Art Libraries in Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia

Scope: This guide provides a listing of libraries in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area with significant collections of art-related materials. These libraries include museum, academic, public, and special libraries. In addition to location information, the guide provides links to the libraries' Web sites, where available, as well as to a searchable online directory of art libraries throughout the world. The Web sites include additional information about the libraries' collections, and, in many cases, provide remote access to their online collection catalogs. Because the information listed in this guide is subject to change, please call the libraries or consult the Web sites for the most up-to-date information. Email the subject area specialist at lwg@umd.edu or call 301-405-9064 for more information.

Table of Contents

• Washington, DC
• Maryland
• Virginia
• Other Art Libraries

WASHINGTON, DC

• AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES
  (http://library.aia.org/)
  PHONE: (202) 626-7492
  ADDRESS: 1735 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20006
  HOURS: Mon-Fri 8:30am-5pm
  FEE: $5 for non-AIA students.
  SUBJECT: Architectural history, engineering, design, building arts, and urban planning. Slides of contemporary American architecture.
• AMERICAN UNIVERSITY, BENDER LIBRARY
  (http://www.library.american.edu)
  PHONE: (202) 885-3232
  ADDRESS: 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016
  HOURS: Mon-Wed 8am-2am; Thu 8am-12am; Fri 8am-10pm; Sat 9am-9pm; Sun 9am-2am
  SUBJECT: Western European art, American art and architecture, Japanese Ukiyoe.
• ANACOSTIA MUSEUM AND CENTER FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE
  (http://www.sil.si.edu/BranchBrochures/anac-bro.htm)
  PHONE: (202) 287-3381
  ADDRESS: 1901 Fort Place, SE, Washington, DC 20020
  HOURS: Mon-Fri 8:30am-5pm; by appointment only
  SUBJECT: History and culture of the African diaspora in the Western hemisphere.
• ARCHIVES OF AMERICAN ART
  (http://www.archivesofamericanart.si.edu/start.htm)
  PHONE: (202) 275-2156
  ADDRESS: 9th St. NW, Suite 2200, Washington, DC 20560
  HOURS: Mon-Fri 9am-5pm
  SUBJECT: Microform copies of primary documents by artists, dealers, collectors, and curators; American art auction and exhibition catalogues.
• CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY, MULLEN LIBRARY
  (http://libraries.cua.edu/collecs.html)
  PHONE: (202) 319-5070
  ADDRESS: 620 Michigan Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20064
  HOURS: Mon-Fri 8am-10pm; Sat 9am-10pm; Sun 11am-10pm
  SUBJECT: Christian theology and history.
• CORCORAN GALLERY AND SCHOOL OF ART / LIBRARY
  (http://www.corcoran.org/college/library.htm/)
  (Click on "Library")
  PHONE: (202) 822-1729
  ADDRESS: 1705 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006
  HOURS: Mon-Thu 8:30am-8pm; Fri 8:30am-5pm; Sat 10am-4pm; by appointment only
  SUBJECT: Studio art and art history.
• DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION MUSEUM LIBRARY
  (http://www.dar.org/library/default.html)
  PHONE: (202) 879-3229
  ADDRESS: 1776 D Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006
  HOURS: Mon-Fri 8:45am-4pm; Sun 1am-5pm
  FEE: $5 Mon-Fri; $3 Sun
  SUBJECT: American decorative arts, especially ceramics, porcelain, and silver.
• DUMBARTON OAKS
  (http://www.doaks.org/Libraries.html)
  ADDRESS: 1703 32nd Street, NW, Washington, DC 20007

Byzantine Library Collection
PHONE: (202) 339-6980
HOURS: Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; by appointment only
SUBJECT: Byzantine studies; Index of Christian Art.

Garden Library
PHONE: (202) 339-6462
HOURS: Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; by appointment only
SUBJECT: Rare books on horticulture and garden architecture.

