Art and Architecture Collection > Art History: A Research Guide

Historical Surveys

Survey texts comprise one of the largest categories of art historical publications. Over the course of the twentieth century, as instruction in art history gained a firm hold in academia, a number of classic textbooks were established. Several of them have been steadily reissued and updated over the decades. The ones listed here have served as texts for introductory art history survey courses around the world. Two more recent textbooks have gained popularity, along with one of the most cogent historiographies of art history:

Gardner’s Art Through the Ages. 9th Edition. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1991.
Helen Gardner’s classic text first appeared in 1926 and has been utilized by numerous generations of students.

Gombrich, E. H. The Story of Art. 16th Edition. London: Phaidon Press, 1995.
British art historian’s text is used worldwide.

Honour, Hugh and John Fleming. The Visual Arts: A History. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1982.
Honour’s various textbooks are popular, while still somewhat Eurocentric.

Janson’s History of Art: The Western Tradition. 7th Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007.
The late H.W. Janson produced a classic textbook almost universally used in American college survey courses. Later editions have been expanded and updated to include a broader range of historical coverage, particularly for women artists and their contributions.

Kultermann, Udo. The History of Art History. New York: Abaris Books, 1993.
Covers the discipline’s interesting historiography.

The Oxford History of Western Art. Edited by Martin Kemp. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
A newer survey history reflecting pedagogical changes in art historical investigation.

Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. Upper Saddle River, NJ; New York: Prentice Hall; Abrams, 2002.
One of the newest historical surveys with an inclusive scope.