Preface.
1. Writing About Art.
The Writing Process.
What is Art?
Why Write About Art?
The Writer's Audience as a Collaborator.
The Functions of Critical Writing.
A Sample Critical Essay.
Douglas Lee, Whistler's Japanese Mother.
The Thesis and the Organization.
A Note on Outlining.
What is an Interpretation-and Are All Interpretations Equally Valid?
Interpretation and Interpretations.
Who Creates Meaning-Artist or Viewer?
When We Look, Do We See a Masterpiece-or Ourselves?
The Relevance of Context: The Effect of the Museum and the Picture Book.
Arguing an Interpretation (Supporting a Thesis).
Expressing Opinions: The Writer's I.
What Writing About Art Is: A Very Short View.
Checklist of Basic Matters.
2. Analysis.
Analytic Thinking: Seeing and Saying.
Subject Matter and Content.
Form and Content.
Getting Ideas: Asking Questions to Get Answers.
Basic Questions.
Drawing and Painting.
Sculpture.
Architecture.
A Cautionary Word about Slides and Reproductions.
Photography.
Video Art.
Another Look at the Questions.
Formal Analysis.
What Formal Analysis is.
Formal Analysis Versus Description.
Opposition to Formal Analysis.
Style as the Shaper of Form.
Sample Essay: A Formal Analysis.
Stephen Beer, Formal Analysis: Prince Khunera as a Scribe.
Behind the Scene: Beer's Essay, From Early Responses to Final Version.
Postscript: Thoughts About the Words Realistic and Idealized.
3. Writing a Comparison.
Comparing as a Way of Discovering.
Two Ways of Organizing a Comparison.
Sample Essay: A Student's Comparison.
Rebecca Bedell, John Singleton Copley's Early Development: From Mrs. Joseph Mann to Mrs. Ezekial Goldthwait.
Checklist for Writing a Comparison.
4. Writing an Entry in an Exhibition Catalog.
Keeping the Audience in Mind.
A Sample Entry.
A Checklist for Writing a Catalog Entry.
5. Writing a Review for an Exhibition.
What a Review Is.
Drafting a Review.
A Checklist for Writing a Review.
Three Sample Reviews.
Phyllis Tuchman, Mark Rothko.
Ken Johnson, Mark Rothko.
Anonymous, Mark Rothko.
6. How to Write an Effective Essay.
Looking Closely: Approaching a First Draft.
Revising: Achieving a Readable Draft.
Peer Review.
Checklist for Peer Review.
Preparing the Final Version.
7. Style in Writing.
Principles of Style.
Get the Right Word.
Denotation.
Connotation.
Concreteness.
A Note on Technical Language.
Tone.
Repetition.
The Sound of Sense, the Sense of Sound.
Write Effective Sentences.
Economy.
Wordy Beginnings.
Passive Voice.
Parallels.
Variety.
Subordination.
A Note on Comma Splices (or Comma Faults and Run-On Sentences (or Fused Sentences), and How to Correct Them.
Write Unified and Coherent Paragraphs.
Checklist for Revising Paragraphs.
A Note on Tenses.
8. Some Critical Approaches.
Social History: The New Art History and Marxism.
Gender Studies: Feminist Criticism and Gay and Lesbian Studies.
Biographical Studies.
Psychoanalytic Studies.
Iconography and Iconology.
9. Art-Historical Research.
Connoisseurship.
History and Criticism.
Some Critical Values.
Historical Scholarship and Values.
10. Writing a Research Paper.
A Concise Overview.
Primary and Secondary Materials.
From Subject to Thesis.
Finding the Material.
The Library Catalog.
Browsing in Encyclopedias, Books, and Book Reviews.
Indexes and Databases to Published Material.
Other Guides.
Art Research on the Internet and the World Wide Web.
The Internet and the Web.
Where to Start.
Web Search Engines.
Web Subject Directories.
Art-Related Directoreis.
Finding, Viewing and Downloading Images.
Evaluating Web Sites.
Checklist for Evaluatig Web Sites.
Referencing for Electronic Documentation.
Citations for Electronic Materials.
Posting Questions.
Embedding URLs in Your Paper.
Keeping a Sense of Proportion.
Reading and Taking Notes.
Drafting and Revising the Paper.
Checklist for Reviewing a Revised draft of a Research Paper.
11. Manuscript Form.
Basic Manuscript Form.
Some Conventions of Language Usage.
The Apostrophe.
Capitalization.
The dash.
The Hyphen.
Foreign Words and Quotations in Foreign Languages.
Left and Right.
Names.
Avoiding Sexist Language.
Avoiding Eurocentric Language.
Spelling.
Titles.
Italics and Underlining.
Quotations and Quotation Marks.
Acknowledging Sources.
Borrowing without Plagiarizing.
Fair Use of Common Knowledge.
But How Else Can I Put It?
Documentation.
Footnotes and Endnotes.
Kinds of Notes.
Footnote Numbers ad Positions.
Footnote Style.
Chicago Manual Style.
Books.
Journals and Newspapers.
Secondhand References.
Subsequent References.
Interviews, Lectures and Letters.
Electronic Citations.
Bibliography (List of Works Cited).
Bibliographic Style.
Art Bulletin Style.
Preparing The Manuscript.
Text (Including Text of Footnotes.
Text References, Footnotes and Frequently Cited Sources.
Captions.
Corrections in the Final Copy.
12. Essay Examinations.
What Examinations Are.
Writing Essay Answers.
Last Words.
Credits.
Index.
