Art History Publishing and Segmentation: Exploratory Observations of an Ecology of Publishing

Art history publication occupies a complex scholarly geography. Unlike other humanities disciplines, art history publication encompasses a larger landscape, including various publishers and venues available to art historians. Since the book is considered a sine qua non in the humanities, art history as a discipline is open to a more dynamic configuration of publishing opportunities. Depending upon local academic professional requirements, art historians can avail themselves of different outlets—for example, university presses, museums, and university museum publications—for the dissemination of knowledge. This introductory and exploratory discussion centres on the unique environment open to art historians in academia as well as in the museum world. Focused on twentieth-century topics, this discussion offers examples of publishing trends, including what types of publisher are linked to different types of subjects. Further discussion offers an approach that can be applied to any variety of subjects in art history. A significant objective of this article is to situate the larger context into an ecology of publication in art history.