W. Graham Arader III, a noted art dealer and collector specializing in prints, maps and rare books generously donated seven richly illustrated books to the Frick Art Reference Library. The gift included the lavish facsimile edition of Joan Blaeu’s Atlas Major, the most comprehensive atlas at the time of its original publication in 1665, as well as a reproduction of the 1660 Harmonia Macrocosmica, a collection of celestial maps by Andras Cellarius. Mr. Arader is committed to further enhance the library’s collections, particularly in the areas of maps and natural history illustrations.
 

We are thrilled to receive Thea Westreich and Ethan Wagner’s library. These books will enhance the Brooklyn Museum’s Library especially in the areas of modern and contemporary art. For more information about this donation, please view the press release.

In 2007, The Frick Collection and Frick Art Reference Library established the Center for the History of Collecting in America. An important resource for the study of the history of collecting is the collection catalog, which documents items held by an individual, family, or institution at the time of its publication. The Frick Art Reference Library, as well as the other NYARC partners, holds many catalogs related to prominent and not-so-prominent art collections from around the world that are rich with useful information for the researcher piecing together provenance.

Over the past twenty years Arnold Smoller, and his wife Nancy, have been donors to the Brooklyn Museum presenting us with prints from their personal collection and helping us acquire artists’ books when we had the Artists' Book exhibition on view here back in 2000. We are now thrilled to announce that over 40 books from Arnold’s collection have been given to the Brooklyn Museum to enhance its collection of artists’ books and livres d’artiste!

The Brooklyn Museum Libraries held an event on a recent First Saturday featuring splendid 19th century books written at the dawn of the rediscovery of ancient Egypt, spread out on the tables in the reading room. Dr. John M. Lundquist, adjunct professor of Religious Studies at Pace University, presented a primer on ancient Egyptian gods and their influence on the burial rituals of mortals, giving voice to the exhibit downstairs, To Live Forever. Digital images of illustrations on pages from the very books before us were shown on the screen in Dr. Lundquist's presentation.

At the MoMA Library we recently unearthed an intriguing box of ephemera by artist Ad Reinhardt (1913-1967). The material was gifted to the Library by Walter and Nettie Wittman, who were friends of the artist. The letters, photographs, tear sheets, and some original commercial illustrations form a vignette of the artist’s professional and personal life, glimpsed from the perspective of Mr. Wittman, a lawyer residing in New Jersey.

Some say the future of art museum libraries will be the rare or unique research resources we collect. With that in mind at Brooklyn, we have been focusing our collection development policy on “rarer” items that are not readily available in other libraries. One recent acquisition falls into this category with the donation of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake (London: Camden Hotten, 1868).

Marketing is always a challenge for libraries. We want people to know about the treasures contained in our collections, the research services we provide, and, most importantly, that we are open for business. But we don't always have the budgets for targeted advertising or the attention of the media to inspire coverage that will reach potential users. That's why we are so excited that the NYARC libraries were featured in an article entitled "Groundbreaking Partnership Unites Decades of Research" in the special museum section of the New York Times on Thursday.