Fine Arts: Reference

Online Research Tools

Oxford Art Online from Oxford Press This link opens in a new window
Access limited to 1 user at a time.
Provides access to The Dictionary of Art, with over 45,000 signed articles and images on every aspect of the visual arts. Content updated 3x/year. Includes several other art reference works.
Sources: The Dictionary of Art, ed. Jane Turner (print edition: 1996, 34 vols.); The Oxford Companion to Western Art, ed. Hugh Brigstocke (2001); The Encyclopedia of Aesthetics; and The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms.

Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
The Timeline is a chronological, geographical, and thematic exploration of the history of art from around the world.

Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online
From the Getty Museum
Artcyclopedia
9,000 artists listed. 2,900 art sites indexed
The concise Oxford dictionary of art and artists
"Covering Western art from the ancient Greeks to the present day. It contains over 2,500 clear and concise entries on styles and movements, materials and techniques, and museums and galleries. It also includes biographical entries for artists, critics, collectors, dealers, and patrons, with places and full dates of birth and death."
The concise Oxford dictionary of art terms
"1,800 terms used in the wide variety of visual media that makes up the art world."
Critical Terms for Art History
Dictionary of Art
Online version of the 34 Volume set. Part of Oxford Art Online. Bound volumes in Raynor Ref. N31 .D5 1996
Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art
Dictionary of Modern Design
Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture
The Hutchinson dictionary of symbols in art
MOMA Glossary of Art Terms
The Oxford companion to Western art
Included in Oxford Art Online database
The Oxford dictionary of American art and artists
Oxford Dictionary of Art
"Guide to the art of the Western world"
The Thames & Hudson dictionary of art terms
The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Design since 1900
"A comprehensive guide to international developments in graphic design.

Artspeak : a guide to contemporary ideas, movements, and buzzwords, 1945 to the present by Robert Atkins
Call Number: RAYNOR REFERENCE N6490 .A87 1997
Artspoke by Robert Atkins
Call Number: RAYNOR REFERENCE N6447 .A85 1993
Dictionary of Art by Jane Turner, editor
Call Number: RAYNOR REFERENCE N31 .D5 1996
Content also available online through Oxford Art Online
Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art by Ian Chilvers
Call Number: RAYNOR REFERENCE N6490 .C5317 1998
The elements of design : a practical encyclopedia of the decorative arts from the Renaissance to the present
Call Number: MEMORIAL LVL 4 LOWER NK750 .E48 2003
Critical terms for art history
Call Number: MEMORIAL LVL 4 LOWER N34 .C75 1996
ISBN: 0226571653
The design encyclopedia
Call Number: RAYNOR REFERENCE NK1370 .B93 2004
ISBN: 087070012X
Encyclopedia of comparative iconography : themes depicted in works of art
Call Number: RAYNOR REFERENCE N7560 .E53 1998
ISBN: 1579580092
Encyclopedia of world art
Call Number: RAYNOR REFERENCE N31 .E533 v1.-16

Art and Architecture Libraries
Art Institute of Chicago Libraries
Marquette University Archives
Digitized Images from the Collection
Milwaukee Art Museum Research Library
Houses materials on fine art and architecture, painting, sculpture, photography and more.
Milwaukee Public Library Arts and Media Department
Reference Materials on the various genres of the visual and performing arts. Special Collections include the Architectural Collection; Auction Catalogs; Collectibles and Artists' Books
SIRIS- Smithsonian Institution Research Information System
Search over 2.3 million records, with 280,000 images, video and sound files from dozens of Smithsonian museums, archives, and libraries.