Pre-Columbian Library Collection
PHONE: (202) 339-6443
HOURS: Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; by appointment only
SUBJECT: The major cultures of Mexico and Central and South America from their origins to the Spanish conquest.

• FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY
  (http://www.folger.edu/library/use.asp)
  PHONE: (202) 544-4600
  ADDRESS: 201 East Capitol Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003
  HOURS: Mon-Fri 8:45am-4:45pm; Sat 9am-12pm and 1pm-4:30pm; by appointment to holders of reader's cards
  SUBJECT: Shakespeare, drama, Renaissance English and early modern European civilization.
• FREER / SACKLER LIBRARY
  (http://www.sackler-freer-library.si.edu)
  PHONE: (202) 357-4880 Ext. 343
  ADDRESS: 1050 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20560
  HOURS: Mon-Fri 10am-5pm
  SUBJECT: Decorative arts and architecture of the Near and Far East; Indian Art; 19th-century American art, particularly that of Whistler.
• GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, GELMAN LIBRARY
  (http://www.gwu.edu/gelman/)
  PHONE: (202) 994-6455
  ADDRESS: 2130 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20052
  HOURS: Mon-Thu 7am-12am; Fri 7am-10pm; Sat 9am-10pm; Sun 9am-12am
  SUBJECT: Washingtonian, urban, and regional planning; museum studies.
  NOTE: CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC; see entrance policy for requirements for users affiliated with university consortia
• GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, LAUINGER LIBRARY
  (http://gulib.lausun.georgetown.edu)
  PHONE: (202) 687-7452
  ADDRESS: 37th & N Streets, NW, Washington, DC 20057
  HOURS: Mon-Thu 8:30am-12am; Fri 8:30am-10pm; Sat 10am-10pm; Sun 11am-12am
  SUBJECT: Undergraduate-level art history collection.
• HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN LIBRARY
  (http://hirshhorn.si.edu/museum/research.html)
  PHONE: (202) 357-3222, Ext. 126
  ADDRESS: Independence Avenue & 7th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20560
  HOURS: Mon-Fri 10am-5pm; by appointment only
  SUBJECT: 19th- and 20th-century American and European painting and sculpture; collection of Armory Show memorabilia.
• HOWARD UNIVERSITY, FOUNDERS LIBRARY / UNDERGRADUATE LIBRARY
  (http://www.founders.howard.edu/)
  PHONE: (202) 806-7234
  ADDRESS: 500 Howard Place, NW, Washington, DC 20059
  HOURS: Mon-Thu 8am-12am; Fri 8am-5pm; Sat 9am-6pm; Sun 12:30am-9pm
  SUBJECT: Undergraduate-level collection in art history, particularly in African American art.
• LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
  (http://lcweb.loc.gov/)
  PHONE: (202) 707-5000
  ADDRESS: Thomas Jefferson Building, 101 Independence Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20540
  HOURS: Mon-Wed-Thu 8:30am-9:30pm; Tue-Fri-Sat 8:30am-5pm
  SUBJECT: The Prints and Photographs Division houses photographs of the Historic American Building Survey.
• MARTIN LUTHER KING MEMORIAL LIBRARY
  (http://www.dclibrary.org/mlk/)
  PHONE: (202) 727-0321
  ADDRESS: 901 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001
  HOURS: Mon-Thu 10am-9pm; Fri-Sat 10am-5:30pm; Sun 1pm-5pm
  SUBJECT: Vertical files on local artists, a general art reference collection, Washington collection of historic photographs.
• NATIONAL ARCHIVES, ARCHIVES LIBRARY INFORMATION CENTER
  (http://www.archives.gov)
  PHONE: (202) 501-5421
  ADDRESS: 7th Street & Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20408
  HOURS: Mon-Fri 9am-3:30pm
  SUBJECT: U.S. government records from 1775 and a collection of photographs.
• NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS LIBRARY
  (http://arts.endow.gov/learn/NEAGuide/Library.html)
  PHONE: (202) 682-5485
  ADDRESS: 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20506
  HOURS: Mon-Thu 7:30am-12pm and 1-4:30pm; Fri 7am-12pm; by appointment only
  SUBJECT: Federal aid to the arts, arts management, and cultural policy.
• NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART RESEARCH LIBRARY
  (http://www.nga.gov/resources/dldesc.htm)
  PHONE: (202) 842-6511
  ADDRESS: 4th Street & Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20565 (East Building, Main Floor)
  HOURS: Mon 12pm-4:30pm; Tue-Fri 10am-4:30pm; by appointment only
  NOTE: Only notebooks are permitted into this library.
  SUBJECT: Western art especially Leonardo da Vinci, the Paris Salons. Photographic archives include holdings of the Witt Library and Marburger Indexes for France and Germany.
• NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY LIBRARY
  (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/resources/ngs/library/)
  PHONE: (202) 857-7783
  ADDRESS: 1145 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036
  HOURS: Mon-Fri 1:30pm-5pm; by appointment only
  SUBJECT: Book collection includes art and photography.
• NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN ART, WARREN M. ROBBINS LIBRARY
  (http://www.sil.si.edu/libraries/nmafa-hp.htm)
  PHONE: (202) 357-4600 Ext. 286
  ADDRESS: 950 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20560
  HOURS: Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; by appointment only
  SUBJECT: Books and photographs on African art, crafts, ethnography, folklore, and African American arts and history.
• NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART

