African Art: Start Your Research: Books & eBooks

UW Art Library guide on finding books, journals, and databases on African Art.

Finding Books & eBooks

To find books and eBooks available at the UW Libraries, you will first want to do a keyword search for "African art" in the search box available from the library homepage, or use the search below. If you can't find a book you need, Ask Us via chat, or submit an inter-library (ILL) request. ILL is where we find the book you need from another library and negotiate to have it sent to you here at UW to borrow.

Keep in mind when searching that it can be worth experimenting with specific African countries, regions, tribes, or cultures in your keyword searches.

Bibliographies (or Reading Lists)

Why duplicate time and effort when scholars and experts have already pulled together lists of sources related to African Art? Save time and explore these resources when starting your bibliography.

Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new window
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Art reference works, including Grove Art Online, biographies, and encyclopedias. A search for "African art" will yield many scholarly entries on the topic, each including a bibliography and further reading lists.

Monographs on African Artists: An Annotated Bibliography (Smithsonian Institution Libraries)
You can browse lists of books on African Artists (including modern & contemporary artists) by country.
Modern African Art: A Basic Reading List (Smithsonian Institution Libraries)
You can explore major group exhibition catalogs by decade from the 1960s to the 2010s, and books on modern African art by region.

Oxford Bibliographies This link opens in a new window
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Scholarly, annotated listings of the most important and significant sources related to various disciplines: do a search for African Art. Results will include bibliographies of Adornment, Dress, and African Arts of the Body, Arts of the Dogon, and Egyptian Art, among others.

Oxford Bibliographies: African Studies
Oxford Bibliographies in African Studies offers a trustworthy pathway through the thicket of information overload.

Dissertations & Theses: Hidden Gems for Building a Bibliography

Dissertations and theses are often overlooked when building a bibliography, but they are some of the best sources when gathering sources for your research topic. Some dissertations may have hundreds of references on a very specific topic - quite possibly one you're currently researching! Use the guide below to learn how to find them.