Collection Highlights

“If there is any facet of my work that I feel was kissed by angels, I’d say it was my books.

We often think of the book as a container of information. A book’s text conveys meaning through reading. However, meaning can be expressed in other ways. Typography, ink color, blank space, paper, artwork, and binding also provide information to the reader about the artist’s project.

Something is wrong with the corner of the page.  Maybe not wrong, but strange, I think to myself.  Examining Mark Wagner’s Smoke in My Dreams more closely, I realize that the bottom corner of the page opens up.

A vintage photograph of a young woman, casually posed in front of a storefront window, which advertises the “friendly” Chesterfield cigarette, invites readers into X-Ray Magazine.

For the past two summers, three art libraries, the Hirshhorn Library (HMSG), the African Art Library (NMAA), and the American Art Library/National Portrait Gallery Library (AA/PG) have hosted graduate library student interns through the Smithsonian Libraries Professio

Many of the artists’ books in the Smithsonian A

Ida Applebroog’s artists’ books have a way of making you feel slightly uncomfortable without really knowing why. At least that is the effect her small books have on me.

Recently the Smithsonian American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery Library (AA/PG Library) hosted a tour in conjunction with the 12th Biennial Book Arts Fair and Conference presented by the Pyramid Atlantic Art Center.

The American Art  Museum/National Portrait Gallery (AA/PG) Library has close to

This post was contributed by Anna Brooke, librarian at the Hirshhorn Museum an

Like books, quilts are symbolic items with patterns that can tell stories.  Quilts tell domestic narratives and have been recognized as important historical artifacts.  As a result, the Smithsonian’s

This post was written by Jaclyn Peterson. Jaclyn interned at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Library this past spring, working to identify Artists’ Books in the collection and making them more accessible in the library catalog.

Through the generosity of an artists’ boo

“This Art Book is dedicat

Through the generosity of a donor (who is also on the staff

—This post was contributed by Rita Sausmikat and Maya Riser-Kositsky, interns at the America

This post was written by Anna Brooke, head of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Gallery Library.

This post was written by Lilla Vekerdy, Head of Special Collections.

The Smithsonian Libraries is pleased to announce the new webpage of the Smithsonian Libraries Artists’ Books Collection!

In anticipation of Smithsonian Libraries’ participation in this year’s Museum Day Live events on Saturday March 12th, we wanted to highlight Library Preservation work at the Book Conservation Lab here at Smithsonian Libraries, and draw attention to the varied interests and skills that are inherent to Preservation work and are important and driving forces in preserving library collections for the future.

In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re highlighting a book written and illustrated by female artists, The Ultimate Safari. The book is currently featured in our exhibition, Artists’ Books and Africa, which is open until September 2016 and is located in the

The Smithsonian American Art and Portrait Gallery (AA/PG) Library is pleased to present an exhibition of some of its recently acquired artists’ books in th