REFERENCE SOURCES

Art history is a vast discipline - geographically, historically, and intellectually. In its initial centuries, art history dealt with Western art, but the boundaries of the field have since expanded. The canon continues to be redefined as histories of art in regions that had previously been ignored or marginalized are brought into the mainstream. 

How to keep up with, or identify, all of the core literature of this field? Getting started with topical overviews and summaries written by art historians and experts through library encyclopedias or dictionaries  is a great starting point, followed by looking at published bibliographies (comprehensive lists pointing you to published materials on a topic). 

• Benezit Dictionary of Asian Artists

• The Grove Encyclopedia of American Art 

• The Oxford encyclopedia of archaeology in the Near East 

• The Grove Encyclopedia of Classical Art & Architecture 

• The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture 

• The Grove Encyclopedia of Materials and Techniques in Art 

• The Grove Encyclopedia of Medieval Art and Architecture 

• Oxford Companion to the Photograph

The literature of art history is well documented by these reference bibliographies published by the American Library Association (ALA). Annotates art and architecture books and journals published worldwide in the last two decades of the twentieth century. 

• • An expert team: 24 contributors + 2 editors including new titles, volumes, editions & reprints of resources

  • The best electronic art and architectural history sources.

  • Cumulative forty-year bibliography of art history literature, with GLAH 1

  • Critical selection of nearly all literature in art history, primarily in WesternEuropean languages, since 1977