The library contains approximately 20,000 books, pamphlets, exhibition catalogues and theses. North American PhD theses are collected systematically and there are a number of British, Irish and European dissertations. There is a comprehensive collection of Yale Center for British Art exhibition catalogues. There are approximately 230 periodical titles on art, architecture and garden history. Click here for lists of our recent acquisitions.

Auction Catalogues

We have 8000 auction catalogues, mainly dating from the late-nineteenth century to the present and including sales held at Christie's, Sotheby's and Phillips. We also have the personal collection built up by Sir Ellis Waterhouse and the collection formerly belonging to the Arthur Tooth & Sons gallery.

Exhibiting Societies' Catalogues

The library has a large collection of photocopies of eighteenth-century and nineteenth-century exhibition catalogues from the Royal Academy and from exhibiting societies around Britain, including the British Institution, the Society of British Artists, the Royal Hibernian Academy and the Manchester Institution. Click here to access a list.

Exhibition Reviews

Newspaper reviews of Royal Academy and other exhibitions is a collection of 24 lever arch files containing reviews of exhibitions held at the Royal Academy and elsewhere from 1760 to 1793, extracted from contemporary British newspapers.

Newspaper, journal and magazine cuttings relating to the arts, 1771-1849 is a collection of material compiled by Brian Allen. It comprises 3 lever arch files containing cuttings relating to the Royal Academy, exhibiting societies and other arts institutions in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, as well as patronage in British art in the early nineteenth century.

Reviews of genre painting is a collection of 12 lever arch files containing reviews, extracted from British newspapers and magazines dating from 1806-1836, concerning the exhibition of genre paintings and paintings by David Wilkie (1785-1841).

Print Publishers' Catalogues

The library has a collection of photocopies of British print publishers' catalogues (1650-1830) based on the list compiled by Antony Griffiths and published in Print Quarterly (vol 1, no 1, March 1984). For more information on these, click here to search our online library catalogue.