Library Guides: Visual Art: Find Books

Search Tips

General
Art and Architecture

From the UW library search box, choose "Advanced Search."

Type one different concept into each box
Connect similar terms with or in the same box (ex: women OR females)
Use the limiters along the left side to choose the type of resource, published date, language, etc.
As you scan the results, make note of any other terms used to describe your topic.
As you scan the results, be aware of what sparks your interest to find ways to limit your topic.

Browse Art & Architecture books in the N section on the 2nd floor of the Tioga Library Building.
Search by art movement or architectural style. Entire books on a particular artist or architect may not exist.
Find one good book or article, then see what other titles are suggested in its bibliography.
Ask for help at the Reference Desk or online!

UW Libraries Search

Browse Books

Look for these call numbers on our shelves to browse books by topic:

N1-9211 Visual Arts
NA1-9428 Architecture
NB1-1952 Sculpture
NC1-1940 Drawing, Design, Illustration
ND25-3416 Painting
NE1-3002 Print media
NK1-9990 Decorative Arts
NX1-820 Arts in general

E-Reference Books

Oxford Art Online
Includes all the Grove Encyclopedias of Art; The Oxford Companion to Western Art; The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms and The Encyclopedia of Aesthetics.
Oxford English Dictionary (OED)
"...the accepted authority on the English language. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of 600,000 words— past and present—from across the English-speaking world."

Catalogues Raisonnés

A catalogue raisonnés is an index of a body of work, typically that of an artist. Entries may include the title, dimensions and date of an artists' works, as well as the provenance, condition, exhibition history, related works, copies, related literature and images of the artworks. Some catalogues raisonnés may be found via UW Library Search by searching "[artist name] catalogue raisonnés," or you are unsure if a catalogue raisonnés exists for an artist, you can try searching the IFAR (International Foundation of Art Research) database of catalogues raisonnés.