Digital Library: Art and Design

Image of colorful cut out figures popping out of book

A History of Pop-up and Movable Books: 700 Years of Paper Engineering

Video of a lecture given by Ellen Rubin on the history of pop-up and movable books.
Illustration from an ABC book by Walter Crane

Art & Artist Files in the Smithsonian Libraries' Collections

Search the database of over 50,000 artist names, including emerging and regional American artists, who have files in our Art and Design and History and Culture libraries.
red, pink, brown and green arabesque designs

Design Digitized

Some of the most beautifully illustrated folios in the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Library's rare book collection.
Hirshhorn Museum Library Audio Archive

Hirshhorn Museum Library Audio Archive

Index and samples from event recordings and artist interviews dating back to the founding of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in 1969.
Incunabula in the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology

Incunabula in the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology

An index to the earliest books printed with movable type held by the Libraries. Some entries have associated images.
illustration of a wooden table with removable pieces

Le Garde-meuble, ancien et moderne

The beautifully illustrated mid-19th century periodical that helped the French cement their position as taste-makers in furniture and interior design.
Library and Archival Exhibitions on the Web

Library and Archival Exhibitions on the Web

Curated by Libraries staff, this guide to online exhibitions from libraries, archives, and manuscript collections around the world is one of a kind.
Modern African Art: A Basic Reading List

Modern African Art: A Basic Reading List

An annotated bibliography that dispels the notion that nothing has been published on contemporary African art. Updated regularly.
Monographs on African Artists: An Annotated Bibliography

Monographs on African Artists: An Annotated Bibliography

A bibliography that separates the polished gems from the stones - a list of substantive monographs and exhibition catalogs on 20th-21st century African artists.
Scientific Identity: Portraits from the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology

Scientific Identity: Portraits from the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology

Portraits of scientists, engineers, and inventors collected by Bern Dibner to complement he thousands of scientific books and manuscripts in the library he founded.
Cropped picture with red flower

Seed and Nursery Catalogs

Colorful collection of catalogs that document the history of the seed and agricultural implement business as well as ornamental and edible plants in the U. S.
Shedding Light on New York

Shedding Light on New York

This massive archive of photographs show the variety of lighting fixtures E. F. Caldwell & Co. produced for wealthy clients like Carnegie, Morgan, and Astor.
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Art and Design History and Culture Natural and Physical Sciences