See: SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM

• NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS LIBRARY AND RESEARCH CENTER
  (http://www.nmwa.org/library/)
  PHONE: (202) 783-7365
  ADDRESS: 1250 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20005
  HOURS: Mon-Fri 10am-5pm; by appointment only
  SUBJECT: Artist's books by women; exhibition catalogs and vertical files on women artists.
• ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES, COLUMBUS MEMORIAL LIBRARY
  (http://tlc.library.net/columbus/default.asp)
  PHONE: (202) 458-6037
  ADDRESS: 19th & Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20006
  HOURS: Mon-Thu 9:30am-4:30pm; Fri 1:30pm-4:30pm
  SUBJECT: Vertical file collection on Latin American artists.
• THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION LIBRARY
  PHONE: (202) 387-2151 Ext. 212
  ADDRESS: 1600 21st Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009
  HOURS: Mon-Thu 10am-5pm; by appointment only
  SUBJECT: 19th- and 20th-century French painters and American modernists.
• SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM / NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY LIBRARY
  (http://nmaa-ryder.si.edu/study/index.html)
  PHONE: (202) 275-1912
  ADDRESS: 750 9th St. NW, Room 2100, Washington, DC 20001
  HOURS: Mon-Fri 10am-5pm
  SUBJECT: American art, history and biography, the Juley collection of fine art photographs and an extensive clipping file on American artists.
• SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION LIBRARIES
  (http://www.sil.si.edu)
  Also see individual listings in this guide for:
  
• Anacostia Museum
• National Museum of African Art, Warren M. Robbins Library

Smithsonian Institution, Museum Reference Center
(http://www.sil.si.edu/BranchBrochures/mrc-bro.htm)
PHONE: (202) 786-2271
ADDRESS: Arts and Industries Building, Room 2235, 900 Jefferson Drive, SW, Washington, DC 20560
HOURS: Mon-Fri 8:45am-5:15pm; by appointment only
SUBJECT: Museum operations.

• TEXTILE MUSEUM, ARTHUR D. JENKINS LIBRARY
  (http://www.textilemuseum.org/education/library.htm)
  PHONE: (202) 667-0441
  ADDRESS: 2320 S Street, NW, Washington, DC 20008
  HOURS: Wed-Fri 10am-2pm; Sat 10am-4pm
  SUBJECT: Ancient and ethnographic textiles, oriental rugs and contemporary fiber arts.

