The National Gallery of Art Library is a major national art research center serving the Gallery's staff, members of the Center for Advanced Study, visiting scholars, and qualified researchers in accordance with National Gallery of Art rules and requirements.

The Library contains a comprehensive collection of more than 300,000 books, periodicals, and publications on the history, theory, and criticism of art and architecture. Microform, along with extensive vertical files, supplement the Library's book holdings.

Other strengths of the Library's collection include monographs on individual artists as well as international exhibition, museum, and private collection catalogues. The Library holds approximately 2,400 periodical titles, of which about 1,000 are current. It also subscribes to all categories of auction catalogues from all major American and European auction houses, and has a rich retrospective collection of catalogues from the seventeenth century to the present.

The Library also maintains a rare book room containing exceptional resources for study and research. Contact the reference librarian for details.

Copyright (c) 2008 Dennis Brack/Black Star
Mercury, c. 1780/1800, after Giovanni Bologna