LibGuides: Art History (ARTH) and Studio Arts (ARTS): Encyclopedias & Dictionaries

Online Collections of Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

Oxford (Grove) Art Online This link opens in a new window
Provides access to the most authoritative online art reference resources available today. "Through a single gateway, users can access and cross-search Oxford’s acclaimed, regularly updated art reference works: The Grove Dictionary of Art and The Benezit Dictionary of Artists. The Grove Dictionary of Art is the foremost scholarly, peer-reviewed art encyclopedia [yes, it is actually an encyclopedia], offering global coverage of visual culture, composed and expanded in collaboration with thousands of scholars and specialists around the world. The Benezit Dictionary of Artists offers unique information about the sale and collection of artists’ works, and it is one of the most comprehensive and definitive resources of artists’ biographies available. In addition, users can search and access Oxford art-reference titles, including The Encyclopedia of Aesthetics (2nd edition), The Oxford Companion to Western Art, and The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms"--Publisher's description.

Credo Reference Collection [Online]
Enables you to search a large number of encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, and other reference sources simultaneously. Subjects covered include art, biography, history, literature, music, religion, science, and technology.
Oxford Reference Collection Online
Collection of over 250 electronic reference books, or sources, published by Oxford University Press, covering all subjects, not just art. Some of the art-focused resources in this collection are not included in Oxford Art Online. And some of the resources, particularly the majors resources, in Oxford Art Online are not included in Oxford Reference Collection Online.

Individual Online Encyclopedias & Dictionaries

Art History: The Key Concepts [online] by Jonathan Harris
Call Number: e-book
ISBN: 9780203627198
Publication Date: 2006
"Offers a systematic, reliable, accessible, and challenging reference guide to the disciplines of art history and visual culture. Includes terms integral to the historical and theoretical study of art, design, and culture in general.

Benezit Dictionary of Artists [online] => see the collection Oxford Art Online.
Benezit is included in our collection Oxford Art Online. "The Benezit Dictionary of Artists offers unique information about the sale and collection of artists’ works, and it is one of the most comprehensive and definitive of resources of artists' biographies available"--Publisher's description.

Encyclopedia of American Folk Art [online] by Gerard C. Wertkin (Editor)
Call Number: e-book
ISBN: 9780415929868
Publication Date: 2004
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.

Grove Dictionary of Art [online] => see the collection Oxford Art Online.
Grove Dictionary of Art is included in our collection Oxford Art Online. "The Grove Dictionary of Art is the foremost scholarly, peer-reviewed art encyclopedia [yes, it is actually an encyclopedia], offering global coverage of visual culture, composed and expanded in collaboration with thousands of scholars and specialists around the world"--Publisher's description.

