Library guide to resources in art history

ARTH301: Methods
Karen Bucky, Collections Access & Reference Librarian, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute Library Nick Baker, Reference and Web Services Librarian, Sawyer Library

Background and context information: Encyclopedias, dictionaries, and guides Histories, handbooks, and bibliographic guides Art historical theory and methodology Finding books: Online catalogs and union catalogs Finding articles and dissertations: Databases Biographical resources Guides to terms and techniques for specific arts: Painting Prints Drawings Photographs Sculpture Decorative Arts Basic texts and reference sources by course topic: Iconography Semiotics, structuralism and post-structuralism, deconstruction, post-modernism Art and social history Postcolonialism and globalization Gender, identity politics, and sexuality Visual studies/visual culture Museum studies Art Law

Library guide to resources in art history

ARTH301: Methods
Karen Bucky, Collections Access & Reference Librarian, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute Library Nick Baker, Reference and Web Services Librarian, Sawyer Library

Background and context information: Encyclopedias, dictionaries, and guides

Use these sources to find out about an artist, the history of art in a given country or region, artistic techniques and materials, schools and movements and terminology in art, and many other background, overview, or contextual facts. Browse Sawyers and the Clark librarys art reference collections for additional resources. Atkins, Robert. Artspeak: A Guide to Contemporary Ideas, Movements, and Buzzwords, 1945 to the Present. New York: Abbeville Press, 1997.
Brief but well-written entries define movements, groups, concepts, media, and techniques. No bibliographies. Includes an ArtChart (chronology of movements), timeline, and index. Clark Reference N6490 A1 A75 1997 Sawyer Stacks N6490 A87 1990 (1st edition)

Atkins, Robert. Artspoke: A Guide to Modern Ideas, Movements, and Buzzwords, 1848-1944. New York: Abbeville Press, 1993.
Movements, media, groups, concepts, and events covered in entries averaging about 400 words. No bibliographies. Includes an ArtChart (chronology of movements), timeline, and index. Clark Reference N6450 A1 A75

Chilvers, Ian, editor. Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art. 1998.

New York: Oxford University Press,

Biographical entries on artists and other people in the art world, and on art movements, techniques, media, organizations, and serial exhibitions and publications. No index or bibliographies. Clark Reference N6490 A1 C55

Chilvers, Ian, editor. The Oxford Dictionary of Art, 3rd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Deals primarily with Western and Western-inspired painting, sculpture, printmaking, and drawing from classical Greece to the present. Treatment of the modern period includes conceptual art, video art, and other fields of artistic activity now associated with the traditional fine arts. Does not include architecture, design, photography, and applied arts. About three-quarters of the articles are biographical, covering artists, patrons, collectors, dealers, administrators, and writers. Other articles cover styles, movements, materials, and techniques. Includes a chronology that fits Western art into a wider historical context, and an index of galleries and museums. Clark Reference N31 O81 2004

Fleming, John, and Hugh Honor. The Penguin Dictionary of the Decorative Arts, new edition. New York: Viking Penguin, 1989.
Revised and expanded edition of the best comprehensive dictionary of the primary forms of Western decorative arts. 4,000+ entries on furniture and furnishings (movable objects other than paintings and sculpture) in Europe from the Middle Ages onward and in North America from the colonial period. Selective articles on such non-Western arts as carpets and ceramics. Includes definitions of stylistic and technical terms, accounts of materials and processes, biographies of leading craftsmen and designers, brief histories of notable factories and workshops. Clark Reference NK30 F44

Grove Art Online

Grove Art Online comprises the searchable full text of The Dictionary of Art, edited by Jane Turner (see below) and The Oxford Companion to Western Art, edited by Hugh Brigstocke (see below under Histories, handbooks, & bibliographic guides). Entries are continually being added and updated; articles updated since their original publication in print are date-stamped. Includes extensive links to images. Clark/Williams Electronic Resource

Mayer, Ralph. Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques.

New York: Crowell, 1969.

A general one-volume dictionary with succinct definitions of terms that cover painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, and ceramics. Architectural terms are not included. Especially useful for definitions of technical terms, processes, and materials. Includes a classified listing of books for further reference. Clark Reference N33 M39

Osborne, Harold, editor. Oxford Companion to the Decorative Arts. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1975.
A comprehensive dictionary of the decorative arts, including major crafts going back to prehistoric times such as leather-working, costume, metal-working, and glass-making; historically documented arts such as papermaking, clock-making, landscape gardening, and photography; and luxury crafts such as arms and armor, jewelry, toys, lace-making, and tapestry. Includes articles on specific crafts, on particular periods or cultures, on techniques and materials, on schools and styles, and short biographical articles on outstanding craftsmen. Clark Reference NK30 O8

Patin, Thomas. Artwords: A Glossary of Contemporary Art Theory. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1997.
Includes 400+ terms and phrases that have recently entered the discourse on visual art. Entries are substantive (the article on feminism covers several pages, for example) and include key writers and practitioners; they also include cross-references. Selected bibliography. Clark Stacks N6490 A1 P38

Turner, Jane, editor. Dictionary of Art. New York: Grove, 1996.

One of the most significant art reference works ever produced a monumental.attempt to encompass the field of art history, from prehistory to the present worldwide. The mandate to establish geographical balance makes this work the most comprehensive coverage of the arts of Asia, Africa, Australasia, and the Americas ever published in one source. Entries include biographical material on artists, dealers, art historians, and other figures in the art world; coverage of the history of art in specific countries, cities, and archeological sites; and detailed entries on art theory, movements, art forms, building types, and art materials and techniques. Articles include bibliographies. Well illustrated. Clark Reference N31 D48 (34 volumes; on counter) Sawyer Reference N31 .D5 1991

Urdang, Laurence, and Frank R. Abate, editors. Fine and Applied Arts Terms Index, 1st edition. Detroit: Gale Research, 1983.
An alphabetical guide of sources of information on more than 45,000 terms used by museums, art galleries, and auction galleries in the English-speaking world, and by artists, artisans, designers, and professional in associated fields, including words and phrases that describe objets dart, objets de vertu, bibelots, antique furnishings, jewelry, rugs and carpets, paintings, engravings, drawings, sculptures, as well as designs, styles, periods, influences, motifs, ornamentation, components, shapes, production techniques, materials, and finishes, the entries gathered from standard reference books and auctions catalogs, with sources and illustrations indicated, the whole complemented by a descriptive bibliography of all materials indexed. Entries include the sources in which a definition can be found, with page numbers for the definition and for illustrations where applicable. Clark Reference N33 U72

Histories, handbooks, and bibliographic guides

Arnason, H. Harvard. History of Modern Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Photography. [Various publishers depending on publication date].
Standard, well-respected textbook on the movements and styles of twentieth-century art. Chronologically/ thematically arranged chapters begin with prehistory of modern painting, realism and impressionism, postimpressionism, art nouveau, Fauvism, and Expressionism, and end with sixties abstraction, the post-minimal seventies and the pluralistic seventies, the neo-expressionism and neo-abstractionism of the eighties, and postmodernism in architecture. Sawyer Library's 2004 edition may also include the art of the nineties. Clark Stacks N6490 A75 1986 Sawyer Stacks N6490 .A713 2004

