Specialized Resources (see tabs below)
A good place to begin your search is in art dictionaries or encyclopedias. These can provide valuable background information on basic concepts and ideas as well identify specific artists associated with certain art movements. Though the terms "dictionary" and "encyclopedia" are at times used interchangeably, dictionaries are primarily short definitions or descriptions of the topic whereas encyclopedias have lengthier articles on the topic. Art dictionaries and encyclopedias are available in the Crouch reference collection with call numbers beginning N31. For complete holdings, search Bearcat by subject for: "art dictionaries" and/or "art encyclopedias." Selected examples below.
Art Modern 20th Century Dictionaries
live link into Bearcat showing all resources using this subject heading
art encyclopedias in Bearcat
live link into Bearcat to all resources using the subject heading
SELECTED EXAMPLES:
- Grove Art OnlineGrove Art Online is available through Oxford Art Online, along with The Oxford Companion to Western Art, the Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, and the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Arts Terms. You can search all content or specifically for biographies, subject entries, images, etc. See the advanced search link (top right corner) for more options and searching help.
A Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art by Call Number: Crouch Ref N6490 .C5317 2009ISBN: 0199239657Publication Date: 2009-10-18
Prestel Dictionary of Art and Artists by Call Number: Crouch Ref N6490 .P72 2000ISBN: 3791323253Publication Date: 2000-08-01
Selection of art terminology resources. Top see more examples, search the library catalog (by subject) for:
art terminology
art encyclopedias
art dictionaries
SELECTED EXAMPLES:
The Tate guide to modern art terms by Call Number: N34 .W55 2008ISBN: 1854377507Publication Date: 2008- The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms (online)Available through Oxford Art Online
- Elsevier's Dictionary of Art History Terms: in French-English and English-FrenchCall Number: Crouch Ref. N33 .E49 2005
- Critical Terms for Art History (online)Print edition also available: N34 .C75 2003. For online version, see contents or use "search within this title."
- The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms (online)** browse contents or use "search within this title" searchbox. Covers painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, the decorative, applied and graphic arts from all periods throughout the world up to the present day.
- A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques byISBN: 0064635317
- Grove Art (via Oxford Art Online)Grove Art Online offers over 5,000 searchable and embedded art images, maps, and line drawings. Also over 40,000 editorially selected image links to museums and galleries around the world. Includes access to the Bridgeman Art Library.
- ArtSourceArt Source covers a broad range of related subjects, from fine, decorative and commercial art, to various areas of architecture and architectural design. Providing over 600 full-text journals, more than 220 full-text books, and a collection of over 63,00 images, it is designed to for use by a diverse audience, including art scholars, artists, designers, students, and general researchers.
- Art CyclopediaSearchable by art movements, artists, work titles, and subject with links to print reproductions available for sale.
- Art History Resources on the Web (Contemporary Art)Outlines by artist, media, periods, with representative images.
Selected examples:
Action Art by Call Number: Jones General Collection Z5936.P47 G73 1993ISBN: 0313289166Publication Date: 1993-05-30
Art Books: A Basic Bibliography of Monographs on Artists, 2nd ed. by Call Number: Crouch Ref. Z5938 .F73 1997ISBN: 0824033264Includes bibliographies of general works and geographically based works, in addition to resources on specific artists. The work is arranged alphabetically by artist and includes an index of authors, editors, and compilers. It includes references for nearly 14,000 monographs.
Guide to the Literature of Art History by Call Number: Crouch Ref. Z5931 .A672ISBN: 0838908780This bibliography lists and describes a wide range of art resources including general reference sources, materials for the study of art history, literature concerning various media, and serials. It includes indexes by author-title and subject. For specific resources, see "Mannerism" in the subject index.
You'll find dissertations and theses for which Baylor owns copies treated as books in BearCat. WorldCat is good source for discovering dissertations as is the database below which deals specifically with this type of resource.
- WorldCatWorldCat is essentially a library catalog for most of the libraries in the world, covering most of the books you could ever hope to find!
- ProQuest Dissertations & ThesesIncludes citations to dissertations and theses from around the world from 1637. Each dissertation published since July 1980 includes a 350-word abstract written by the author. Master's theses published since 1988 include 150-word abstracts. Simple bibliographic citations are available for dissertations dating from 1637. The database offers full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997 and strong retrospective full-text coverage for older graduate works. Other dissertations and theses are available for purchase as printed copies. Included with this database is also ProQuest Dissertations and Theses - UK & Ireland.
In addition to the artists' entries found under the "dictionaries/encyclopedias" tab, you can also find more information in specifically biographical resources. You'll find indexes to the wide array of artist biographies in the Crouch Reference Collection beginning with the call number N40. Also search in Bearcat under the subject "Artists Biography Dictionaries." The following are examples of indexes that can help identify sources of artist biographies.
SELECTED EXAMPLES:
- Benezit Dictionary of ArtistsAvailable online via Oxford Art Online. With nearly 170,000 entries on artists from antiquity to the present day and featuring regular updates, Benezit is one of the most comprehensive and definitive resources on artists in the English language. Entries are clear and concise, and Benezit contains thousands of auction records, museum holdings, and bibliographies. Search for particular artists or search "american modern" for example.
- A Biographical Dictionary of Artists** Note: make sure to use the "search within this title" search bar (instead of the top search bar). ** Search for particular artists or "american modern"
Electronic access. Covers more than 1300 artists: painters, sculptors, architects from pre-Christian times to the present. Each artist's entry includes dates, training, career, influences on his or her work, and, for approximately one-third of the artists, a bibliography of further reading. - The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Art and Artists (online version) by** Note: make sure to use the "search within this title" search bar (instead of the top search bar). ** Search for particular artists or "american modern" Also see "people" tab on the search screen for artist entries).
- Index to Artistic Biography byCall Number: Crouch Ref. N40.H38ISBN: 08108054052 vols. (1973) and supplement (1981). Though somewhat dated, this three-volume index references over 100 sources in various languages that include biographical sketches for approximately 100,000 artists.
- Artist Biographies Master Index byCall Number: Crouch Ref. N40 .A78 1986ISBN: 0810321076Indexes more than 270,000 biographical sketches of artists in over 90 English-language sources (current and retrospective) devoted to the fine and applied arts.
Selected Art Blogs
- ModernArt Notes
- MOMA insideout
- ArtsJournal blogs
- ArtDaily
- Art21 Blog
- Modern Art Obsession
- University of Chicago Visual Resources Center: Top 20 (or so) Art Blogs (dated but lots of good working links to blogs that are current)
- contemporary art blogs
- Forbes.com art blogs
- Artflakes Top Five Contemporary Art Blogs