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MARYLAND

• BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART, E. KIRKBRIDE MILLER ART RESEARCH LIBRARY
  (http://www.artbma.org/)
  (Click on "Visitor Information")
  PHONE: (410) 396-6317
  ADDRESS: 10 Art Museum Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218
  HOURS: Wed-Fri 9am-5pm; by appointment only
  SUBJECT: Photography; American decorative arts; 19th- and 20th-century French art, the arts of Africa, the Americas, and Oceania.
• ENOCH PRATT FREE LIBRARY, FINE ARTS DEPARTMENT
  (http://www.pratt.lib.md.us/)
  PHONE: (410) 396-5430
  ADDRESS: 400 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
  HOURS: Mon-Wed 10am-8pm; Thu 10am-5:30pm; Fri-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 1pm-5pm
  SUBJECT: Picture file, and the Hilda Holme Collection of illustrated books.
• JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, MILTON S. EISENHOWER LIBRARY
  (http://webapps.jhu.edu/jhuniverse/libraries/index.cfm)
  PHONE: (410) 516-8335
  ADDRESS: 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218
  HOURS: Mon-Thu 8am-12am; Fri-Sat 8am-10pm; Sun 10am-12am
• MARYLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY LIBRARY
  (http://www.mdhs.org/explore/library.html)
  PHONE: (410) 685-3750
  ADDRESS: 201 West Monument Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
  HOURS: Tue-Sat 10am-4:30pm
  FEE: $4 entrance fee to historical society for non-members; students may become members for $20/year and use the library for no additional fee.
  SUBJECT: American and Maryland history
• UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK LIBRARIES
  (http://www.lib.umd.edu/)
  ADDRESS: College Park, MD 20742

Architecture Library
(http://www.lib.umd.edu/ARCH/architecture.html)
PHONE: (301) 405-6317
ADDRESS: 1102 Architecture Building


Art Library
(http://www.lib.umd.edu/ART/art.html)
PHONE: (301) 405-9061
ADDRESS: 2213 Art Sociology Building


National Trust for Historic Preservation Library
(http://www.lib.umd.edu/NTL/ntl.html)
PHONE: (301) 405-6320
ADDRESS: Hornbake Library
HOURS: Mon-Fri 10am-5pm; all other times by appointment only
SUBJECT: Books, serials, postcards, audio cassettes, 16 mm films, and extensive vertical file material on historic preservation and restoration.


• WALTERS ART MUSEUM LIBRARY
  (http://www.thewalters.org/html/visitor_main.asp)
  (Click on "General Information", then "Library")
  PHONE: (410) 547-9000 Ext. 274
  ADDRESS: 600 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
  HOURS: Tue-Fri 10am-4pm; by appointment only
  SUBJECT: Art from prehistory to the late 19th-century; manuscript illumination and the decorative arts.

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VIRGINIA

• UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, FISKE KIMBALL FINE ARTS LIBRARY
  (http://www.lib.virginia.edu/fine-arts/)
  PHONE: (434) 924-6938
  ADDRESS: Campbell Hall, Bayly Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22904
  HOURS: Mon-Thu 8am-12am; Fri 8am-8pm; Sat 10am-8pm; Sun 12pm-12am
  SUBJECT: Studio art, art history, architecture and architectural history, landscape architecture, urban and environmental planning, theater.
• VIRGINIA MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS LIBRARY
  (http://www.vmfa.state.va.us/Library.html)
  PHONE: (804) 340-1495
  ADDRESS: 2800 Grove Avenue, Richmond, VA 23221
  HOURS: Tue-Sat 11am-5pm
  SUBJECT: Western and non-Western art, decorative arts, American and English silver, Fabergé, numismatics.

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OTHER ART LIBRARIES

• INTERNATIONAL DIRECTORY OF ART LIBRARIES
  (http://iberia.vassar.edu/ifla-idal/)

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