MAKE A GIFT BUY TICKETS MAP
JULIUS S. HELD COLLECTION
THE CLARK ARCHIVES
MARY ANN BEINECKE COLLECTION
DAVID A. HANSON COLLECTION
VENICE BIENNALE EPHEMERA COLLECTION


The Clark houses one of the most distinguished art research libraries in the country, with more than 296,000 volumes in over 130 languages. From its opening in 1962 the library has grown and changed over the years to accommodate teaching spaces, visual resources, new programs and initiatives, and a never-ending array of new technologies (in addition, of course, to its growing collection of books), always striving to meet the needs of our valued students, scholars, staff, researchers, and visitors.

 

LIBRARY CATALOG

SEARCH

The library’s special collections enhance both library and museum holdings. Highlights include the founding collection of Robert Sterling Clark's rare books, the history of photomechanical reproduction, early illustrated printed books, decorative arts and sample books, twentieth- and twenty-first century artists’ books, and archival collections.

MORE



special collections book of the month

Artists' Book Collection

For Zitkála-Šá. Zitkala-S̈a, et al. Toronto, Ontario: Art Metropole; Los Angeles: New Documents, 2022.

In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, this book is a collection of short, graphic scores by artist and composer Raven Chacon. Paying tribute to Yankton Dakota writer, musician, and activist Zitkála-Šá (1876-1938), the publication is structured around a series of scores for thirteen contemporary female Indigenous performing artists: Laura Ortman, Cheryl L'Hirondelle, Suzanne Kite, Barbara Croall, Jacqueline Wilson, Autumn Chacon, Heidi Senungetuk, Ange Loft, Joy Harjo, Carmina Escobar, Olivia Shortt, Candice Hopkins, and Buffy Sainte-Marie. Includes texts by each artist, a contextualizing essay by Chacon, and performance notes.

FOLLOW THE LIBRARY

   Follow us on Instagram   Pin us on Pinterest 

Serving the general public as well as visiting scholars and local students and faculty, the Clark library welcomes all visitors to use its reference and research services and to enjoy its collections. An extensive array of electronic resources and reference materials support scholarly research in the field of Art History. Library staff are dedicated to assisting all users to access the library’s wide-ranging and diverse collections.

MORE

New Acquisitions Book of the Week

Gifts of the Spirit:  Works by Nineteenth-Century and Contemporary Native American Artists. Peabody Essex Museum collections, and Peabody Essex Museum collections.   Salem, MA:  Peabody Essex Museum, 1996.

The Peabody Essex Museum has been collecting the work of Native American artists since the mid-19th century, but only in the past two decades has it made much of the collection available to the public. The first exhibition to draw extensively from these holdings was Gifts of the Spirit. For this exhibition, five curators chose works from the collection that link nineteenth-century and contemporary artistic expression. The newer works encompass a wide breadth of media and styles, from the bronze and rusted steel sculpture of Bob Haozous (Chiricahua Apache) and the pictorial beadwork of Marcus Amerman (Choctaw) to blown glass sculpture by Tony Jojola (Isleta Pueblo) and paintings by Susan Stewart (Crow/Blackfoot) and Valjean McCarty Hessing (Choctaw).

The publication accompanied the exhibition Gifts of the Spirit: Works by Nineteenth-Century & Contemporary Native American Artists, which was on view at the Peabody Essex Museum from November 14, 1996 through May 18, 1997.

LIBRARY HOURS

PUBLIC HOURS

The library is open without appointment. Hours are:
Monday - Friday, 9 am to 5 pm

All are welcome to email the library with reference/research questions.

HOLIDAYS

The library is closed to the public on the following holidays:
New Year's Day
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Presidents' Day
Memorial Day
Juneteenth
Independence Day
Labor Day
Indigenous Peoples Day
Thanksgiving (2 days)
Christmas (2 days)

EXTENDED HOURS

Extended hours are available to holders of a Clark badge or a Reader's Card.  Reader's cards are given by application. Cards may not be appropriate for all applicants but we will always do our best to meet your research needs.

Mon-Thurs       8 am to 11 pm
Friday               8 am to 6 pm
Saturday           9 am to 6 pm
Sunday             9 am to 11 pm

HOLIDAYS

With the exception of Christmas Day and New Year's Day the library is open during holidays to anyone eligible for extended hours.