Art research guide: Reference sources
Oxford Art Online database
The following encyclopedia database is a great place to find concise information about specific artists and/or art eras and movements! The entries you find will give you information about the characteristics of an artist's work, as well as the art movements/eras to which they contributed. These sources will also provide information addressing the who, what, when, and where of a particular movement/era. This is a great place to begin your research!
- Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new window
Includes access to Grove Art Online, a scholarly art encyclopedia, covering both Western and non-Western art. Also includes access to The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms, Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, and The Oxford Companion to Western Art.
Art reference sources
Many of TCC Library's reference materials that pertain to art are in print and are located in the reference section of the library. These books do not circulate, so you will not be able to take them home (see the Using Reference Books at the TCC Library box for more information). The following is a selection of scholarly art reference books. Browse the reference stacks for many more!
Dictionary of artCall Number: Reference N31.D5 1996 34 vols.Publication Date: 1996Great alphabetical access, with imperfect indexing. Good essays by country and time period. The strength of this title is the socio-economic approach. The weakness is the small number of good illustrations. Search by artist or style/movement. Excellent for researching almost any artist and art era/movement.
Encyclopedia of world artCall Number: Reference N31.E533 17 vols.Publication Date: 1983Very good indexing and reasonably good alphabetical access by place and time. Second half of each volume is large black and white illustrations. Greatest emphasis by subject is on ancient European and Indo-European cultures. Material culture is the topic of most essays. Search by artist or by work or style/movement. Best for researching pre1960s art.
The Grove encyclopedia of American artCall Number: Reference N 6505 G76 2001 v.1Publication Date: 2011Particularly helpful for researching American art eras/movements.
The Oxford companion to artCall Number: Reference N33.O9Publication Date: 1970Contains brief entries on artists and styles/movements.
Bulfinch guide to art historyCall Number: Library Reference N380.B78 1996Publication Date: 1996Contains brief entries on artists and styles/movements.
Arts and humanities through the erasCall Number: Reference NX440A787 2005 4 vols.Publication Date: 2005We have Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece & Rome, Medieval Europe, Renaissance Europe: 1300-1600, and the Age of the Baroque & Enlightenment (1600-1800). Provides timelines and descriptions of important events in art, music, philosophy and religion. A good source for finding historical context.
Other useful reference sources
The following are a selection of reference sources that are useful in contextualizing art.
Encyclopedia of American social historyCall Number: Reference HN57E58 1993 3 vols.Publication Date: 1993Look here for historical context. The best way to begin may be to look at the table of contents in volume one and decide whether themes such as "space and place" or "patterns of everyday life" would be useful in discussing your work of art.
Encyclopedia of European social historyCall Number: Reference HN373E63 2001 6 vols.Publication Date: 2000This is the place to find information on historical context. You can search by artist but may do best by using the table of contents in volume one to find a particular period in history and/or a topic such as "rural life," "gender," or "work."
- Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
Contains more than 50,000 reference articles from subject-specific encyclopedias across all major disciplines. Search for your artist or the style in which they were working.
Why use reference sources in your research?
Reference materials such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, and handbooks give you a brief overview of art eras/movements.
They can also help you answer who, what, when,, where, why questions about eras/movements/moments.
Using reference books at the TCC library
Reference books do not circulate, which means that you cannot take the books home.
You will need to take notes, photos, or use the photocopier. The copier is on the same "pay4print" system used for printing (if you've never used this before, you should have $1.50 in your account).
To use the copier you have to swipe your student ID card in a card reader (so bring your student ID card to the library). You can also use one of the scanners in the library.
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