Art History and Its Publications in the Electronic Age

By Hilary Ballon and Mariet Westermann

Over the past two decades, the community of professional art historians has grown rapidly. In the same period, economic pressures on academic publishers have caused retrenchment in the publication of scholarly monographs in the field. This situation poses risks to the advancement of younger scholars and the long-term vitality of the discipline.

This report is the outcome of a year-long study of obstacles to vigorous publication in print and electronic form, with an emphasis on the special challenges posed by art history's dependence on high-quality images. It makes specific recommendations for the relaxation of a prohibitive image copyright economy, and it proposes the development of robust structures for peer-reviewed, electronic publications that make full use of the dynamic image and response capabilities of the digital medium.

This study was funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

91 pages printed in black-and-white with color cover; perfect-bound; 6" x 9".