The Dictionary of Art. Ed. Jane Turner. New York: Grove, 1996.
 (REF N31 .D5 1996) or Online Version
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 online version is available from the Ely Library Electronic Databases.

Xreferplus: Art
 (Internet site: http://scroll.lib.wsc.ma.edu:2048/login?url=http://www.xreferplus.com/topic.jsp?sub=7)
An online collection of 14 reference books, including A Biographical Dictionary of Artists; The Bloomsbury Guide to Art; The Bridgeman Art Library Archive; Chambers Film Factfinder; Miller's Antiques Encyclopedia; The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of 20th Century Architecture; The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of 20th Century Design and Designers; The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms; The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art and Artists; The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of British Art; The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Fashion and Fashion Designers; The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Graphic Design and Designers; and The Thames & Hudson Encyclopaedia of Impressionism.

Encyclopedia of World Art. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1968.
 (REF N31 .E533)
This encyclopedia has entries that cover artists, movements, countries, and disciplines, and each entry is followed by a bibliography.

The Oxford Dictionary of Art. Ed. Ian Chilvers. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
 (REF N33 .O93 2004)
This dictionary covers "Western and Western-inspired painting, sculpture, printmaking, and drawing." A chronology of key works and events and an index of galleries and museums are included.

A Dictionary of Art Titles: The Origins of the Names and Titles of 3,000 Works of Art. Adrian Room. Jefferson, NC: McFarland Publishers, 2000.
 (REF N33 .R56 2000)
"This new dictionary seeks to explain the origins of the titles of around 3,000 works of art." A bibliography is included.

International Directory of Arts. München: K.G. Saur, 2000.
 (REF N50 .I6 2000)
This directory provides contact information for museums, public galleries, universities, academies, colleges, associations, art and antique dealers, numismatics, galleries, auctioneers, restorers, art publishers, art periodicals, antiquarians, and art booksellers. An index of persons and institutions is found in the third volume.

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History

Atlas of World Art. Ed. John Onians. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
 (REF N5300 .A85 2004)
Essays on art history are arranged by time period and geographic location in this atlas. A bibliography for the atlas is included.

The Bulfinch Guide to Art History: A Comprehensive Survey and Dictionary of Western Art and Architecture. Ed. Shearer West. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1996.
 (REF N380 .B78 1996)
Divided into two sections, this guide provides both signed essays on art history and a dictionary of terms. Terms in the essays are cross-referenced to entries in the dictionary.

Women Artists in History: From Antiquity to the Present. Wendy Slatkin. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1997.
 (REF N43 .S57 1997)
Each chapter in this book covers various time periods and the active women artists during that period. Sections of each chapter cover famous women artists and artworks. There is also a further reading list at the end of each chapter, as well as an annotated bibliography for the book.

Encyclopedia of American Art Before 1914. Ed. Jane Turner. New York: Grove's Dictionaries, 2000.
 (REF N6507 .E53 2000)
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.

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Disciplines & Movements

Dictionary of the Avant-Gardes. Richard Kostelanetz. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 1993.
 (REF NX456 .K67 1993)
Covering various artists, musicians, and movements considered avant-garde, this dictionary provides brief information on each entry with a listing of one or two additional sources.

Encyclopedia of American Architecture. Robert T. Packard. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1995.
 (REF NA705 .P3 1995)
This encyclopedia covers various types of architecture, architects, materials, and issues important to the study of architecture. Entries are cross referenced and some include a further reading list, periodicals, and sources of additional information.

Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance. Eds. Cary D. Wintz & Paul Finkelman. New York: Routledge, 2004.
 (REF NX512.3 .A35 E53 2004)
This encyclopedia "not only addresses the artistic and culture events... but also examines the political, economic, and social environments in which the movement took place." A further reading list is included with each entry.

The Oxford Guide to Classical Mythology in the Arts, 1300-1990s. Jane Davidson Reid. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
 (REF NX650 .M9 R45 1993)
This guide is "an encyclopedia catalog of artworks dating from the early Renaissance to the present that treat subjects in Greek and Roman mythology." Entries are organized by mythological figure and include a brief entry on the figure and a listing of works of art featuring the figure.

The Thames and Hudson Encyclopedia of Graphic Design and Designers. Alan Livingston & Isabella Livingston. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1992.
 (REF NC997 .L54 1992)
The focus of this encyclopedia is on the persons, artistic movements, and technical advances that have been a part of graphic design since 1840.

World Encyclopedia of Naive Art. Oto Bihalji-Merin & Nebojsa-Bato Tomasevi´c. Secaucus, NJ: Chartwell, 1984.
 (REF N7432.5 .P7 B54 1984b)
Covering naive art from 48 countries, this encyclopedia contains a lengthy article on the history of naive art, a dictionary of artists, historical surveys of naive art in individual countries, important exhibitions, museums, and galleries, and a bibliography.

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Photography

The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography. Ed. Leslie Stroebel & Richard Zakia. Boston: Focal Press, 1993.
 (REF TR9 F6 1993)
Photographers, equipment, and terms relating to the science of photography are covered in this dictionary. The brief entries are signed and there are several appendices with additional information.

The Photography Encyclopedia. Gloria S. McDarrah, Fred W. McDarrah, & Timothy S. McDarrah. New York: Schirmer Books, 1999.
 (REF TR9 .M39 1999)
This encyclopedia has brief entries that cover equipment, techniques, and photographers. There are also listings for awards, booksellers, films, galleries, magazines, manufacturers, museums, Pulitzer Prize winners, and a time line.

