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Visual Art: Find Art Dictionaries, Encyclopaedias & more

Guide to Library Resources

Dictionaries & Glossary Reference Sources

Subject-specific dictionaries can be a great way to explore new topics and nail-down your understanding of terminology. Check out our Art Dictionaries

For specific fields

Encyclopedias provide summaries and overviews of particular topics, which can help you to locate research terms, related subjects, and significant creators in the field.

Note: They are not suitable sources to cite for academic assignments, but can be used as a pointer to more complete sources.

See our collections:

The foremost scholarly art encyclopedia, updated regularly and covering global art and architecture from prehistory to present day. Includes peer-reviewed articles contributed by over 7,000 scholars from around the world, accompanied by images, bibliographies, and links to additional resources.

Art Terms & Exhibitions

In Contemporary Arts there are many reference sources available in both electronic and print format that provide definitions, overviews and introduce a topic by themes or main points. You can quickly discover keywords, synonyms and related terms.

Art Terms and Glossaries from Museums

Timelines

ECU Library holdings (published catalogues)

Web sources: