As one of the major art reference libraries in the United States, we house materials dating from the 1400s to the present.
The approximately 285,000 auction catalogs, books, e-books, ephemera, periodicals, and online database subscriptions in the library reflect the museum’s collections, which focus on European, American, and Asian painting and sculpture; furniture and decorative arts; arms and armor; costume and textiles; prints, drawings, and photographs; and modern and contemporary art.
We also provide the public with access to the museum’s images.
The Library is open to the public with a free Researcher’s Pass which can be obtained from the guard at the Perelman Building entrance.
All materials, regardless of location, require advance paging which occurs twice daily, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. The Library is a closed-stack (non-browsing), non-circulating collection.
Digital images may be taken with a camera, cell phone, or tablet (without flash). Additionally an overheard book scanner is available free of charge. Researchers may bring their own portable USB or send scans via email.
