Visual Arts Information Resources: Background Information

Dictionaries and terminology

• Art history : the key concepts. N 5300 H278 2006.
• ArtLex: Dictionary of Visual Art. "...definitions for more than 3,600 terms used in discussing art/visual culture, along with thousands of supporting images..."
• Artspeak: a guide to contemporary ideas, movements, and buzzwords, 1945 to the present. 2nd ed. N 6490 A87 1997
• Artspoke: a guide to modern ideas, movements, and buzzwords, 1848-1944. N 6447 A85 1993
• Artwords: a glossary of contemporary art theory. N 71 P32 1997
• Communication, cultural and media studies: the key concepts. 3d ed.
  • Also in print  P 90 H33463 2002
• Encyclopedia of twentieth-century photography
• Encyclopedia of nineteenth-century photography
• Focal encyclopedia of photography (4th ed.)
• Glossary of art, architecture & design since 1945. 3rd ed. N 34 W34 1992
• The HarperCollins dictionary of art terms and techniques. 2nd ed. N 33 M37 1991
• Multilingual glossary for art librarians (IFLA). 2nd rev. ed. 1996.
• The Oxford dictionary of art. 3rd ed.
  •  Also in print N 33 O93 2004 
• Photospeak: a guide to the ideas, movements, and techniques of photography, 1839 to the present. TR 15 M63 1998
• The Thames and Hudson dictionary of ancient Egypt. 2000. DT 58 W55 2005 
• The Thames and Hudson dictionary of art and artists. Rev. ed. 1994.
• The Thames & Hudson dictionary of art terms. New ed. 2003.
• The Thames and Hudson dictionary of graphic design and designers. Rev. ed. 1998. 

Encyclopedias and visual arts guides

• The artist's complete health and safety guide. 2nd ed. N 8530 R838 1994
• The artist's handbook of materials and techniques. 5th ed. ND 1500 M3 1991
• The color compendium. 1990. QC 494.2 H67
• Oxford Art Online
• The Grove Dictionary of Art. 34 vol.
  • Also in print  N 31 D5 1996.
• The art atlas N 5300 A77 2008
• Guide to art (Bloomsbury).1996.  
• International dictionary of art and artists. N 7425 I68 1990
• Prestel Dictionary of art and artists in the 20th century. N6490 P72 2000
• The 20th-century art book. N 6490 T93 1996
• The Great Buildings Collection.
  This gateway to architecture around the world and across history documents a thousand buildings and hundreds of leading architects, with 3D models, photographic images and architectural drawings, commentaries, bibliographies, web links, and more, for famous designers and structures of all kinds.
• Hall's illustrated dictionary of symbols in Eastern and Western art. N 7740 H34 1994
• The Oxford companion to Christian art and architecture. N 7830 M87 1996
• The Dent dictionary of symbols in Christian art. N 8010 S64 1994
• The Oxford guide to classical mythology in the arts, 1300-1990s. 2 vol. NX 650 M9 R45 1993
• Symbols and allegories in art. N 7740 B2913 2005
  