Arntzen, Etta, and Robert Rainwater. Guide to the Literature of Art History. Chicago: American Library Association, 1980.
Landmark bibliography of reference and basic research resources in the field of art history; a classified listing of bibliographies, directories, periodicals, auction sales material, visual resources, dictionaries and encyclopedias, iconography, historiography, sources and documents, histories and handbooks, and key resources in the particular arts i.e. architecture, sculpture, drawings, painting, prints, photography, and the decorative arts. See also Marmor & Ross GLAH2, below, which continues but does not supercede GLAH1. Clark Reference ZN5300 C4 1980 Sawyer Reference N380 A75

Brigstocke, Hugh, editor. The Oxford Companion to Western Art. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Covers "all cultures speaking a European language" and is "object-oriented" in its approach. Includes biographical articles on artists, writers, and theorists as well as articles on cities (ancient and modern) and their galleries and museums, important works of art, styles and movements, art historical methodology, patronage and collecting, terminology, and aesthetic and scientific issues (including highly-respected articles on color, perspective, and proportion). Clark Reference N31 B76 Sawyer Reference N33 O923 2001 (and search Francis for the electronic resource)

Foster, Hal, Rosiland Kraus, and Yves-Alain Bois. Art Since 1900: Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism. London: Thames & Hudson, 2004.
A controversial but important book in the field. Arranged as a year-by-year chronology from 1900 to 2003. Clark Stacks N6490 A783 Sawyer Stacks N6490 .A7186 2004

Janson, H. W., and Anthony F. Janson. History of Art, 6th edition. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2001.
Highly respected, standard college textbook of the history of art. The 5th edition featured 119 excerpted primary source readings, 111 line drawings and diagrams, heavily revised sections on Baroque, Rococo, and contemporary art, many new artists, redesigned timelines, sections on techniques and processes, and an updated bibliography. These revisions transformed the book into purely a history of Western art. Clark Stacks N5300 J3 1986 (Clark librarys most recent edition is the 3rd) Sawyer Stacks N5300 .J3 2001

Marmor, Max, and Alex Ross. Guide to the Literature of Art History 2. Chicago: American Library Association, 2005.
Continues but does not supercede Arntzen & Rainwaters GLAH1 (as it is affectionately known), above, following the same classified organization of reference and research resources in art history. Includes some electronic databases but does not include websites. Clark Reference ZN5300 C4 2005

Onians, John, editor. Atlas of World Art. London: Laurence King Publishing, 2004.
Historical atlas of world art is arranged chronologically, with chapters on hunting/gathering (40,0005000 BC), agriculture and urbanization (5000500 BC), war and empire (500 BC600 AD), religion and the ruler (600 1500), exploitation and display (15001800), industry and science (18001900), ideas and technology (1900 2000). Within these chapters are sections for the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia and the Pacific. Text and maps trace the development, influences, and transmission of art worldwide throughout human history. Clark Atlas Cabinet G1030 O65 Sawyer Stacks N34 .C75 2003

Pierce, James Smith. From ABACUS to ZEUS: A Handbook of Art History. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1987.
Intended as an aid for undergraduates or other art history beginners. First chapter includes art and architectural techical and critical terminology, in some cases with quite lengthy entries. Following chapters cover mostly iconographical themes. Chronology includes pronunciation help for difficult names. Sections on: art terms, processes, and principes; gods, heroes, and monsters; Christian subjects, devotional subjects, narrative subjects; saints and their attributes; Christian signs and symbols. Clark Reference N33 P54 1987

Vaughn, William. Arts of the 19th Century, Volume One: 1780 to 1850. Translated from the French by James Underwood. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1998. Cachin, Francoise. Arts of the 19th Century, Volume Two: 1850 to 1905. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1998.
Documents the innovations and discoveries of the turbulent years of the 19th century, and the flowering of the arts (painting, sculpture, graphic arts, decorative arts, and architecture and planning) that resulted. The book is not a social history of art, nor is it merely or only an aesthetic evaluation; it is an attempt to illustrate and shed light on the variety, profusion, and inexhaustible fecundity of art from 1780 to 1905. Lavishly illustrated. Includes short biographies of important 19th-century figures (not just artists) and a bibliography. Clark Stacks N6450 V38a

Art historical theory and methodology

Barasch, Moshe. Modern Theories of Art, 1: From Winckelman to Baudelaire. New York: New York University Press, 1990. . Modern Theories of Art, 2: From Impressionism to Kandinsky. New York: New York University Press, 1998.
Lucid survey of modern theories of art. Thematic arrangement: the early 18th century, the beginnings of the new age, unity and diversity of the visual arts, the symbol, the artist (Volume 1) and impressionism, empathy, discovering the primitive, and abstract art (Volume 2). Bibliographical essays on pages 391-407 (Volume 1) and pages 371-381 (Volume 2). Clark Stacks N70 B36m Sawyer Stacks N70 B2 1990

. Theories of Art: From Plato to Winckelman. New York: New York University Press, 1985.
Introductory survey of the major stages in the development of European art theory, through the early 18th century. Sections on antiquity, the Middle Ages, the early Renaissance, the late Renaissance, and Classicism and the Academy. Clark Stacks N70 B36 Sawyer Stacks N70 .B22 1985

DAlleva, Anne. Methods and Theories of Art History. London: Lawrence King Publishing, 2005.
Intended as a starting point, no more and no less, in approaching theories of art historical practice. Includes chapters on the analysis of form, symbol, and sign; arts contexts (e.g. Marxist and materialist perspectives, feminism, LGBTI and Queer Theory, cultural studies and postcolonial theory); psychology and perception in art; and a chapter on hermeneutics, structuralism and post-structuralism, deconstruction, and postmodernism. Clark Stacks N70 D255

Hatt, Michael, and Charlotte Klonk. Art History: A Critical Introduction to its Methods. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2006.
Introductory text to methodological debates in the field of art history. Offers "a lucid account of approaches from Hegel to post-colonialism" and "provides a sense of art history s own history as a discipline, from its emergence in the late-eighteenth century to contemporary debates." Clark Stacks (On Order) Sawyer Stacks N7480 .H38 2006

Minor, Vernon Hyde. Art History's History. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2001.
Three main sections trace the development of art history as a discipline, from ancient theories of art (Plato and Aristotle) through medieval and Renaissance theory, nature and the ideal in 17th century theory, and the emergence of method and modernism in art history from Winckelmann to late-twentieth-century intertextuality (taking in among other things Marxism, feminism, deconstruction, psychoanalysis, and "the other" along the way). Sawyer Stacks N380 .M556 2001

Nelson, Robert S., and Richard Schiff, editors. Critical Terms for Art History. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
The best handbook of its kind, with lengthy essays (each with a substantial bibliography) on such terms/concepts as representation, sign, word and image, narrative, meaning and interpretation, avant-garde, body, gaze, gender, ritual, identity, postmodernism and postcolonialism, and visual culture/visual studies. Clark Reference N34 C75 2003 Sawyer Stacks N34 .C75 2003

Pointon, Marcia R. History of Art: A Students Handbook. London: Routledge, 1997.

