Research Guides: Art and Art History: Print Books

Library of Congress Call Numbers

Want to browse the stacks for art books? NYU Libraries use the Library of Congress classification system to organize our books. Perform a keyword search in the library catalog, then find a book that seems relevant to your topic. Note the call number listed in the catalog record or the general ones below, then use our Call Numbers and Floor Maps to locate that area in Bobst. Related books will be in the same physical area on the shelves

Library of Congress call numbers for art
Call Number Range	Subject
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
TR1-1050	Photography

What is a Catalog Raisonné?

A catalog raisonné is a comprehensive (as of it's date of publication) listing of all artworks by a particular artist. The entries can contain information related to the dimensions, date, and title of the artworks, provenance, exhibition history, condition, related works or copies, and related literature. Most catalogs raisonné contain images of the artworks. Not every artist has a published catalog raisonné.

To find catalog raisonnés in the library catalog, search for the artist name + catalog raisonne for example: "Lee Krasner catalog raisonne"

Cahiers d'Art Institute Catalogues
The Cahiers d'Art Institute publishes and provides access to select digital catalogues raisonnés. Catalogues raisonnés are the definitive inventories of artists' individual works. Catalogues included are: Chuck Close: Paintings, Jim Dine: Sculpture, 1983-present, Tim Hawkinson, Sol LeWitt Wall Drawings, Agnes Martin: Paintings, Agnes Martin: Works on Paper, Lucas Samaras: Boxes, and James Siena.

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Martin Wong Catalogue Raisonné
Martin Wong Catalogue Raisonné is a free online resource featuring the paintings, drawings, poetry, and ceramics of artist Martin Wong (1946–99). Containing detailed records of works of art, the project features essays by scholars and curators, a comprehensive illustrated chronology, and primary source materials.

Exhibition Catalogs

Exhibition catalogs often contain informative essays written by curators, scholars, or museum staff. They can also be a great resource for high quality images of artworks.

Berthe Weill by Sophie Eloy; Lynn Gumpert (Foreword by); Marianne Le Morvan; Stéphane Aquin (Foreword by); Claire Bernardi (Foreword by); Robert McD. Parker (Text by); Charles Dellheim (Text by); Ambre Gauthier (Text by); Elise Dubreuil (Text by); Megan Fontanella (Text by); Jeanne d'Hooghvorst (Text by)
ISBN: 9782080447203

Publication Date: 2024-10-08
The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism by Denise Murrell (Editor)
ISBN: 9781588397737

Publication Date: 2024-02-27
Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s 1970s by Kang Soojung (Editor); Yoon Jin-sup (Text by); Joan Kee (Text by); Youngin Arial Kim (Text by); Kyung An (Editor)
ISBN: 9780892075614

Publication Date: 2023-11-21

Useful Art History Reference Books

The Routledge Companion to Decolonizing Art History by Tatiana Flores; Florencia San Martín; Charlene Villaseñor Black
ISBN: 9780367714819

Publication Date: 2023-11-01

This companion is the first global, comprehensive text to explicate, theorize, and propose decolonial methodologies for art historians, museum professionals, artists, and other visual culture scholars, teachers, and practitioners. Art history as a discipline and its corollary institutions - the museum, the art market - are not only products of colonial legacies but active agents in the consolidation of empire and the construction of the West. The Routledge Companion to Decolonizing Art History joins the growing critical discourse around the decolonial through an assessment of how art history may be rethought and mobilized in the service of justice - racial, gender, social, environmental, restorative, and more.
A Short Guide to Writing about Art by Sylvan Barnet
Call Number: N7476 .B37 2015 Non-circulating

ISBN: 9780205886999

Publication Date: 2014-01-15

Students are shown how to analyze drawings, paintings, photographs, sculptures, and architecture and are prepared with the tools they need to present their ideas through effective writing. Coverage of essential writing assignments includes formal analysis, comparison, research paper, review of an exhibition, and essay examination.
A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations by Kate L. Turabian; Joseph Bizup (Revised by); Wayne C. Booth (Revised by); Gregory G. Colomb (Revised by); William T. FitzGerald (Revised by); University of Chicago Press Editorial Staff (Revised by); Joseph M. Williams (Revised by)
ISBN: 9780226494425

Publication Date: 2018-04-16

A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations--also known as "Turabian"--remains one of the most popular books for writers because of its focus on achieving these goals. Chapters include updated advice on finding, evaluating, and citing a wide range of digital sources and also recognize the evolving use of software for citation management, graphics, and paper format and submission. The ninth edition is fully aligned with the recently released Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition, as well as with the latest edition of The Craft of Research.
Guide to the Literature of Art History by Max Marmor; Alex Ross
Call Number: available electronically

ISBN: 9780838908785

Publication Date: 2004-11-01

Guide to the Literature of Art History 2 (ALA Editions, 2004) records and annotates art and architecture books and journals published worldwide in the last two decades of the 20th century. Adopting the chapter and numbering system of the first volume, GLAH 2 will help art scholars keep abreast of more recent publications in art and architectural history.
Art in Theory, 1900-2000 by Charles Harrison (Editor); Paul Wood (Editor)
Call Number: N6490 .A7167 2003

ISBN: 9780631227076

Publication Date: 2002-10-30

This popular anthology of twentieth-century art theoretical texts has now been expanded to take account of new research, and to include significant contributions to art theory from the 1990s. Includes writings by critics, philosophers, politicians and literary figures. The editors provide contextual introductions to 340 texts. Complements Art in Theory 1648-1815 and Art in Theory 1815-1900 to create a complete survey of the theories underpinning the development of art in the modern period.
Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms by Edward Lucie-Smith
Call Number: N33 .L75 2003 (also available electronically)

ISBN: 9780500203651

Publication Date: 2004-02-23

In this authoritative and concise dictionary, more than 2,000 entries embrace the vast vocabulary of painting and sculpture, architecture and photography, and the decorative, applied, and graphic arts. The hundreds of illustrations and diagrams play a vital role as information: art movements become immediately recognizable by a representative painting, and the defining features of each order of architecture are identifiable at a glance.