Biographical dictionaries

• The Grove Dictionary of Art. 34 vol.
  •  Also in print N 31 D5 1996.
• Grove Art Online.
• A biographical dictionary of artists. NX 40 B53 1995
• The Penguin dictionary of art and artists. N 31 M82 1997
• Dictionary of artists. Benezit. 2006. 14 vol. N 40 D5213 2006  Dictionary of painters, sculptors, and graphic artists of all times and nations. Based on the 1999 French edition by Emmanuel Bénézit
• Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Kunstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart. 1907-50. 37 vol. The most comprehensive biographical dictionary of artists from antiquity to the present. N 40 T4  Supplemented by:
• Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Kunstler des XX. Jahrhunderts. 1953-62. 6 vol. Biographical dictionary of 20th century artists in all media, emphasizing artists born after 1870. N 40 V6
• Dictionary of art historians. Biographical information about western art historians
• Dictionary of international contemporary artists. ND 40 D534 1995
• Contemporary artists. 4th ed. N 6490 C6567 2002
• Dictionary of the avant-gardes. NX 456 K67 1993
• ICP encyclopedia of photography. 1984. TR 9 I24
• A to Z of Canadian art: artists & art terms. N 6540 M275 1997
• Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art.
• Contemporary Canadian artists. N 6548 C65 1997
• A dictionary of Canadian artists. 1967- N 6548 M3
• First nations art, an introduction to contemporary native artists in Canada. From Concordia University and SchoolNet Digital Collections Program, Industry Canada.
• Artists of the Pacific Northwest, a biographical dictionary, 1600s-1970. Includes artists working in BC. N 6528 S52 1993 
• Peintres et ateliers, Québec = Artists and studios, Quebec. ND 246 Q4 S7 1994
• See also Artistes du Québec (Bennett Reference ND 246 Q4 L44) for similar descriptions of other  painters.
• Women artists in Canada - Celebrating Women's Achievements (Library and Archives Canada).
• AskART. "The world's most comprehensive database about American artists." Includes Auction Records, Biography, Image Gallery, Book and Periodical References, Exhibitions and other information sources.
• Dictionary of contemporary American artists. 6th ed. N 6536 C8 1994
• Contemporary American women sculptors. 1986. NB 212 W37
• Who's who in American art. 1966- Covers all fields of art and  related disciplines in Canada, Mexico and the US. N 6536 W5
• Who's who in art: biographies of leading men and women in the world of art today. 1970- Primarily British focus on all fields of art and related disciplines. N 40 W6
• Contemporary artists. 5th ed. N 6490 C6567 2002
• Contemporary women artists. N 8354 C66 1999
• Dictionary of women artists. 2 vol. N 8354 D53 1997
• Dictionary of women artists: an international dictionary of women artists born before 1900. 1985. N 43 P47
• North American women artists of the twentieth century: a biographical dictionary. N 6503 N67 1995

• designinform Research Guides No.1: Internet Sources of Biographical Information

Bibliographies and guides to visual arts research

• Action art: a bibliography of artists' performance from futurism to Fluxus and beyond. NX 600 P47 G73 1993
• American women artists, past and present: a selected bibliographic guide. 1984. 2 vol. N 6505 Z975
• Art and architecture in Canada: a bibliography and guide to the literature to 1981. 2 vol. NX 513 A1 Z95 1991
• Art books: a basic bibliography of monographs on artists. 2nd ed. N 40 Z94 1997
• Art information: research methods and sources. 3rd ed. N 85 J64 1990
• Art on screen: a directory of films and videos about the visual arts. N 366 A78 1992
• Artexte Bibliographic Database. Bilingual database describing more than 16,000 documents on contemporary art. Includes exhibition catalogues, artists' books, and monographs.
• Contemporary art trends 1960-1980: a guide to sources. N 6490 Z923
• Guide to the literature of art history. N 380 Z92   
• Guide to the literature of art history 2. N 380 Z955 2005 
• Photographic literature + Suppl. 1960-1970  TR 9 Z923
• Research guide to the history of Western art. 1982. N 380 K56
• Twentieth-century artists on art: an index to writings, statements, and interviews by artists, architects, and designers. NX 456 R59 1996
• Women artists: an historical, contemporary and feminist bibliography. N 8354 Z923 1994
• Women artists in the United States: a selective bibliography and resource guide on the fine and decorative arts, 1750-1986.
  • N 6536 Z982 1990
• artlibraries.net "is an international  specialized meta catalogue ... which conducts a simultaneous search in a number of web catalogues" for major art institutions, including the National Gallery of Canada, Library and Archives Canada, The Canadian Centre for Architecture

Chronologies

• Timeline of Art History: Covers art from around the world, from prehistory to the present.