, it will become essential for anyone researching American art, culture, and social history.
Call Number: eBook

ISBN: 9780203644485

Publication Date: 2004-08-02
Dictionary of Contemporary American Artists by Paul Cummings A completely revised and updated sixth edition of the most useful and detailed directory of America's leading artists. Over 900 comprehensive entries including biographical data, exhibitions, special commissions, collections, and a bibliography. With 149 newly selected illustrations.
Call Number: N6536 .C8 1994

ISBN: 9780312084400

Publication Date: 1994-06-15
Historical Dictionary of Neoclassical Art and Architecture by Allison Lee Palmer Neoclassicism refers to the revival of classical art and architecture beginning in Europe in the 1750s and lasting until around 1830, with late Neoclassicism lingering through the 1870s. Neoclassicism is a highly complex movement that brought together seemingly disparate issues into a new and culturally rich era, one that was, however, remarkably unified under the banner of classicism. This movement was born in Italy and France and then spread across Europe to Russia and across the ocean to the United States. The Historical Dictionary of Neoclassical Art and Architecture provides an overview of Neoclassicism, focusing on its major artists, architects, stylistic subcategories, ideas, and historical framework of the 18th century style found mainly in Europe and the United States. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, an extensive bibliography, and over 200 dictionary entries on famous artists, sculptors, architects, patrons, and other historical figures and events.
Call Number: eBook

ISBN: 9780810874749

Publication Date: 2011-02-01
Historical Dictionary of Renaissance Art, 2nd ed. by Lilian H Zirpolo This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Renaissance Art contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries on artists from Italy, Flanders, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, and Portugal, historical figures and events that impacted the production of Renaissance art. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Renaissance art.
Call Number: eBook

ISBN: 9781442264670

Publication Date: 2016
Historical Dictionary of Surrealism by Keith Aspley Surrealism was a broad movement, which attracted many adherents. It was organized and quite strictly disciplined, at least until the death of its leader, AndrZ Breton, in 1966. As a consequence, its membership was in a constant state of flux: persons were constantly being admitted and excluded, and often the latter continued to regard themselves as Surrealists. The wide-ranging nature of the Surrealist movement was spread over many countries and many different art forms, including painting, sculpture, cinema, photography, music, theater, and literature, most notably poetry. The Historical Dictionary of Surrealism relates the history of this movement through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and over 600 cross-referenced dictionary entries on persons, circles, and groups who participated in the movement; a global entry on some of the journals and reviews they produced; and a sampling of major works of art, cinema, and literature.
Call Number: eBook

ISBN: 9780810874992

Publication Date: 2010-09-01
A Dictionary of the Avant-Gardes by Richard Kostelanetz Twenty-five years after the publication of A Dictionary of the Avant-Gardes, the distinguished critic and arts historian Richard Kostelanetz returns to his favorite subject for a third edition. Rewriting earlier entries, adding hundreds of new ones, Kostelanetz provides intelligence and information unavailable anywhere else, no less in print than online, about a wealth of subjects and individuals. Focused upon what is truly innovative and excellent, he ranges widely with insight and surprise, including appreciations of artistic athletes such as Muhammad Ali, Johan Cruyff, and the Harlem Globetrotters and such collective creations as Las Vegas and his native New York City. Continuing the traditions of cheeky high-style Dictionarysts, honoring Samuel Johnson and Nicolas Slonimsky (both with individual entries), Kostelanetz offers a "reference book" to be enjoyed not only in bits and chunks, but continuously as one of the dozen books someone would take if they planned to be stranded on a desert isle.
Call Number: eBook

ISBN: 9781032475936

Publication Date: 2023-01-21