LibGuides: Art History: Reference sources

What are reference sources?

Reference sources are resources used to locate basic information and secondary literature.

There are many types of reference sources, including dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, atlases, handbooks, guides, and style manuals.

They are a fantastic places to begin your research, especially if you are exploring a new topic.

Reference sources can help you to:

define your topic in general terms
find background information, including themes and key points
identify keywords and alternative terms for conceptualising your subject, and for database searching.

Reference sources

The titles below are a selection of both print and online material. The online reference sources are all frequently updated, searchable, and contain substantial entries written by world class experts in Art History.

The Art Book by Adam Butler; Claire Van Cleave; Susan Stirling
Call Number: ART & MUSIC 709.22 ART / CHIFLEY N33.A79 1994
Publication Date: 1994
An A-Z guide to 500 great painters and sculptors from medieval to modern times, The Art Book debunks art-historical classifications by throwing together examples of all periods, schools, visions and techniques. Each artist is represented by a full-page colour plate of a definitive work, accompanied by explanatory information on the image and its creator. Glossaries of artistic movements and technical terms are included.
Atlas of World Art by John Onians
Call Number: ART & MUSIC 703 ATL Reference
Publication Date: 2004
Combines a survey of world art with maps showing the associations and dissemination of culture across the globe.
History and Art History : Looking past disciplines by Nicholas Chare (Editor); Mitchell B. Frank (Editor)
Call Number: View online [ANU staff and students only]
Publication Date: 2020
Through a series of cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary interventions, leading international scholars of history and art history explore ways in which the study of images enhances knowledge of the past and informs our understanding of the present. Spanning a diverse range of time periods and places, the contributions cumulatively showcase ways in which ongoing dialogue between history and art history raises important aesthetic, ethical and political questions for the disciplines.
A History of Art History by Christopher S. Wood
Call Number: View online [ANU staff and students only]
Publication Date: 2019
An authoritative history of art history from its medieval origins to its modern predicaments, exploring the evolution of the historical study of art from the late middle ages through the rise of the modern scholarly discipline of art history.
Isms : understanding art by Stephen Little
Call Number: ART & MUSIC 709 LIT
Publication Date: 2004
This book is a handy guide to a wide range of art 'isms'. From the isms of the Renaissance (Classicism, Humanism, etc.) to more modern isms such as Minimalism and Futurism, this is the ideal introduction to all the significant movements that have shaped art history.