Smithsonian Institution Libraries Freer Gallery of Art Branch Search this
Smithsonian Institution Libraries Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Branch Search this
Smithsonian Institution Libraries Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Library Search this
Smithsonian Libraries Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler M. Sackler Gallery Library Search this
Smithsonian Libraries and Archives Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Library Search this
Type:
Mixed archival materials
Date:
1921
1921-
Category:
Agency History
Notes:
This is an agency history. It does not describe actual records. The Smithsonian Institution Archives uses these histories as brief accounts of the origin, development, and functions of an office or administrative unit to set that unit in its historical context. To find information on record holdings, please double-click the highlighted field "Creator/Author", which will open on a brief view of relevant records.
Smithsonian Libraries, About Library Locations, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Library, https://library.si.edu/libraries/freer-sackler, accessed September 13, 2021.
Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, page 14, 1921
Email, "Smithsonian Libraries and Archives Executive Leadership Team Updates," September 23, 2022.
The Freer Gallery of Art Library was created in 1921 to house publications deposited by the Smithsonian Institution, a large library collected by Charles Lang Freer himself, and donations from others, all relating to Asian art and culture and the Freer collection of art in particular. Since it opened in the Freer Gallery of Art in 1923, the Library's purpose has been to foster and stimulate study of the artistic traditions and cultures of the peoples of Asia. The Library collects materials relevant to the history of Asian art and culture through an active program of purchases, gifts, and exchanges. Initially part of the museum, the library became incorporated into the centralized Smithsonian Institution Libraries in 2000, later known as the Smithsonian Libraries, sometime after 1964. At this point the library was referred to as a branch and sometime in or around 2000 the branch library was referred to as a library. In 2020, after the merger of the Smithsonian Libraries and the Smithsonian Institution Archives, it became part of Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. In 2022, Smithsonian Libraries and Archives renamed their libraries as library research centers.
In July 1987 the Library moved to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Today it supports activities of both museums, such as collection development, exhibition planning, publications, and other scholarly and educational projects. Its published and unpublished resources - in the fields of Asian art and archaeology, conservation, painting, sculpture, architecture, drawings, prints, manuscripts, books, and photography - are available to museum staff, outside researchers, and the visiting public.
About half of the collection consists of works in Chinese or Japanese. While the Library's primary focus is on Asian art and archaeology, it also includes publications about American artists who were active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and whose works are in the Freer Gallery of Art.
One of the earliest known librarians, who was solely in charge of the Freer Library, was Grace A. Parler, about 1931-1932. Grace C. Griffin was appointed Librarian for one year, 1943-1944, and was followed by Bertha M. Usilton, Librarian, 1944-1964. From 1964 to 1966, Constance B. Olsen held the position. Priscilla P. Smith was Librarian from about 1966 to 1981. Ellen Anne Nollman was Librarian, 1981-1986, and Head Librarian, 1986-1987. Lily Kecskes was Head Librarian, 1987-1992. She then served as Head, Library and Archives, 1992-2001. Reiko Yoshimura became Head Librarian in 2002 and retired in 2023.
For a history of the larger creating unit, refer to "Forms part of" above.
Repository Loc.:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Capital Gallery, Suite 3000, MRC 507; 600 Maryland Avenue, SW; Washington, DC 20024-2520
