Art and Picture Collections

Woman looking in an artist's studio.Mid-Manhattan Library, 3rd floor
455 Fifth Avenue at 40th Street
New York, NY 10016
212.340.0871(Art) | 212.340.0878 (Pictures) | mmart@nypl.org | mmpic@nypl.org

The Circulating Art Collection contains books, magazines, DVDs and online databases covering all aspects of the visual arts, including fine and decorative arts, crafts, design, architecture, photography, fashion and biography. The Picture Collection contains a million pictures, arranged by subject, available for circulation and reference.

The Art Collection: Serving students, professionals, amateurs and anyone engaged in artistic pursuits, the Collection also hosts two exhibit series, Art Wall on Third and Art in the Windows. Also available in the Art Collection is a set of vertical files on artists, with exhibit catalogs and brochures (particularly suitable for information on contemporary artists).

The Picture Collection: An unparalleled visual resource for creative people in any medium, the Picture Collection contains original prints, photographs, posters, postcards and illustrations from books, magazines and newspapers, classified into 12,000 subject headings.  Users may borrow up to 60 pictures at a time on any subject with a library card. Color and black & white copiers are available as well.

The Picture Collection is also Digital. More than 38,000 images are now in the NYPL Digital Gallery, and the number is growing fast.

Picture Collection Subject Headings

To find pictures online, visit

• Gallery Collection Guide: Picture Collection of The New York Public Library
• Gallery Collection Guide: Wonders of the Ancient World
• Gallery Collection Guide: Vintage Holiday Postcards
• Historical Postcards of New York City
• Picture Collection presentations on nypl.voicethread.com