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Biographies

Contemporary Artists. Ed. Sara Pendergast & Tom Pendergast. Detroit, MI: St. James Press, 2002.
 (REF N6490 .C6567 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.

African Americans in the Visual Arts. Steven Otfinoski. New York: Facts on File, 2003.
 (REF N6538 .N5 O86 2003)
Brief biographical entries on African Americans that have contributed to the visual entries are presented in this encyclopedia. Each entry includes a further reading list.

St. James Guide to Black Artists. Ed. Thomas Riggs. Detroit, MI: St. James Press, 1997.
 (REF N40 .S78 1997)
The contents and format of this guide are similar to Contemporary Artists, but focuses on artists of African descent from around the world.

A Biographical Dictionary of Artists. Ed. Sir Lawrence Gowing. New York, NY: Facts on File, 1995.
 (REF N40 .B53 1995)
This dictionary contains biographical entries on Western artists. The index includes not only all of the entries in the dictionary, but the names of artists not included. There is also a glossary.

Artists of the Nineteenth Century and Their Works. Clara Erskine. New York: Arno Press, 1969.
 (REF N40 .W28 1969)
This reference work has brief biographical entries on artists and includes their major works.

A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art. Ian Chilvers. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
 (REF N6490 .C5317 1998)
Mainly biographical, these 1700 explicative entries cover artists involved in painting, sculpture, and graphic arts that were involved in art in the 20th century.

Encyclopedia of Education. Ed. James W. Guthrie. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2003.
 (REF LB15 .E47 2003)
This encyclopedia focuses on the "institutions, people, processes, roles, and philosophies found in educational practice". Use the index to find items about art education.

Encyclopedia of American Education. Ed. Harlow G. Unger. New York: Facts on File, 2001.
 (REF LB17 .U54 2001)
This encyclopedia provides an overview of various topics relating to education. Use the index to find out the various entries that cover art education.

Standards and Schooling in the United States. Eds. Joe L. Kincheloe & Danny Weil. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2001.
 (REF LB2822.82 .S82 2001)
Current debates about education standards and reform are discussed in this encyclopedia through various signed articles. Several articles cover issues related to art education.

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Databases: Indexes, Abstracts, and Bibliographies Use to locate books, journal articles, and published and unpublished research.

Ely Library Catalog. For books, audio-visual materials, etc. in the Ely Library
 (Internet Site: http://catalog.lib.wsc.ma.edu/)
The following are examples of subject headings relevant to art for use in the Ely Library Catalog. Do not limit yourself to this list! Use the Library of Congress Subject Headings (Big Red Books) located at the reference desk for more possibilities or browse the online catalog for ideas. See Database Searching Guides for more help.

Project Muse     Limited to WSC community
 (Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#Project Muse)
Project Muse provides access to 223 full-text journals from university press publishers covering multiple topics in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Sciences. See Database Searching Guides for more help.

Humanities International Index     Limited to WSC community
 (Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#Humanities International)
A comprehensive database covering journals, books, and other important reference sources in the humanities, Humanities International provides indexing and abstracting for over 1,700 journals.

AATA Online Abstracts of International Conservation Literature (Getty Conservation Institute)
 (Internet Site: http://aata.getty.edu/nps/)
AATA Online provides high quality, peer-reviewed abstracts of the international literature of conservation and heritage management. AATA Online currently includes abstracts of over 100,000 citations, enabling practitioners from many fields of heritage preservation to identify and select resources relevant to their work.

Arts & Humanities Search- Available as part of FirstSearch     Limited to WSC community
 (Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/fsdb2.htm)
This database provides complete access to articles from more than 1,300 of the world's leading arts and humanities journals and to relevant articles in over 7,000 social science and science journals. See Database Searching Guides for more help.

ERIC (SilverPlatter Version)     Limited to WSC community
 (Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#ERIC)
A subject-specific database focusing on education, ERIC will be useful for information on art education. See Database Searching Guides for more help.

Education Journals     Limited to WSC community
 (Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#ProQuest)
Education Journals contains the full text of almost 400 of the leading journals in the education field covering the literature on primary, secondary, and higher education topics. See Database Searching Guides for more help.

Biography Resource Center     Limited to WSC community
 (Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#Biography Resource)
Biography Resource Center provides more than 400,000 biographies on 275,000 different people, including artists. For Journal Articles, search by the artist's name, then click the Magazine Articles tab. Combines 80 of the most frequently consulted biographical sources with more than 250 full-text periodicals to provide in-depth, full-text information. Major art resources covered include: American Artist, Art Bulletin, Art in America, Art Journal, and Smithsonian. See Database Searching Guides for more help.

Academic Search Premier     Limited to WSC community
 (Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#Academic)
This is a multi-disciplinary full text database containing full text for nearly 4,650 serials, including more than 3,600 peer-reviewed publications. See Database Searching Guides for more help.

Academic OneFile      Limited to WSC community
 (Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#Academic_OneFile)
Contains more than 3,000 full text journals, including peer-reviewed journals and reference sources with extensive coverage of the physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, literature and other subjects.

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Web Sites

WWW Resources by Subject: Art  [Ely Library at Westfield State College]
 (Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/art.htm)
A directory of art Internet links selected by Librarians.

Try also the list of Internet Search Engines And Subject Directories
 (Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/engines.htm)
Be careful as you create your search. Refer to the tutorial: Searching the World Wide Web for information on the Internet, Netscape, and the World Wide Web, as well as for instructions on using web search engines, evaluating Internet sites, and using subject specific search guides.

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URL: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/guidart.htm
Page maintained by David Podboy
Last updated May 14, 2007