Covering Western art from the ancient Greeks to the present day, this best-selling and authoritative dictionary is more wide-ranging than any comparable reference work. It contains over 2,500 clear and concise entries on styles and movements, materials and techniques, and museums and galleries. It also includes biographical entries for artists, critics, collectors, dealers, and patrons, with places and full dates of birth and death (in many instances correcting misinformation that has found its way into other sources).

For this new edition, entries have been thoroughly revised and updated, and more than fifty new entries have been added, for example Tracey Emin and Jack Vettriano. Browsers and readers with an interest in a particular area will benefit from the classified list of all the entries in the book – an invaluable innovation that makes it easy to see immediately which collectors, for example, or 18th-century French artists, or printmaking terms, are included in the dictionary.

Written in an engaging manner with many entries enlivened by quotations from artists and critics, this dictionary is a pleasure to browse, whilst its A-Z structure and classified list makes it perfect for quick reference. Previously entitled The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists, this major new edition is essential for students and teachers of art, design, art theory, and art history, and it is ideal for artists, visitors to art exhibitions and galleries, and anyone with an interest in art.