General Information

In 2000, the Smithsonian American Art Museum/ National Portrait Gallery Library, the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Library, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Library were integrated into the Smithsonian Institution Libraries (SIL). These three libraries joined with the Warren M. Robbins Library, National Museum of African Art and the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Library to form a significant international resource for art scholarship, and the possibilities of making a substantial impact on art education and research are just beginning to be explored. The first major collaborative initiative has the SIL art department cataloging over 100,000 files that contain exhibition announcements, newspaper and magazine clippings, press releases, brochures, reviews, invitations, illustrations, résumés, artists' statements, and exhibition catalogs. [See current statistics]

The Smithsonian artists' files are an exceptionally valuable resource for art historical research done on emerging regional and local artists and often are the only obtainable sources of information. Until now, the files were largely unavailable to those who did not travel to Washington DC. In 2004, several efforts were combined to produce an electronic list as the first step toward universal accessibility. Please check back frequently, as new artists' names are being added on a regular basis. Eventually, these enormously rich collections will be available to the entire scholarly community as well as the general public.

The more than 400 artist's files housed at Cooper-Hewitt National Design Library, consisting of biographical information, photographs, exhibition announcements and reviews, brochures, and clippings, document the work of contemporary African-American and Latino - Hispanic designers. The Afro-American collection, created in 1991 and no longer added to after 2003, chronicles innovative Black American designers working in the areas of architecture, interiors, graphics, industrial design, textiles, wallcoverings, ceramics, glass, metalwork, jewelry and furniture. Similar subject areas are covered in the Latino-Hispanic files (begun in 1995 and no longer added to after 2002), featuring designers of Hispanic - Latino origin working in the U.S. and the Caribbean.

For information or inquiries about the Afro-American Design Archive and the Latino-Hispanic Design Archive, you can e-mail us at: afrolatarch@si.edu

The Freer's vertical file is arranged by LC subject heading and consists of various small-size publications, pamphlets, newspaper clips on Asian art and culture. We have a large number of museum pamphlets.

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Library has more that 5,400 files on international artists as well as on the museum's founder, trustees, and former directors. The contents of the files include gallery invitations, press releases and biographies, some newspaper clippings and other ephemeral material. The material has been collected since the opening of the museum in 1974. Artists represented in the museum collection or who have been in Hirshhorn Museum exhibitions have more substantial files.

The National Museum of the American Indian Library has recently begun to create files on American Indian Artists. Files are currently being added as time and staffing permit. The files will include material from galleries and other ephemeral materials about Native American artists, performers, and writers.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery (AA/PG) Library has a dynamic collection of over 150,000 files on Artists, Art Institutions, Collectors, and art-related Subjects. Files generally contain ephemera such as small exhibition brochures; announcements of or invitations to gallery shows; press releases; newspaper, magazine, or auction catalog clippings; and/or reproductions. At this time, only the Artist Files are indexed online.

• The Artists Files, though primarily on American artists, also contain some European artists.
• The Art Institutions files are arranged geographically by U.S. state/city/museum or gallery and by foreign country/city/museum or gallery.
• The Collectors Files include material on individual and corporate collections, as well as separate collections within a museum. They also may contain object lists.
• The Subject Files contain ephemeral material on many art-related subjects. A particularly strong section within the Subject Files is that on Federal Art Projects. These files are divided into the four different New Deal projects: The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), the WPA’s Federal Art Project (WPA/FAP), the Section of Painting and Sculpture (the Section), and the Treasury Relief Art Project (TRAP).
• The AA/PG Library also houses the Colonel Merl M. Moore, Jr. Files. These include Artists Files on early American artists, many copied from 19th century newspapers and magazines, Institution Files (e.g., National Academy of Design, Art Unions, Art Fairs), and Subject Files (e.g., Silhouette Artists, Passports, Immigration Records, etc.). The emphasis of the Merl M. Moore, Jr. Files is on art and artists of the 19th century.

All of the AA/PG Library’s files may be consulted on site and selections may be photocopied for a small fee.

The Warren M. Robbins Library at the National Museum of African Art maintains a fast-growing collection of more than 2,800 files on African artists. No other library in the United States is developing or maintaining this type of collection. Most of these artists are living and working in Africa, but the Library also collects information on African artists internationally. The individual files may contain gallery brochures, exhibition announcements and invitations, price lists, resumes, press releases, reviews, and newspaper cuttings.

November 27, 2006