Grove Encyclopedia of Classical Art and Architecture [online] by Gordon Campbell
Call Number: e-book
ISBN: 9780195300826
Publication Date: 2009
Covers all aspects of classical art--from Cycladic, Minoan and Etruscan art to the fall of the Roman Empire. Illustrated with 400 halftones, maps and line drawings, and 32 color plates.
Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture [online] by Jonathan M. Bloom (Editor); Sheila S. Blair (Editor)
Call Number: e-book
ISBN: 9780195309911
Publication Date: 2009
Offers over 1,600 up-to-date entries on Islamic art and architecture, ranging from the Middle East to Central and South Asia, Africa, and Europe and spans over a thousand years of history. Recent changes in Islamic art in areas such as Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq are elucidated here. Entries provide in-depth art historical and cultural information about dynasties, art forms, artists, architecture, rulers, monuments, archaeological sites, and stylistic developments. In addition, over 500 illustrations of sculpture, mosaic, painting, ceramics, architecture, metalwork, and calligraphy illuminate the rich artistic tradition of the Islamic world.
Grove Encyclopedia of Medieval Art and Architecture [online] by Colum Hourihane (Editor-In-Chief)
Call Number: e-book
ISBN: 9780195395365
Publication Date: 2012
Offers unparalleled coverage of all aspects of art and architecture from Medieval Western Europe, from the 6th century to the early 16th century. Offers scholarly material on Medieval art in intelligent, well-written, and informative articles, each of which is followed by a bibliography to support further research. These include a mixture of shorter, more factual articles and larger, multi-section articles tracing the development of the arts in major regions. There are articles on all subject areas in Medieval art including biographies of major artists, architects and patrons; countries, cities, and sites; cultures and styles (Anglo-Saxon art, Carolingian art, Coptic art, Early Christian art, Romanesque, Gothic, Insular art, Lombard art, Merovingian art, Ottonian art, and Viking art); ivories, books and illuminated manuscripts, metalwork, architecture, painting, tapestries, sculpture, mosaics, reliquaries, and more.
Historical Dictionary of Neoclassical Art and Architecture [online] by Allison Lee Palmer
Call Number: e-book
ISBN: 9780810861954
Publication Date: 2011
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.
Historical Dictionary of Renaissance Art [online] by Lilian H. Zirpolo
Call Number: e-book
ISBN: 9780810858008
Publication Date: 2007
Covers the years 1250 to 1648, the period most disciplines place as the Renaissance Era. A complete portrait of this remarkable period is depicted in this book through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and over 500 hundred cross-referenced dictionary entries on major Renaissance painters, sculptors, architects, and patrons, as well as relevant historical figures and events, the foremost artistic centers, schools and periods, major themes and subjects, noteworthy commissions, technical processes, theoretical material, literary and philosophic sources for art, and art historical terminology.
Historical Dictionary of Rococo Art [online] by Jennifer D. Milam
Call Number: e-book
ISBN: 9780810861831
Publication Date: 2011
Covers all aspects of Rococo art history through a chronology, an introductory essay, a review of the literature, an extensive bibliography, and over 350 cross-referenced dictionary entries on prominent Rococo painters, sculptors, decorative artists, architects, patrons, theorists, and critics, as well as major centers of artistic production. .
Hutchinson Dictionary of Symbols in Art [online]
Call Number: e-book
ISBN: 9781859865590
Publication Date: 2005
A-to-Z dictionary of the religious and mythological themes and symbols that have influenced Western painting and sculpture.
Oxford Dictionary of American Art and Artists [online] by Ann Lee Morgan
Call Number: e-book
ISBN: 9780195128789
Publication Date: 2007
A biographical and critical guide to American art from colonial times to contemporary postmodernism.
Oxford Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture [online] by James Stevens Curl
Call Number: e-book
ISBN: 0192806300
Publication Date: 2006
Containing over 6,000 entries from Aalto to ziggurat, this is the most comprehensive and up-to-date dictionary of architecture available. Beautifully illustrated and written in a clear and concise style, it covers all periods of Western architectural history, from ancient times to the present day.
Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists [online] by Ian Chilvers
Call Number: e-book
ISBN: 9780199532940
Publication Date: 2009
Covers Western art from the ancient Greeks to the present day. Offers clear and concise entries on styles and movements, materials and techniques, and museums and galleries. Also offers 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).
Oxford Dictionary of Christian Art and Architecture [online] by Tom Devonshire Jones (Editor)
Call Number: e-book
ISBN: 9780199680276
Publication Date: 2013-12-01
Explains a wide range of terms used in the study of the history of Christian art and architecture, including subjects, topics, themes, artists, works, movements, and buildings. Coverage includes art from around the world, with new entries upon the Christian art of North America, Latin America, Australasia, and of the non-Western world, as well as Christian artistic interactions with other religions, including Judaism and Islam.
Oxford Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art [online] by Ian Chilvers; John Glaves-Smith
Call Number: e-book
ISBN: 0199239657
Publication Date: 2009
Provides clear and concise entries on all aspects of modern and contemporary art. Its range of terms includes movements, styles, techniques, artists, critics, dealers, schools, and galleries. There are biographical entries for artists worldwide from the beginning of the 20th century to the beginning of the 21st.
Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms [online] by Edward Lucie-Smith
Call Number: e-book
ISBN: 1849721009
Publication Date: 2004
Covers the vast vocabulary of painting and sculpture, architecture and photography, and the decorative, applied, and graphic arts. Definitions include illustrations and diagrams.

Individual Print Encyclopedias & Dictionaries

Dictionary of Art [print] by Jane Turner (Editor)
Call Number: [Ref] N31 .D5 1996 vol. 1-34
ISBN: 9780195170689
Publication Date: 1996-2003
Provides authoritative and comprehensive global coverage. A resource for both art and cultural studies. Covers all of the visual arts: painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, drawing, printmaking, as well as the decorative arts. Ranges far both geographically and historically--Africa, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Mongolia, China, India, the Islamic world, Japan, Korea, Native North America, Pacific and Aboriginal Australia, Pre-Columbian America, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, the Ancient Near East, and Ancient Rome. Shelved in our library's print-reference-book collection. This dictionary (which is truly an encyclopedia) is shelved in our library's print-reference collection.
Encyclopedia of World Art [print]
Call Number: [Ref] N31 .E4833 1959 vols. 1-17
Publication Date: 1959-1989
Published from 1959 to 1989, this 17-volume encyclopedia covers representational arts in the broadest sense--architecture, sculpture, painting, and other man-made objects with no limits as to time, place, or cultural environment. This encyclopedia is shelved in our library's print-reference collection.