Art History Research Guide--College of St. Catherine Libraries

Atlas of World Art: REF G 1046 .E1 O9 2004
Uses maps to present art from prehistory through the present, showing how artistic developments were influenced by location and culture.
The Dictionary of Art 34 vols.: REF N 31 .D5 1996; This is a comprehensive art encyclopedia, international in scope. It covers all the visual arts from prehistory to the present, including Western and non-Western art. Its alphabetically arranged articles include biographies of artists, theorists, and critics, as well an entries on styles, movements, art forms, and theoretical issues.
Encyclopedia of World Art 16 vols.: REF N 31 .E533; While older than the Dictionary of Art, this set has many color plates
Oxford Dictionary of Art.: Available on Oxford Reference Online.
Timeline of Art History: From the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Timeline is "a chronological, geographical, and thematic exploration of the history of art from around the world"

Voice of the Shuttle: A web resource for research in the humanities. There are sections on Architecture, Art (Modern and Contemporary), Art History, and Photography

Art History Resources on the Web
The History of Art Virtual Library

The Mother of All Art History Links Pages: Three sites with comprehensive lists of art and art history links

Art and Art History of Specific Periods, Styles, or Techniques

1913 Armory Show: "Lauded as one of the most influential events in the history of American art, the Armory Show has a mythic legacy." This site presents a virtual tour of the show, along with commentary and essays.
Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Art 2 vols.: REF N 6538 .M4 C664 2002
A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art.: Available on Oxford Reference Online.
A Dictionary of Modern Design.: Available on Oxford Reference Online.
Oxford Companion to Twentieth Century Art: REF N 6490 .O94 1988

Medieval Art: A Topical Dictionary: REF N 7850 .R67 1996
Focuses on Christian pictorial art, especially the subjects, symbols and themes of early Christian, western medieval, and Byzantine art
Renaissance Art: A Topical Dictionary: REF N 6370 .E27 1987
Baroque Art: A Topical Dictionary: REF N 6415 .B3 E18 1996
Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography 2 vols.: REF N 7560 .E53 1998
Oxford Companion to Christian Art and Architecture: REF N 7830 .M87 1996

Sculpture 4 vols.: REF NB 60 .S38130 1996
Coverage from early Greek, Roman, and Etruscan sculpture to the twentieth century
The Elements of Style: A Practical Encyclopedia of Interior Architectural Details from 1485 to the Present revised edition: REF NA 2850 .E44 1996
Encyclopedia of American Architecture 2nd edition: REF NA 705 .P3 1995
A Dictionary of Architecture: Available on Oxford Reference Online
The Photography Encyclopedia: REF TR 9 .M39 1999
Graphic Arts Encyclopedia 3rd edition: REF Z 118 .S82 1992
Typography: REF Z 250 .A2 F76 1998

Artist and Artwork Information

Artcyclopedia--the Fine Art Database: Search or browse a database of over 7500 artists
AskART.com: Information about 27,000 artists, including biographies, books and journal articles about them, and museums owning their work. A few images are available for free, but most require a member subscription.
Dictionary of Contemporary American Artists: REF N 6512 .C854 1994
Dictionary of Women Artists 2 vols.: REF N 8354 .D53 1997
This set has entries for women artists in Europe, America, and Australia from the Middle Ages to the present, plus essays about training and work opportunities of women artists. It concentrates on painting and sculpture, but also covers printmaking, textiles, ceramics, and metalwork.
Latin American and Caribbean Artists of the Modern Era: REF N 6502.4 .S45 2003
Macmillan Biographical Encyclopedia of Photographic Artists & Innovators: REF TR 139 .B767 1983
North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century: REF N 6503 .N67 1995
Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists: Available on Oxford Reference Online
Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975: REF N 6536 .W56 1999


Women Artists of Color: REF N 8354 .W656 1999

Museums

Virtual Library Museums Pages: An online directory of museum home pages around the world supported by the International Council of Museums
Museums in the Metro Area
Goldstein Museum of Design
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Minnesota Museum of American Art
Museum of Russian Art
Walker Art Center
Weisman Art Museum
ArtsConnectEd: A joint project of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Walker Art Center, ArtsConnectEd is an art education resource for teachers, parents, and students

Image Resources

Artchive: View web images of more than 2000 works of art from over 200 different artists
Art Images for College Teaching (AICT): Images are arranged into 5 broad categories: Ancient, Medieval Era, Renaissance & Baroque, 18th-20th Century, and Non-Western.
SILS Art Image Browser: From the Univ. of Michigan, a database of art, architectural, and museum object images

Web Gallery of Art: A virtual museum and searchable database of European painting and sculpture of the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque periods (1150-1750)

Books

Books in CLICnet, the Library's online catalog, are assigned subjects based on the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). If you are having trouble, you may wish to consult LCSH for subject headings appropriate to your topic. The books are located behind the Reference Desk.

Browsing shelf areas relevant to your topic can be a useful strategy. Books in the Reference and circulating collections are shelved in general subject categories according to the Library of Congress classification system. Below is a brief listing of some of the shelf locations in the field of education.

N

Visual arts (general)

NA Architecture

NB Sculpture

NC Drawing. Design. Illustration.

ND Painting

NE Print media

NK Decorative arts. Applied arts. Decoration and ornament. Including antiques in general.

NX Arts in general, including works dealing with two or more of the fine arts media.

TR Photography

For assistance with any of the resources in this guide, or for help doing research in art and art history, contact:
Deborah Kloiber, Reference Librarian