Library Guides: Art History: Key resources

Introductory material

Consult introductory material for a broad overview of your issue or topic, and to identify key concepts, theories and researchers in the field. Introductory material may include:

subject or discipline specific dictionaries and encyclopedias
handbooks
companions
introductions
guides
histories

Find introductory material by combining a topic keyword with one of the material type discriptors above, e.g. contemporary art handbook.

These are some examples of introductory material available for this subject in the Library. The list is not extensive, and you should perform your own search to see what else is available in our collections.

Benezit Dictionary of Artists
Available online from the Oxford Art Online database. Artists' bibliographies as well as auction records, exhibition histories, and over 11,000 images of artists' signatures and stamps of sale.
The Oxford dictionary of art and artists by Ian Chilvers
Covering Western art from the ancient Greeks to the present day, this authoritative dictionary contains over 2,500 entries on styles and movements, materials and techniques, and museums and galleries.
A dictionary of modern and contemporary art by Ian Chilvers; John Glaves-Smith
This authoritative reference work contains around 2,000 entries on all aspects of modern and contemporary art, including movements, styles, techniques, artists, critics, dealers, schools, and galleries.
The Oxford companion to Western art by Hugh Brigstocke (Editor)
The Oxford Companion to Western Art covers artists and their works, as well as topics of contemporary interest, including patronage, taste, theory and criticism, materials and techniques.

Key databases

Use these key databases to find journal articles:

Oxford art online
Oxford Art Online comprises the full text of Grove Art Online, The Oxford Companion to Western Art, The Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, and The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms.
ARTbibliographies modern (ABM)
ART bibliographies modern (ABM) provides full abstracts of journal articles, books, essays, exhibition catalogues, PhD dissertations, and exhibition reviews on all forms of modern and contemporary art.
JSTOR
The JSTOR archive of digitised full text journals, covering arts and sciences but does not include current issues.
Art index retrospective
Provides information from international art publications.