The library contains approximately 14,000 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 120 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

There is also an archive of reviews on exhibitions held at the Royal Academy and elsewhere during the eighteenth century, extracted from British newspapers dating from 1760 to 1793.

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.