The Oxford dictionary of art

Whether you are interested in Junk Art or Byzantine Art, the Ash Can School or the Antipodeans, Praxiteles and Phidias or Gilbert and George, The Oxford Dictionary of Art is the first place to turn for accurate information about artists, schools, periods, techniques, critical terms, major museums, art historians, philosophers, and much much more. Compiled from three highly acclaimed Oxford Companions--The Oxford Companion to Art, to Twentieth Century Art, and to the Decorative Arts--and with hundreds of new entries added, this authoritative, one volume reference offers over three thousand entries on almost every aspect of Western art, as well as the most essential features of Asian art.
Here you will find the answer to almost any question pertaining to the world of art. In what museum is Parmigianino's Self Portrait in a Convex Mirror exhibited today? Who coined the term "happening"? What are color field painting, hard edge painting, and op art, who are the most representative artists of these schools, and what are their best works? How does camaieu differ from grisaille? What is the most richly endowed museum in the world? The Revised Edition features expanded coverage of twentieth-century art, with new entries on graffiti art, David Hockney, New Realism, the Pompidou Centre, and much more. There is also a new chronology of major works set in historical perspective, and a marvelous directory of museums and galleries around the world, including fax, e-mail, and website addresses. As a further aid, the Dictionary offers an extensive system of cross references, guiding readers to a wealth of additional information on almost any topic of interest.
Covering the entire history of art, this wide ranging and up-to-date guide is an indispensable reference for scholars, for students, and for art enthusiasts of every kind. It is also a browser's delight, filled with fascinating facts about the personalities who people the world of art.

Author Notes

About the Editors:
Ian Chilvers is an art historian and freelance editor and writer. The late Harold Osborne edited The Oxford Companion to Art. Dennis Farr was Director of the Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, from 1980 to 1993. He is the author of English Art 1870-1940 and General Editor of the Clarendon Studies in the History of Art.

Reviews (4)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 9 Up-Chilvers provides more than 3000 concise, lucid entries in this second revision of Harold Osborne's one-volume dictionary, which first appeared in 1988. A preface explains the scope: "-Western and Western-inspired painting, sculpture, printmaking, and drawing from ancient times to the present day," with the qualification that no artists born after 1965 have their own headings. An introductory list of entries, organized geographically and chronologically for artists, and then thematically (terms, techniques, academies, etc.) reveals the Anglocentric focus. Randolph Caldecott, Kate Greenaway, and Arthur Rackham mingle with Henry Moore and John Constable in the English lineup. Major African-American artists such as Romare Bearden, Augusta Savage, and Jacob Lawrence are absent. Chilvers fails to include the infamous Guerilla Girls, and he misstates the relationship between the National Gallery and the Smithsonian. Nancy Frazier's The Penguin Concise Dictionary of Art History (Penguin, 2001), with its interdisciplinary approach, quotes from each artist, and more inclusive scope, offers an alternative, although with fewer entries. Neither source has any pictures, a situation requiring the additional use of monographs or online resources for most questions.-Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Aiming to provide an overview of Western art forms and of individual artists from antiquity to today is a big undertaking. This volume covers painting, sculpture, graphic arts, and design. Unless they are relevant to other visual arts, architecture and architects have been excluded. As was done for the first edition [RBB F 15 89], the editors have drawn on entries from The Oxford Companion to Art (Oxford, 1970), The Oxford Companion to Twentieth Century Art (Oxford, 1981), and, to a lesser degree, The Oxford Companion to Decorative Arts (Oxford, 1975). But all major and many lesser entries have been revised, and recent published research added. In addition, there are more than 300 new entries. The 3,000 alphabetical entries range in length from a sentence to three or four columns for such topics as the Renaissance and Michelangelo. New to this edition are entries for Isabella Stewart Gardner, graffiti art, Robert Hughes, Frida Kahlo, neoexpressionism, and Norman Rockwell. No artists born after 1945 are included, although some, such as Keith Harig, are mentioned in other entries. A chronology, an index of galleries and museums (with Web site addresses), and a selected list of Christian and classical themes in painting and sculpture complete the volume. There are no illustrations or bibliographic references. Lastingly useful and very readable, succinct accounts of artist's styles, movements, art forms, materials, and techniques will endear this work to library patrons and librarians. It has value not only as an update of the previous edition, but as a supplement to its aging parent volumes. Recommended for high-school, public, and academic libraries.

Choice Review

A ready-reference dictionary based on the three Oxford companions to art edited by the late Harold Osborne--The Oxford Companion to Art (1970), The Oxford Companion to the Decorative Arts (1975), and The Oxford Companion to Twentieth Century Art (CH, Dec '82)--this volume aims to be an overview of Western art forms and selected artists from antiquity to the present. Fields included are painting, sculpture, graphic arts, and design; biographies, terms, styles, and movements are covered. The scope has been enlarged to include noteworthy patrons, collectors, dealers, and art historians, and the number of entries on museums and galleries has been increased. Out of a total of 3,000, 300 new entries have been added. All major entries have been rewritten and most of the others have been revised. The entries are well written; cross-references are accurate and helpful. In order to compact the Companions, illustrations, bibliography, and long articles on individual countries have been omitted. More US artists have been included, although the selection seems a bit arbitrary. With an attractive lay out and clear print, the volume is easy to read and use. It is more up to date and has more and longer entries than The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art and Artists, ed. by H. Read and N. Stangos (rev. ed., CH, Jul '85). A handy ready-reference tool, keeping in mind the limitations of the originals. Recommended for college, school, and general libraries. -P. Brauch, Brooklyn College, CUNY

Library Journal Review

A handy work based on earlier Oxford Companions and revised from previous editions, this single-volume reference contains 3000 entries that discuss Western and Western-inspired art from antiquity on. It considers paintings, graphics, sculpture, and architecture in terms of artistic figures, periods, schools, techniques, critical terms, and museums; lesser artists are treated more concisely than major ones. Despite editorial claims that the dictionary is ``up to date,'' coverage of recent activities is uneven, with Neo-expressionism and other contemporary movements and artists omitted. An easy format, accurate facts, and good cross-referencing make this a useful lexicon for the layperson or for general and public collections. Robin Kaplan, The Information Group, Los Angeles (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Classified List of Entries	p. xii
Abbreviations	p. xlvi
The Oxford Dictionary of Art A-Z	p. 1
Chronology	p. 779
Index of Galleries and Museums	p. 796

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