A short, intelligent, witty book that guides students through engaging with art, art history as a discipline, how art historians work, the language of art history, and the literature of art history; a combination of intellectual map and compendium of practical hints. Clark Stacks N5303 P65 1997 Sawyer Stacks N380 .P56 1994

Preziosi, Donald, editor. The Art of Art History: A Critical Anthology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
The meatiest of the art history anthologies, with selected readings on the art-historiography of art as history, aesthetics, style, history as an art, iconography and semiology, modernity, gendering, deconstruction and the limits of interpretation, and the other: art history and/as museology. Each section has a substantial critical introduction, and each essay has bibliographic notes. The book can also be accessed electronically; find the record for the book in either librarys online catalog and click the link. Clark Stacks N5303 A786 Sawyer Stacks N7480 .A79 1998

Smith, Paul, and Carolyn Wilde. A Companion to Art Theory. London: Blackwell, 2002.
Essays by eminent scholars on theories of Western art, beginning with the roots of modern art theory in Renaissance Italy and extending, roughly chronologically, to 20th-century theoretical themes. Includes section on tradition and the academy, modernism, critical theory and postmodernism, and interpretive theory. Does not cover visual culture, feminist theory, and film and photographic theory. Clark Stacks N70 C626 Sawyer Stacks N7475 .C59 2002

Finding Books: Online catalogs and union catalogs

Search our collections Use the Clark online catalog to access the Clark librarys collection, which is rich in all areas of art theory, history, methodology, and philosophy. The Clark librarys collection development mission (in a nutshell) is to collect materials in all languages on Western art and on art history, from the Renaissance to the present. Recently, as the result of a grant to Research and Academic Programs to bring in scholars studying non-Western art, the Clark library has begun collecting material on contemporary African, Asian, and Latin American art as well. Search Francis to access Sawyers stronger collections on architecture, on Ancient and Medieval art, and on non-Western art. In addition to books in the Williams and Clark libraries, you have access through Francis to NExpress, a consortium of New England partner colleges, and to the BLC (Boston Library Consortium) Virtual Catalog, a union catalog of the holdings of other New England libraries such as Brown University, the Boston Public Library, Boston University, University of New Hampshire, and the University of Massachusetts. Materials found using NExpress and BLC can be requested electronically and picked up at Sawyer Library.

Search libraries worldwide WorldCat is a vast database that represents the holdings of thousands of libraries worldwide. It is accessible through the Clark librarys Electronic Resources page, and the Williams College Library website. WorldCats member libraries include every type of library: public, academic, research, special, and K-12 school libraries.

Interlibrary Loan Materials not available through the Clark or Williams library online catalogs can be requested through Interlibrary Loan. Both Williams and the Clark use ILLiad, but the two ILL systems are separate and the two libraries are members of different library consortia. Undergraduate art majors should try to get materials through Williams first, and then try the Clark. If you need to use the Clarks ILL services, contact Karen Bucky to ask about setting up an ILLiad account. Please be aware that ALL interlibrary loan materials obtained through the Clark are in-library use only; they cannot be taken out of the Clark library. Because we can guarantee this level of oversight, we can often obtain books that libraries would otherwise be unwilling to loan.

Finding articles and dissertations: Databases

The following databases are important sources for finding articles, dissertations, book chapters, essays, and other materials in art history and in related disciplines such as history, anthropology, literature and folklore and film, the performing arts, religion, and philosophy. Anthropological Literature
Comprehensive international resource indexing articles and essays in physical and cultural anthropology and archaeology, and related disciplines including art history, demography, economics, psychology, and religious studies. Coverage is from the late 19th century to the present. Clark/Williams Electronic Resource

Art Abstracts Art Index Retrospective

Good starting points for locating articles in fine arts journals, book reviews, and articles in museum bulletins for any period or genre of art, from classical antiquity to the present. Subjects such as archaeology, architectural history, museum studies, and the decorative arts are also included. AIR covers 19291984; AA covers 1984 to the present with abstracts from 1994 on. Clark/Williams Electronic Resources Related print title: Art Index. New York: H.W. Wilson, 1929 . (Library has 19291984.) Clark Reference Z3957 A7

ArtBibliographies Modern
Abstracts of journal articles, books, essays, exhibition catalogs, PhD dissertations, and exhibition reviews. Covers modern and contemporary arts from the late 19th century onwards. Includes traditional media such as illustration, painting, printmaking, sculpture, and drawing; also includes photography since its invention, performance art and installation works, video art, artists' books, and other areas of contemporary art. Coverage: 1960 to the present. Clark/Williams Electronic Resources

Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals

Index to journals in archaeology, architecture, furniture, urban design, historic preservation, landscape architecture, and urban planning history. Covers the 1930s to the present; selective coverage back to the 1860s. Clark/Williams Electronic Resources

Bibliography of the History of Art

BHA is the premier index for art history (for Western art). Provides citations and abstracts for materials on European and American art from late antiquity to the present . Indexes journal articles, books, essays, conference proceedings, and exhibition catalogs in the field of art history. Covers mostly visual arts. Clark/Williams Electronic Resources

Dissertation Abstracts
Indexes U.S., Canadian, British, and some European theses and dissertations from academic institutions in North America and Europe from 1861 to the present. Abstracts for dissertations were added to the database in 1980; abstracts for theses in 1988. Most dissertations can be obtained through Interlibrary Loan, often in microformat. Clark/Williams Electronic Resources

Historical Abstracts America: History and Life

Indexes to scholarly articles, dissertations, and book reviews on history and culture, including much material in the field of art history. The two databases can be searched separately or together. HA covers world history excluding the United States and Canada, from 1450 to the present. AHL covers U.S. and Canadian history. Wide-ranging databases with powerful, flexible search capabilities. Critically important resources for art historians, especially in the area of art and social history. Clark/Williams Electronic Resources

Humanities Abstracts
Indexes articles on topics in the humanities, including archaeology, classical studies, folklore, history, journalism, literature, music, performing arts, philosophy and religion. A one-stop database for articles in several disciplines that relate to the study of art history. Coverage is from 1980 to the present. For earlier coverage, consult the print indexes at Sawyer: Humanities Index (1974 ), Social Sciences and Humanities Index (1966 1974), and International Index (19071965). Clark/Williams Electronic Resources

JSTOR
Full-text searchable database of core journals in all disciplines, especially math, general science, social sciences, history, art, religion, language, and philosophy. Historical collection covers from the inception of each title to 1-5 years ago (depending on contractual agreements with vendors). Rich source of information on art in all related disciplines, including art history, history, literature, religion, and philosophy. Williams Electronic Resources

MLA Bibliography
Index to journals, monographs, working papers, proceedings, and other formats in the fields of languages, literature, linguistics, and folklore. Also an important source for material on film, photography, and theater. Coverage is from 1963 to the present. Clark/Williams Electronic Resources

Philosophers Index
Indexing and abstracts from books and journals of philosophy and related fields, covering the areas of ethics, aesthetics, social philosophy, political philosophy, epistemology, and metaphysic logic as well as material on the philosophy of law, religion, science, history, education, and language. An important source of material on semiotics, structuralism, and post-structuralism. Coverage is from 1940 to the present. Clark/Williams Electronic Resources

Religion Database (ATLA)

Index to scholarly materials in religion and theology. Indexes journals, multi-author works, and book reviews. Covers such topics as Biblical studies, world religions, church history, and religious perspectives on social issues. Important source for iconography; also for material on the religious or theological context of much of Western art. Coverage is from 1949 to the present. Clark/Williams Electronic Resources

Finding State of Research articles Scholars occasionally publish articles that give an overview of the research that has been done in a given field or area of study, tracing the development of ideas and research methodologies in that field. These articles can be an extremely useful kick-start to a paper or project if you can find one on the area you are studying. A good source is Bibliography of the History of Art, which has a specific subject heading for such articles. Do a Subject Phrase search for state of research. In addition, do a Keyword search for "current research" (in this case, include the quotation marks!) Combine either with a search by date or topic such as "18001900" or "photography" to search more precisely.

