The Kimbell Art Museum Library opened in 1967. Its collection consists of 42,000 books; 4,800 bound periodicals with subscriptions to 155 current periodicals; 17,000 auction catalogues, plus microfiche collections, including the Witt Library Collection and Deloynes Collection; microfilms; and online-research databases.

The Library’s strongest area of collecting, corresponding to the Museum’s acquisitions, is European painting and sculpture from the Renaissance to the mid-twentieth century. This is followed by Asian art from antiquity to the nineteenth century. The Library also acquires materials on Mediterranean antiquities, Western medieval art, Precolumbian art, and African art. Reflecting its emphasis on European and Asian art, the Library includes hard-to-find sets of artist monographs, exhibition catalogues, encyclopedias, dictionaries, conservation materials, and auction catalogues.

The Library is located within the Kimbell Art Museum. It serves primarily Museum staff but is also open to art historians, especially faculty and graduate students from surrounding universities. Access is by appointment only.

The Kimbell Art Museum Library is a member of OCLC Online Computer Library Center and the Cultural District Library Consortium.

Submitted by Chia-Chun Shih, Librarian