Research Guides: Art & Design: Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Information Sources

Oxford Art Online
Access to subject entries, biographies, bibliographic citations, image links & images contained within Grove Art Online, as well as access to entries & images from the Oxford Companion to Western Art, the Concise Dictionary of Art Terms, and Oxford's Encyclopedia of Aesthetics.

Arts and Humanities Through the Eras
Publication Date: 2004
Profiling milestones and movements in the arts, literature, music and religion from Ancient Egypt to Age of Baroque and Enlightment.
Dictionary of Architecture and Ladscape Architecture
Entries on architects, terms, periods, and styles, covering all periods of Western architectural history.
Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art
Publication Date: 2009
Worldwide coverage of modern and contemporary art from 1900 to the present day.
Dictionary of Modern Design
Publication Date: 2004
From the Arts and Crafts Movement to Postmodernism, Apple to Frank Lloyd Wright, this fascinating dictionary covers the past 160 years of international design, with accessible entries on branding, graphics, industrial design, functionalism, and fashion.
Grove Encyclopedia of Classical Art and Architecture
Publication Date: 2007
Arranged alphabetically, entries trace the development of the art forms in classical civilizations such as ancient Greece and Rome.
Oxford Dictionary of Art
Publication Date: 2004
ebook. Guide to the art of the Western world. Almost 3,500 entries.
Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists
Publication Date: 2015
ebook. Covering Western art from the ancient Greeks to the present day, covers art movements and artiist's biographies.

The Library's Reference Department located on the 1st floor still houses quite a few useful art print sources. Here are a few examples:

Dictionary of Art Titles : the origins of the names and titles of 3,000 works of art
Call Number: REF N33 .R56 2000
Titles of artworks can be misleading, and their relation to a painting or sculpture difficult to discern. This dictionary of 3,000 works of art explains the meaning behind the titles.
Dictionary of Artists' Models
Call Number: REF N7574 .D53 2001
Models may be the heart and soul of much art. With this well-researched, well-written, and absorbing dictionary definitely the first of its kind they finally get the attention they deserve.
1000 Symbols: what shapes mean in art & myth
Call Number: REF N7740 .S54 2002
Offers a comprehensive dictionary of symbols, placing each one in its historical and cultural context.
Dictionary of Interior Design
Call Number: REF NK1165 .P4 1983
Here is a reference for anyone in the interior design field, with over 1,000 clearly defined and concise entries covering all elements of interior design.