Some examples of State of Research articles you might find include: Corn, Wanda M. Coming of Age: Historical Scholarship in American Art. Art Bulletin LXX/2 (June 1988): 188-207. Dumas, Ann. The van Gogh Literature from 1990 to the Present: A Selective Review. The Van Gogh Museum Journal (2002): 40-51. Posner, Donald. On the State of Research in Italian Baroque Art. Art Bulletin LXX/1 (March 1988): 138-141. Przyblyski, Jeannene M. Julia Margaret Cameron's women, great men and others. Afterimage 27 (March-April 2000): 7-9. Westermann, Mariet. After Iconography and Iconoclasm: Current research in Netherlandish Art, 1566-1700. Art Bulletin 84/2 (June 2002): 351-372.

Biographical resources
One good first step in finding out about a work of art is to find biographical information about the artist. Which resources you use depend on when and where the artist lived and worked. The best biographical reference sources are print sources; two possible exceptions to this are Grove Art Online for better-known artists and the internet for contemporary artists. For a well-known artist, you might find entries in encyclopedias or dictionaries on art; for a less well-known artist, you might have to look in more specialized biographical/regional dictionaries. Some of these are listed below, but try browsing for others. The best place to start is the Allgemeines Kunstlerlexikon, first on the list.

Worldwide Biography Allgemeines Knstlerlexikon: Bio-Bibliographischer Index AZ/The Artists of the World: BioBibliographical Index AZ. Munich: Saur, 19992000.
The most comprehensive and wide-ranging index to artistic biography available and the best starting place for information on an artist. Indexes biographical encyclopedias and dictionaries. Entries include artists name, birth and death dates where known, nationality, and references to biographical sources listed in the front of each volume (most of which the Clark library has). In several languages, including English. Clark Reference N40 A44b (10 vols; on counter)

Bnzit, Emmanuel. Dictionary of Artists.

Paris: Grnd, 2006.

Often referred to as Bnzit. Comparable, in inclusiveness and comprehensiveness, to the much older Thieme-Becker and Vollmer (below), and now updated and for the first time available in English translation. Long, signed entries include bibliographic citations, museum collection information, and auction prices fetched by significant works. Facsimiles of artists signatures are occasionally included. Clark Reference N40 B4 2006 E (14 volumes; on counter)

Contemporary Arts Series: Emanuel, Muriel, editor. Contemporary Architects. New York: St. James Press, 1994.
Clark Reference NA680 A1 C65 1994

Hopkinson, Amanda, editor. Contemporary Photographers. Detroit: St. James Press, 1995.
Clark Reference NE2600 A1 C65 1995

Prendergast, Sarah and Tom, editors. Contemporary Artists. Detroit: St. James Press, 2001.
Clark Reference N6490 A1 C65 2001

Prendergast, Sarah, editor. Contemporary Designers. Detroit: St. James Press, 1997.
Clark Reference NK1390 A1 C65 1997 Series that contains many useful biographical entries for artists, photographers, architects, and designers. Works in each series are not cumulative; in each edition a number of artists are deleted and others are added check both libraries online catalogs to find older editions. Each entry includes biographical data, list of exhibitions or projects, public collections that include works by the artist, and primary and secondary bibliographies. In many cases, artists statements about their work are included. Critical essays have been contributed by specialists in the field.

Gaze, Delia, editor. Dictionary of Women Artists.

Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997.

Covers painters, sculptors, printmakers, photographers, and decorative/applied artists, as well as artists working in newer forms. Introductory surveys on: women as artists in the Middle Ages, convents, guilds and the open market, court artists, academies of art, copyists, printmakers, amateur artists, artistic training in various countries, modernism, and feminism. Signed entries by scholarly contributors include basic biographical information, chronological list of individual and group exhibitions, writings by the artist, citations of works about the artist, and an essay. Does not cover contemporary artists. Emphasis is on Western art. Clark Reference N43 D53 (2 volumes)

Grove Art Online

Grove Art Online comprises the searchable full text of The Dictionary of Art, edited by Jane Turner (see below) and The Oxford Companion to Western Art, edited by Hugh Brigstocke (see below under Histories, handbooks, & bibliographic guides). Entries are continually being added and updated; articles updated since their original publication in print are date-stamped. Includes extensive links to images. Clark/Williams Electronic Resource

Hillstrom, Laurie Collier, and Kevin Hillstrom, editors. Contemporary Women Artists. Detroit: St. James Press, 1999.
Biographical and career information on 350+ of the worlds most prominent and influential 20th century women artists working in painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, collage, photography, ceramics, mixed media, electronic media, performance art, video, design, and graphic arts. Entries include basic biographical data, exhibition history, works in collections, bibliographical references, critical reception, and, where possible, a comment by the artist. Clark Reference N43 C65

Petteys, Chris. Dictionary of Women Artists: An International Dictionary of Women Artists Born Before 1900. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1985.
Brief entries provide basic biographical data on 21,000+ women painters, sculptors, printmakers, and illustrators. Omitted are photographers, architects, craftsworker, and designers unless their skills were adjunct to painting or other arts. Entries include data on the artists schooling, exhibition information, and bibliographical references. Clark Reference N43 P483

Thieme, Ulrich, and Felix Becker. Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Knstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart; unter Mitwirking von 300 Fachgelehrten des In- und Auslandes. Leipzig: Seemann, 190750.
Comprehensive scholarly dictionary of artists; commonly known as Thieme-Becker. Includes all known Western painters, sculptors, engravers, architects, and decorative artists up to the mid-20th century. Currently being updated, a few alphabetical volumes a year, by the Allgemeines Knstlerlexikon: die Bildenden Knstler aller Zeiten und Volker (Reference Counter N40 A44). Includes signed articles by outstanding scholars and long bibliographies. Locations of works of art frequently given. Numerous cross-references. See also Vollmer's Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Kunstler des XX. Jahrhunderts for information on 20th-century artists, below. Clark Reference N40 V6 (37 volumes; on counter)

Turner, Jane, editor. Dictionary of Art.

New York: Grove, 1996.

