Arts Department, Special Collections

A Selection of Fine Arts Collections

Art on View at the BPL
Paintings, sculptures, and decorative art from the permanent collection can be found throughout the McKim and Boylston Street buildings. For architectural highlights of the McKim building, including the mural cycles by Edwin Austin Abbey and John Singer Sargent, please see our online tour, available here. 

Boston/New England Artist Files

News clippings, exhibition invitations, and correspondence about Boston and New England artists, compiled by Boston Public Library librarians from the 1960s to the early 2000s. These materials form a history of Boston-based artists and Boston's art galleries, many of which have since closed.

Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston

These records date from the Society's first exhibition in 1897 through the 2000s. Materials include exhibition files, publicity documents, correspondence, price lists, drawings, lists of members, and photographs of early exhibitions and objects. Working sketches and studies contained within the records provide insight into the artistic process. This is an exceptional collection that documents the early history of the Arts and Crafts movement in Boston.

Charles J. Connick Studio Records,1912-1986
The Charles J. Connick Studio was the pre-eminent stained glass studio of the early twentieth century, founded in Boston. It created approximately 15,000 windows for over 5,000 commissions between 1912 to 1986. Boston Public Library's collection includes 2,150 studies in gouache, along with over 10,000 black and white photographs, and over 100 stained glass windows, along with business records and correspondence related to commissions throughout the United States. 

UrbanArts, Inc. Records, 1970-2014
This collection contains the business records of the public art initiative The UrbanArts Institute, Boston, which has inspired the work of organizations in Boston today who are dedicated to supporting public art. A useful resource for researchers interested in public art administration and urban planning, materials includes photographs, slides, negatives, samples of artwork, administrative records, and newspaper clippings.

SEARCH FINE ART OBJECTS USING OUR ONLINE DATABASE

While over 300,000 items are inventoried and and can be located in the above database, there are still some Fine Arts collections some are searchable on-site at the library through guides such as card catalogs, paper finding aids, and inventories. Researchers are strongly encouraged to view other resources in this guide and/or send questions about Fine Arts collections to specialcollections@bpl.org

Searching Fine Arts Resources

To access item,s related to general arts materials, you must have a BPL card, which can be obtained at any Borrowers' Services Desk in the library system, or you can get an eCard here.

Option 1: Online catalogs provide records for published sources on the topics of fine art, architecture, design; you can request these items through the catalog, designating "Delivery Desk" as the pickup point. However, items cataloged before 1980 may not be online. In which case...

Option 2: Card catalogs and microfiche provide a more complete record of the published material in the Fine Arts Department. Please contact a curator for assistance using specialcollections@bpl.org.

Option 3: Periodicals and Journals can be found in databases listed here, either by subject, format, or audience.

Option 4: Finding Aids provide basic descriptions and inventories of select Fine Arts archival collections. Some of these collections have been processed and fully described, some are represented by minimal records, but most are unprocessed, but a curator may be able to assist you with your question. Please reach out to us at  specialcollections@bpl.org for more information.

Viewing BPL Arts Resources

Everyone is welcome to use our collections in our reading room. In order to prepare collections for use, research appointments are required.
 

Step 1. To make a research appointment, log into or create a reading room account at readingroom.bpl.org, opens a new window and select “New Requests.”

Step 2. Within your Reading Room account, find the department that holds the material (Arts). If unsure, use any request form on the New Request page and staff will route your request to the correct department.

Step 3. Fill out the linked request form with as much information as you have. Skip any fields you don’t know or enter ‘unknown.’

Step 4. At the bottom of the request form, use the "New Appointment" button to schedule your visit.

Step 5. Look for confirmation that the item(s) you requested are available on the day you selected. Some material needs to be evaluated by our staff to prepare them for access, which may require additional time.