Art

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The following resources have been compiled by the librarians with specific regard to the study of the Arts.

Reference Books

  • Contemporary artists. 2002. 2 volumes. Ref 709.22 C76 2002
    The focus of this encyclopedia is on artists whose major works occurred after 1960. Artists were chosen for this work by being nominated by an advisory board of international art scholars and curators. Each entry includes biographical data, individual exhibitions, group exhibitions, collections, public installations, publications, and critical essays. Some entries also include statements by the artist.

  • Oxford companion to Western art. 2001. Ref 703 Ox22
    Provides in-depth coverage of Westrern Art with entries on artists and their works, styles and movements, art forms and art terms, combined with more modern methodologies, focused on patronage, taste, theory, and criticism, and the scientific examination of materials and techniques. Critical appreciation and factual information on over 1700 artists from classical times to the 20th century is included.

  • Encyclopedia of American art before 1914. 2000. Ref 709.73 En19
    Updating and expanding on entries that first appeared in the Dictionary of Art (see above), this encyclopedia covers not only artists, but collectors, writers, artistic styles, architecture, and cities with "substantial" artistic history. Each entry has a bibliography.

  • Encyclopedia of Italian Renaissance and Mannerist art. 2000. 2 volumes. Ref 709.450 En19T
    Covers major artistic developments in Italy during a particularly fertile period, from around 1300 to 1600. Among the topics treated are the lives and works of Botticelli, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian; the design and building of St. Peter's Basilica; the painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling; the influence of important patrons, such as the Medici; and the arts in Florence, Siena, and Rome.

  • Encyclopedia of comparative iconography. 1998. Ref 704.948 En19
    Expands the scope of the thematic guide to art to include mythological, biblical, and literary themes that have been represented in art of all periods and media. alphabetically arranged essays on actions, situations, and concepts. Seven indexes to terms discussed in the entries increase the likelihood that the user will find references to the subject being sought.

  • Encyclopedia of women in religious art. 1996. Ref 704.9424 Ap46e
    A self-contained topical dictionary of over 2,000 entries, this reference includes, entries on themes, subjects, motifs, and symbolism associated with women in religious art, and women artists, critics, historians, and saints who influenced the representation of women in religious art.

  • Dictionary of art. 1996. 34 volumes. Ref 703 D56G
    Articles in this dictionary range from brief biographical entries to extensive essays on major art movements and countries. The coverage includes architecture, photography, fine arts, decorative arts, performance art, contemporary art, and multimedia installations. The only visual art not covered extensively is film. Articles include a bibliography.

  • The Dent dictionary of symbols in Christian art. 1994. Ref 704.9482 Sp31d
    Includes everyday objects (clouds, water) and their symbolic meanings, as well as a visual index.

Please keep in mind that there are many art resources in the call number range of 703-709. Visit both the reference and main collections in this range to see all of the resources we have to offer, including the following topics (among others): Greek, pre-historic, contemporary, and "oriental" art, as well as pottery, sculpture, painting, and photography.

Finding Books:

  • Online Catalog
    • Find books, as well as a variety of other materials in the TU Libraries.
    • Use the Advanced search option to specify material format, campus, language, and date range.
  • WorldCat
    • Listed under Essential Tools.
    • Find books, among other things, to request via Interlibrary Loan (ILL).

 Finding Articles:

  • Art Museum Image Gallery
    Provides access to over 160,000 high-quality images from scores of museums and other collections. The database can be searched by artist, title of the work, keyword and several other access points. 3000 BC - 20th century. (To search this individual index, click on "Open Database Selection Area" and select the checkbox next to Art Museum Image Gallery before submitting your query.)

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  • Arts and Humanities Citation Index
    Includes citations to prominent journals in the disciplines of the Arts and the Humanities, as well as related articles in the sciences and social sciences.

  • JSTOR
    JSTOR (Journal STORage) presents the searchable full text of the complete back files for over 100 important scholarly journals. Coverage generally includes the first volume through issues published prior to the most recent 3-5 years (current issues are not available in JSTOR). Includes journals for art and art history as well as architecture. Also search JSTOR via Google Scholar by including "+JSTOR" in the search.

Periodicals (Journals)

  • Periodical Title List
    Search by journal title keyword for online full-text journals, and to see what we have in print in the library.

  • Click here for an Art Subject Search in the Periodical List to find out what journals (and how many) we have available both in print and online. Click on the blue links to enter the actual list of titles. The numbers in parentheses beside the subject indicate how many journal titles are included in that subject area.

Internet Resources

For more Web resources related to Art and Art research, please visit our Art web sites page.

  • ArtLex: Art Dictionary
    Provides definitions for more than 3,600 terms used in discussing art and visual culture, along with thousands of supporting images, pronunciation notes, great quotations and cross-references. Has a Google search engine for the web site.

  • Archives of American Art (Smithsonian)
    Since 1954, the Archives has collected roughly 16 million letters, photographs, diaries, sketches, scrapbooks, business records, and other documentation that supports the study of the history of the visual arts in America. Includes over 16 million items, 5,000 collections, and 2,000 oral history interviews. It is the world's largest and most widely used resource on the history of art in America.

  • Colección Cisneros: Latin American Art
    Its mission is to collect, preserve, study, and exhibit the Colección's e xtensive artworks and related archives, which consist primarily of modern and contemporary art, with an emphasis on Latin America. The Colección also includes Colonial Latin American art, international decorative arts, and a selection of Latin American landscapes from the seventeenth to the early twentieth century.

Photography on the Web

  • NY Public Library's Picture collection online
    For those who seek knowledge and inspiration from visual materials, the Picture Collection Online presents more than 30,000 digitized images from books, magazines and newspapers as well as original photographs, prints and postcards, mostly created before 1923.

  • Library of Congress's American Memory Project
    Provides free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience. It is a digital record of American history and creativity.

  • Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Online Catalog
    Contains catalog records and digital images representing a rich cross-section of still pictures held by the Prints & Photographs Division and other units of the Library. The Library of Congress offers broad public access to these materials as a contribution to education and scholarship. Not all images displayed in this catalog are in the public domain, but many are.

Research Tools

  • RefWorks
    A citation management program that allows you to collect and organize citations, create bibliographies and works cited pages, and format papers and bibliographies to a specific citation style. To access RefWorks from anywhere off Taylor's campus, Ask-A-Librarian for the group code.

  • CREDO Reference (formerly xreferplus)
    A conglomeration of specialized dictionaries and encyclopedias that allows you to search for definitions and encyclopedia articles, as well as develop ideas for expanding or refining a research strategy.

Citation Help

  • MLA handbook for writers of research papers. 2003. Ref 808.027 G35M
    The standard source for citation style in literature and writing, published by the Modern Language Association.

  • WorldCat.org
    "Cite this item" within individual item record lists the citation in APA, MLA, Chicago and more.

  • Also, contact the Writing Center at writingctr@taylor.edu or visit them on the Portal under the Academics tab.

Product descriptions on this page are incorporated from book reviews and product descriptions from various sources.

Ask-A-Librarian for more information

Created by Lana Gottschalk, Reference Librarian

Last revised May 1, 2008

Specific Art Course PDFs

ART 413