Entries include biographical material on artists, dealers, art historians, and other figures in the art world. Articles include bibliographies. Clark Reference N31 D48 (34 vols; on counter)

Vollmer, Hans, editor. Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Knstler des XX. Jahrhunderts. Leipzig: Seemann, 195362.
Supplements Theime-Becker (above); is known as Vollmer. Still the most scholarly, comprehensive dictionary of Western artists working in the first half of the 20th century. Clark Reference N40 T4i

North America Collins, Jim, and Glenn B. Opitz, editors. Women Artists in America: 18th Century to the Present (17901980). Poughkeepsie, NY: Apollo, 1980.
Illustrates the paucity of information available on women artists. Entries include name, date and place of birth and death, artistic designation (e.g. painter), schooling, awards, membership in artistic associations, public collections holding works. Clark Reference N6505 A1 C6

Falk, Peter Hastings, editor. Who Was Who in American Art, 15641975: 400 Years of Artists in America. Madison, CT: Sound View Press, 1999.
The best first place to check to find basic information on an artist who worked in America. Covers 50,000+ painters, printmakers, sculptors, photographers, decorative and applied artists, as well as critics and historians, who worked in the U.S. Entries contain basic information on schooling, teaching, selective exhibition history, collections that own the artists work, commentary on important figures, and bibliographic citations. Clark Reference N6512 A1 W431 (3 volumes)

Farris, Phoebe, editor. Women Artists of Color: A Bio-Critical Sourcebook to 20th-Century Artists in the Americas. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999.
Four ethnic groupings (Native American, Latin American, African American, Asian Pacific American), within which about 100 artists are arranged alphabetically. Entries include basic biographical data, exhibitions, collections holding the artists work, publications by and about, a statement by the artist, and a biographical essay. Goal of the work is to provide a representative sample of older and/or deceased artists who helped pave the way for future generations; mature, midcareer mainstream artists.and younger, emerging artists. Clark Reference N43 F37

Matuz, Roger, editor. St. James Guide to Native North American Artists. Detroit: St. James Press, 1988.
Selection of 350+ biographical and critical articles on native North American artists in all media working in the 20th century. Entries include biographical data (variant names and tribal affiliation where appropriate), exhibitions, publications, collections, artists statement, illustration, and an essay on the artist. Clark Reference N40 S35n

Opitz, Glenn B., editor. Dictionary of American Sculptors: 18th Century to the Present. Poughkeepsie, NY: Apollo, 1984.
Biographical entries for 5,000+ American sculptors. Entries include birth and death dates and locations (when known), schools attended, where work is collected or located, membership in professional organizations, teaching positions held, awards won, and where work was exhibited. Clark Reference NB205 A1 O65

. Mantle Fieldings Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors, and Engravers, 2nd edition. Poughkeepsie, NY: Apollo, 1986.
Basic biographical dictionary of American artists. Original edition published in 1926. Biographical articles on 12,000+ artists include information on awards, group and solo shows, museums holding the artists work, association memberships, and teaching experience. Concentrates on lesser-known figures rather than on leading artists about whom information is readily available from other sources. Clark Reference N6505 A1 F5

Riggs, Thomas, editor. St. James Guide to Black Artists.

Detroit: St. James Press, 1997.

Includes nearly 400 19th- and 20th-century painters, sculptors, printmakers, photographers, ceramicists, and textile workers of African descent. Most of the artists are African-American; the remainder are from Africa, the Caribbean, and other parts of the diaspora. Entries include basic biographical data, exhibition history, works in collections, bibliographical references, some criticism, and, where available, a comment by the artist. Includes a nationality index, medium index, and index to illustrations. Clark Reference N40 S35b

Whos Who in American Art. New York: Bowker, 1935.

Formerly published as part of American Art Annual. Includes biographical sketches of artists, craftsmen, administrators, collectors, dealers, scholars, critics, curators, and illustrators in the U.S. and Canada. Each annual volume contains a necrology, geographical index, and a professional classifications index. Entries may include birth date and place, schooling/training, exhibitions, professional classification, works in public collections, publications, positions held in schools/museums/organizations, memberships in art societies, honors and awards, media, dealer, and mailing address. Current Year: Clark Reference N6512 A1 W43 Back Issues: Clark Stacks N6512 A1 W43 (Library has 1940/41present; some volumes missing)

Both the Clark and Sawyer libraries have many dictionaries of artists from specific countries or U.S. states, and from different time periods, movements, and groups. Check both libraries online catalogs, or check with a reference librarian, if you are looking for information on artists in these categories.

Guides to terms and techniques for specific arts

Paintings Carr, Dawson W., and Mark Leonard. Looking at Paintings: A Guide to Technical Terms. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum in association with British Museum Press, 1992.
Provides definitions of, and illustrates, terms commonly used to describe paintings, including styles, techniques, textures, and perspective. Clark Stacks ND31 C7

Goldman, Paul. Looking at Prints, Drawings, and Watercolors: A Guide to Technical Terms. London: British Museum Publications; Malibu, CA: J. Paul Getty Museum, 1988.
Provides definitions of and illustrations for the most common terms used to discuss prints, drawings, and watercolors. Clark Stacks N33 G65

Wehlte, Kurt. The Materials and Techniques of Painting. Translated by Ursus Dix. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.
Systematic, detailed, decimally organized treatise on the techniques and materials of wall painting and easel painting, special painting techniques, and the technical examination of paintings. Clark Stacks ND1260 W44 E

Prints Gascoigne, Bamber. How to Identify Prints: A Complete Guide to Manual and Mechanical Processes from Woodcut to Ink Jet. London: Thames & Hudson, 2004.
Part 1 describes the three types of prints, including images not really prints but called prints (e.g. screen print, Xerox and laser, and inkjet). Part 2 describes and illustrates visual evidence that can be used to identify and clarify areas of confusion, identify details based on historical development of genres and techniques, and draw conclusions based on details of technical processes. Part 3 defines terminology for families of prints, lays out a Sherlock Holmes approach to print identification, and includes a glossary-index that references numbered sections of the book and defines technical terms. Clark Stacks NE850 G37 2004

Griffiths, Anthony. Prints and Printmaking: Introduction to the History and Techniques. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1996.
Intended as a guide for the general reader wishing to understand the main categories and processes of printmaking, as well as how and by whom each method was used. Western art only. Sections include relief printing processes (woodcut, linocut, wood-engraving, and metalcut and relief etching), intaglio printing processes (engraving, etching, drypoint, crayon manner and stipple, mezzotint, aquatint, and soft-ground etching), lithography, screen printing, color printing, and photomechanical reproduction processes (relief printing, intaglio printing, surface printing, and color printing). Clark Stacks NE400 G74 1996

Ivins, William Mills. How Prints Look: Photographs with a Commentary. Boston: Beacon Press, 1958.
Describes the basic processes of the three types of printmaking, with illustrations and captions that show fine details of technique, materials, or process and that give details on the impact of a given technique on artistic practice or on aesthetic taste or understanding. Includes a short chapter on color in printmaking, and another on copies, facsimiles, and other bothersome matters with details on how to tell the difference between originals and copies. The final chapter briefly places prints in a social, artistic, and economic context, with sections on the social importance of graphic techniques, the influence of illustration, and the economics of print publishing. Clark Stacks NE400 I8h Repr.

Drawings Goldman, Paul. Looking at Drawings: A Guide to Technical Terms. London: British Museum Publications, 1979.
Provides definitions of terms commonly used to describe and discuss drawings. Illustrations provide examples of specific media, techniques, and marks. Clark Stacks NC730 G59

Mendelowitz, Daniel Marcus. Mendelowitzs Guide to Drawing, 3rd edition. Revised by Duane A. Wakeham. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1982.
A systematic introduction to the art of drawing, intended for students of drawing but useful to the collector wishing to understand drawing methods, materials, and subject matter. Includes chapters on art elements (line, value, texture, composition, perspective), media (dry media such as charcoal, chalk, pencil, and crayon, and wet media such as ink, wash drawing, and mixed media), and traditional areas of subject matter (still life, landscape, figure drawing, portraiture). Well illustrated. Clark Stacks NC50 M45 1982

Photographs Baldwin, Gordon. Looking at Photographs: A Guide to Technical Terms. Malibu, CA: J. Paul Getty Museum; London: British Museum Publications, 1991.
Provides concise explanations of the terms most frequently used by curators, collectors, and historians to discuss and describe photographs, especially those terms likely to appear on descriptive labels in exhibitions or in catalogue entries. Clark Stacks NE2600 B35

Haller, Margaret. Collecting Old Photographs. New York: Arco, 1978.

Includes sections on the images, photographers, and literature of photography, concentrates on the first 100 years of photography, to about 1940. Section 1 is a glossary on the techniques and terms of photography; section 2 is a biographical dictionary of important figures in photography; section 3 is an annotated list of important publications on photography, by photographers, or with important photographic illustration. Price/value information is out of date. Clark Stacks NE2600 H3

Sculpture Bassett, Jane, and Peggy Fogelman. Looking at European Sculpture: A Guide to Technical Terms. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1997.
Provides explanations and illustrations for terms used in describing and discussing European sculpture, mainly sculpture from the Renaissance through the 19th century. Terms include materials, processes, tools, techniques, media, and sculptural forms. Clark Stacks NB50 B37

Decorative Arts Heisinger, Kathryn B., and George H. Marcus. Antiquespeak: A Guide to the Styles, Techniques, and Materials of the Decorative Arts, from the Renaissance to Art Deco. New York: Abbeville Press, 1997.
Brief essays discuss European and American styles, materials, types of objects, specialized areas of collecting (e.g. export wares), and processes related to acquiring and caring for antiques. Essays that define styles (e.g. Tudor) include sections on Who (principle artists, architects, designers, etc.), When, Where (countries or continents in which a style was centered), and What (the origins, nature, and implications of the style). Clark Stacks NK30 H5

Lewis, Philippa, and Gillian Darley. Dictionary of Ornament. New York: Pantheon, 1986.
A survey of ornament, pattern, and motif in the applied arts and architecture, covering mainly European and North American buildings and objects from the Renaissance to the present day with reference, where relevant, to ancient and oriental sources and precedents. Illustrations demonstrate the ways in which a motif, pattern, or theme may be interpreted in various media. A visual key functions as a visual dictionary that refers to definitions of ornamental details. Includes references. Clark Reference NK30 L48

Trench, Lucy, editor. Materials and Techniques in the Decorative Arts: An Illustrated Dictionary. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.
Describes and illustrates the materials and techniques used in the decorative arts, defined as those objects and forms of decoration that have a practical purpose but are also prized for their beauty and craftsmanship. Materials covered include seven core materialstextiles, metals, wood, ceramics, glass, stone, and pape as well as gemstones, ivory, lacquer, leather, and shell. The focus is primarily Western art but does include nonWestern arts in such materials as lacquer and jade. Clark Reference NK30 T74

Basic texts and reference sources by course topic

Iconography Duchet-Suchaux, Gaston, and Michel Pastoureau. The Bible and the Saints. Flammarion Iconographic Guides. Paris: Flammarion, 1994.
Alphabetically organized entries for the saints, biblical characters and scenes from the Old and New Testaments, animals, plants, allegorical personifications and religious dignitaries (e.g. popes and pilgrims), and insignia of religious office (e.g. the mitre). A practical guide that does not seek to be exhaustive but gives basic iconographic information. Includes bibliographic references. Clark Reference N7800 A1 D83 E

Hall, James. Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art. London: John Murray, 1974.
Dictionary of Christian and classical themes and symbols, found in Western art from the Renaissance to the present, in the mainstream of the Christian and humanist tradition in art. Entries are alphabetical by subject. Does not list works of art. Many cross-references. Sparsely illustrated with line drawings. Clark Stacks N7694 A1 H34

Rau, Louis. Iconographie de lArt Chrtien. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1955.
Indispensable reference tool for research in Christian iconography. Scope ranges from early Christian to twentieth-century representations, with emphasis on Western medieval art. Each subject heading is translated into several other languages, so that the work can also function as a polyglot dictionary of iconographical terms. Well-illustrated. Clark Reference N7800 R4

Roberts, Helene E. Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography: Themes Depicted in Works of Art. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1998.
Intends to show the variety of uses to whichnarratives and other themes have been put in the history of art and to discuss some of the changing interpretations as the themes pass through different ages, cultures, and forms. Orders iconographic narratives (e.g. biblical, mythological, and literary texts) according to actions performed by the characters, situations in which they find themselves, and concepts relating to those situations and actions (e.g. abandonment, adultery, ascent, avarice). Essays discuss personifications, allegories, gestures, characteristics, and other subjects. Detailed indexes to persons/places/concepts, artists/works of art, and names/terms provide cross-referencing. Clark Reference N7694 A1 E52 (Volumes 12)

Schiller, Gertrud. Iconography of Christian Art. London: Lund Humphries, 1971-1972.

Iconographic encyclopedia treating representations of major events in the life of Christ. Intended for students and nonspecialists, but also a valuable research tool for scholars. Volume 1: Christ's incarnation, childhood, baptism, temptation, transfiguration, works and miracles. Volume 2: The passion of Jesus Christ. Abundantly illustrated. References to the Bible in the text; references to published works in footnotes. Clark Reference N7800 S36 E

Semiotics, structuralism and post-structuralism, deconstruction, post-modernism

Eagleton, Terry. Literary Theory: An Introduction. Minnneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1993.
Lucid, brilliantly-written crash course in basic literary theory, including phenomenology, hermeneutics, reception theory, structuralism, semiotics, post-structuralism, and psychoanalysis. In each case Eagleton discusses the major theorists involved, the historical impacts that shaped the theory, and the particulars of that theory. Eagleton's discussions of these theories are applicable far beyond the study of literature, and his dense presentation clarifies without simplifying. Sawyer Stacks PN94 .E2 1993

Harvey, David. The Condition of Post-Modernity: An Enquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change. Oxford, England; Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, 1990.
Traces the development of the concept of postmodernism, explains how it is different from modernism, and discusses its political and social influences. Not specifically about art or art history, but a useful book for exploring and understanding that elusive phenomenon called postmodernism. Sawyer Stacks CB428 .H38 1990

Art and social history Wolff, Janet. Aesthetics and the Sociology of Art. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1993.
Reviews the many ways in which sociological approaches to art raise uncomfortable and important questions for traditional aesthetics. Well-known, brief, accessible text. Clark Stacks N73 S62 W65a

. The Social Production of Art. New York: New York University Press, 1981.
Sociological study of the production, distribution, and reception of art. Clark Stacks N73 S62 W65 Sawyer Stacks NX180 .S6 W64 1993

Postcolonialism and globalization Elkins, James, editor. Is Art History Global? New York: Routledge, 2007.
Stages an international conversation among art historians and critics on the subject of the practice and responsibility of global thinking within the discipline. The topics are political, economic, philosophic, linguistic, and personal. Should Chinese art be discussed using Western methods such as psychoanalysis or deconstruction? Is it best to use words like "space" and "time" to describe non-Western art, or should historians try to employ the words used in different cultures? How is art history taught without books, slides, or artworks? Clark Stacks N73 S62 I72

Papastergiadis, Nikos, editor. Complex Entanglements: Art, Globalisation and Cultural Difference. London; Sydney; Chicago: Rivers Oram, 2003.
Based on a groundbreaking international conference held in Sydney, Australia, under the auspices of Artspace, this anthology explores the legacy and the future of multicultural discourses for the arts. Debates on art, culture, and theory are situated within the context of globalization. The issues arising from new hybrid and complex forms of cultural identity are examined with reference to both contemporary art practice and historical accounts of national identity. Clark Stacks N73 S62 C646 2003

Gender, identity politics, and sexuality Bibliography of Gay and Lesbian Art. New York: Gay and Lesbian Caucus, College Art Association, 1994.
Aims to summarize and index "everything written about gay, lesbian, or bisexual artists and themes in the arts," (principally painting, sculpture, graphic arts, architecture, and photography) which as of 1994 included about 1,200 items. Does not include material on individual artists unless the monograph includes useful treatments of a gay/lesbian artist's personal life and psychology. Most entries are briefly annotated. Clark Reference Z N73 H65 C65

Carson, Fiona, and Claire Pajaczkowska, editors. Feminist Visual Culture. New York: Routledge, 2001.
Selection of essays on fine art, design, and popular culture. Introductory chapter on issues in feminist visual culture establishes the central issues in the field. Fine arts section includes chapters on painting, sculpture, performance art, multicultural discourses, and photography; design section includes chapters on architecture, graphic design, ceramics, textiles, and fashion; mass media section includes chapters on film theory, video, cyberfeminism, television, and advertising. Each section begins with an introduction that lays out the feminist issues in that area of art. Clark Stacks N73 F45 F47

Davis, Whitney. Gay and Lesbian Studies in Art History. New York: Haworth Press, 1994.
Presents some of the best and boldest work being done in the [then] relatively new field of gay and lesbian studies as applied to art history. Clark Stacks N73 H65 G39 Sawyer Stacks N72 .H64 G39 1994

Frueh, Joanna, Cassandra L. Langer, and Arlene Raven, editors. New Feminist Criticism: Art, Identity, Action. New York: IconEditions, 1994.
Anthology that offers a wide range of feminist criticism, sparked by ideas and events of the 1980s and early 1990s. Clark Stacks N73 F45 N38

Hammond, Harmony. Lesbian Art in America: A Contemporary History. New York: Rizzoli, 2000.
The first definitive history of lesbian art in the United States presents a collection of artwork, created since 1970 within the context of gay culture and political activism, along with critical analyses of the movement and profiles of thirty prominent lesbian artists, including Kate Millett, Joan Snyder, Deborah Kass, and Catherine Opie. Clark Stacks N73 H65 H36 Sawyer Stacks NX652.G38 H36 2000

Langer, Cassandra. Feminist Art Criticism: An Annotated Bibliography. New York: G.K. Hall, 1993.
Read the introduction for a succinct overview of the development of the study of "women's realities in the arts professions." The guide provides basic bibliographic information on feminist culture, art, theory, and criticism, produced over the last 100 years, that are of relevance to the study of the visual arts and the feminist critique of art history and art criticism. References include books, pamphlets, articles, exhibition catalogs, reviews, newspapers, and unpublished manuscripts. Annotations are substantive, identifying the place of the publication in the history of feminist art theory and criticism. Clark Reference Z N73 F45 L35 Sawyer Reference N72 .F45 L36 1993

Raven, Arlene, Cassandra Langer, and Joanna Frueh, editors. Feminist Art Criticism: An Anthology. Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Research Press, 1988.
Selection of landmark essays in feminist art criticism, activist essays, which deny conventional notions of art and art criticism which refuse to read and value art in codified formalist terms and mood. Essays fall into two broad categories: accounts of different female artists and efforts to formulate a female art-criticism. Clark Stacks N73 F45 F46

Robinson, Hilary, editor. Feminism-Art-Theory: An Anthology, 19682000. Oxford; Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 2001.
A collection of excerpted readings chosen to indicate the main strands of thought, debate, and politics in the spaces where the womens movement has intersected with the practices of making and writing about art. Includes sections on gender in/of culture; activism and institutions; historical and critical practices; the aesthetic; politics in practice; claiming identity; theorizing representation; body, sexuality, image; the realm of the spirit. Includes a lengthy classified bibliography. Clark Stacks N73 F45 F432 Sawyer Stacks N72 .F45 F442 2001

Saslow, James. Pictures and passions: a history of homosexuality in the visual arts. New York: Viking, 1999.
This comprehensive chronicle of gay and lesbian visual expression covers the history of homosexuality in art, from the sexual practices of prehistoric people, to satirical Medieval art, to the emergence of modern-day gay institutions. Clark Stacks N73 H65 S37 Sawyer Stacks N8217.H67 S27 1999

Summers, Claude J., editor. The Queer Encyclopedia of the Visual Arts. San Francisco: Cleis Press, 2004.
Showcases the contribution of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer artists to painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and architecture. Includes essays on topics such as censorship and AIDS activism in the arts and biographical entries on glbtq artists, from major figures of the past like Michaelangelo, Leonardo, and El Greco to contemporary artists such as Keith Haring, David Hockney, Janet Cooling, Tee Corinne, and many others. Sawyer Reference N72 .H64 Q44 2004

Visual studies/visual culture Bryson, Norman, editor. Visual Culture: Images and Interpretations. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1994.
Essays written for a conference on Theory and Interpretation in the Visual Arts held in 1989. Contributors are names to conjure with in their fields: Griselda Pollock, Lisa Tickner, John Tagg, Keith Moxey, Thomas Crow, Ernst van Alphen, Kaja Silverman, Michael Ann Holly, Mieke Bal, David Summers. Clark Stacks N72 V57 1989

Dikovitskaya, Margaret. Visual Culture: The Study of the Visual After the Cultural Turn. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2005.
Explores the history, theoretical frameworks, methodology, and pedagogy of visual culture in the United States. The introduction and bibliographic essay provide a good overview of the development of the field and the literature that has both shaped it and been generated by it. The Appendix, which comprises more than half the book, is interviews with scholars in and of the field. Clark Stacks N72 D45

Elkins, James. Visual Studies: A Skeptical Introduction. New York: Routledge, 2003.
Aims not just to provide an introduction to and overview of the field of visual studies surveying existing programs, looking at the bibliography of the field, and examining leading concepts - but also to raise the ante by proposing ways to make visual studies more rigorous, more innovative, and more self-critical and reflective. Final chapter on What is Visual Literacy? is a wide-ranging discussion, across many media and many historical periods, of visual competence. Clark Stacks N77 E46v Sawyer Stacks N72 .S6 E45 2003

Walker, John, and Sarah Chaplin. Visual Culture: An Introduction. Manchester; New York: Manchester University Press; New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997.
Examines the expanding realm of visual culture in architecture, art, design, advertising, photography, film, television, video, theatre performance, computer imagery and virtual reality, as well as Visual Culture Studies, a relatively new academic discipline, or range of disciplines, that scholars employ to analyse visual artefacts. Discusses the concepts of the visual and of culture as well as the field and origins of Visual Culture Studies; coping with theory; models of production and consumption; institutions; pleasure; the canon and concepts of value; visual literacy and poetics; modes of analysis; culture and commerce; and new technologies. Clark Stacks N70 W33

Museum studies Bennett, Tony. The Birth of the Museum: History, Theory, Politics. London; New York: Routledge, 1995.
Examines the cultural function of the museum and the evolution of the modern museum. Using case studies from Britain, Australia, and North America, the author investigates 19th- and 20th-century museums' policies and politics, and considers how museums compare to other "cultural institutions of display." Clark Stacks N410 B452

Carbonell, Bettina Messias, editor. Museum Studies: An Anthology of Contexts. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2004.
Includes sections on museology; natural history, anthropology, and ethnology in the museum; the status of nations and the museum; locating history in the museum; and arts, crafts, and audiences. Each section includes a wide-ranging selection of essays by experts in the field. The selected bibliography suggests further reading in each subject category. Clark Stacks N410 M8665

Knell, Simon J., editor. A Bibliography of Museum Studies. Brookfield, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company, 1994.
"Comprehensive guide to the full range of published material on museums and collections," systematically arranged into sections on collections management, communication and exhibitions, museum education, material culture, the museums profession and museum management. Entries are not annotated. Clark Reference Z N410 B53 1994

Weil, Stephen E. Rethinking the Museum and Other Meditations. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1990.
Collection of Weil's writings on museums as constantly evolving social artifacts, exploring "how the tangible and intangible resources that are available to museums their collections and facilities, the scholarly and technical expertise of their staffs, and the indisputably high community prestige they enjoy might better be used." Clark Stacks N410 W45

Art Law Books Crawford, Tad. Legal Issues for the Visual Artist. New York: Allworth Press, 1999.
Practical legal advice for visual artists and discussions of ethical issues. Also includes sample agreements and forms, explained in the context of common business practices in the art world and in the context of numerous state and federal laws. Clark Stacks (On Order)

DuBoff, Leonard D. Art Law in a Nutshell. St. Paul, MN: Thomson/West, 2006.
Guide for artists, collectors, financial planners, government agencies, and members of the legal profession. Focuses on the U.S., but coverage extends internationally where appropriate. Contents include the international movement of art, art as investment, auctions, authentication, insurance, tax issues, aid to the arts, copyright and trademark, freedom of expression, and museums. Clark Stacks (On Order)

DuBoff, Leonard D., and Sally Holt Caplan. The Deskbook of Art Law, 2nd edition. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications, 1993 .
Standard text, consisting of a series of booklets with different release dates and different collaborating authors. Coverage is wide-ranging and topics are treated in considerable depth. Contents include the customs definition of art, the international movement of art, art theft, artworks seized in war, censorship, art as investment, art authentication, tax problems for dealers and collectors, tax problems for artists, moral and economic rights, and museum issues. Clark Stacks N8700 D78d (Volumes 1-2)

Fitz Gibbon, Kate, editor. Who Owns the Past? Cultural Policy, Cultural Property, and the Law. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2005.
Sourcebook of writings to clarify the legal, moral, and practical issues raised by collecting and exhibiting works of art, contributed by a wide variety of experts: attorneys specializing in art law, anthropologists, archaeologists, museum professionals, art dealers and collectors, and legal scholars. Clark Stacks N8700 W46

Hoffman, Barbara T., editor. Art and Cultural Heritage: Law, Policy and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Brings together a wide variety of topics in cultural heritage law that provide a global and international context to issues which, if discussed at all, have a local perspective. Sections on topics such as international legal tools and viewpoints, source nations efforts to manage and protect heritage resources, the international movement of art, protecting the worlds heritage, museums and cultural heritage, the role of mediation/arbitration in resolving cultural property disputes. Appendix is a guide to resources. Clark Stacks N8715 A78

Lerner, Ralph E., and Judith Bresler. Art Law: The Guide for Collectors, Investors, Dealers, and Artists. New York: Practicing Law Institute, 2005.
Covers legal issues of the art world in a very broad sense. Focus is on New York State law and practice, but other states laws, U.S. federal laws, and foreign and international laws are taken into consideration. Each chapter concludes with texts of relevant legislations or examples of agreements. Topics include artist/dealer relations; private sales; theft, forgery, authenticity, and statutes of limitations; prints and sculpture multiples; expert opinions and liabilities; international trade; copyright; resale rights; collections as investment properties; tax and estate planning for collectors; museums; emerging technologies. Clark Reference N8700 L47 2005 (On Order)

Merryman, John Henry. Thinking about the Elgin Marbles: Critical Essays on Cultural Property, Art, and Law. Frederick, MD: Kluwer Law International, 2000.
Essays examine questions in the international debate over cultural property policy, in particular the law and policy relating to cultural property export controls and the evolution and development of the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on the Return of Stolen and Illegally Exported Cultural Property. Clark Stacks (On Order)

Palmer, Norman. Museums and the Holocaust: Law, Principles and Practice. London: Institute of Art and Law, 2000.
Deals with works of art taken or displaced by agents of the Holocaust in Europe during the period 1933 to 1945 and on the museums and galleries alleged to have received this material; the [mostly contemporary] discoveries and claims being made and the solutions being advanced. Clark Stacks N9160 P36

Articles Articles on art legal cases and legal issues can be found using the standard art databases listed above: Bibliography of the History of Art, Art Abstracts, ArtBibliographies Modern. Articles can also be found using the databases for legal and government publications listed below. Catalog of Government Publications
The CGP is the finding tool for federal publications issued through the Government Printing Office (GPO); it includes descriptive records for historical and current publications and provides direct links to those that are available online. Search publications from the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of the U.S. government, including Congressional publications and U.S. Federal agency publications. Sawyer Library Electronic Resource

Index to Legal Periodicals and Books

Index to law books and articles in legal periodicals. Find scholarly, legal perspectives on a particular issue or case. Compare laws and legal perspectives of the United States and other countries. Find reviews of legal books. Sawyer Library Electronic Resource

Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe: Legal Searches

Once logged into Lexis-Nexis, click the red Legal tab. Search law reviews; U.S. federal and state cases; Canadian court cases and legislation; European Union and foreign cases, legislation, and treaties; and articles in legal periodicals. Online help and tutorials provided. Sawyer Library Electronic Resource

Westlaw Campus Research

Campus Research is an online research service that provides a comprehensive collection of news, business, and law related information for students. Using this database you can search case law, Federal administrative materials, statutes and regulations, and European Union materials including case law, treaties, and reviews; as well as more than 700 law journals and reviews. Sawyer Library Electronic Resource

Online resources Art Law Resources, New England School of Law

Separate tabs for art & law, cultural property, and intellectual property; each page provides links to relevant documents and online resources and websites. Electronic Resource: http://www.nesl.edu/research/artlaw.cfm

Art Loss Register

Database of lost and stolen art, antiques, and collectibles. Focuses on Holocaust claims but offers a range of services, including item registration and search and recovery services, to collectors, the art trade, insurers and worldwide law enforcement agencies. Electronic Resource: http://www.artloss.com/

Institute of Art and Law (United Kingdom)

A small independent research and educational organisation, founded in 1995, which analyses the interface between the world of art and antiquities and that of law. Our main objective is to increase public knowledge concerning the contribution of law to the development of cultural tradition. Click on Links and scroll down to find links to other sites and documents on art law, artists rights, illicit trade in stolen and looted art, and others. Electronic Resource: http://www.ial.uk.com/

MEGALAW.com: Art Law

Links to treaties and numerous art law websites. Electronic resource: http://www.megalaw.com/top/art.php