Subject resources

Art & design

Westminster's Art and Design Collection, which has received Designation status from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, is held on the first and second floors of Westminster Reference Library.

The prime reference collection of some 5,000 books are on open access on the first floor. This represents about one eighth of the collection, so plenty more books can be supplied within minutes.

There is also a further 5,000 books on open access on the second floor, which can be borrowed by Westminster Library Members. Membership is open to anyone with proof of a permanent address anywhere in Britain.

About the Art and Design Library

We have over 40,000 books covering painting, architecture, sculpture, antiques, ceramics, textiles, fashion, jewellery, furniture, graphics, interiors and gardens.

Our wide range of art magazines includes cutting edge titles such as Wallpaper, Flash Art, I-D, Artforum and Blueprint as well as long backfiles of Apollo, Burlington, Country Life and Vogue. You can check our journals holdings in the library or online, or access the National Art Library's Catalogue. We have Art Abstracts, ArtBibliographies Modern and Design & Applied Arts Index on CDROM - all of which will help you find magazine articles on the subject you are researching.

You can search over 50 years of art auction records in a single click of a mouse, on our Art Sales Index CD-ROM - a quick way to find out how valuable that picture in the attic might be! We also have price guides to antiques, stamps, coins and collectibles.

Exhibition catalogues are often the first and sometimes only record of an artist or a work of art. We have nearly 6,000 catalogues for exhibitions shown in most of the major galleries in London, some dating from the 1940's.

Looking for an image? Our collections are very much geared towards picture research, including all fields of design, many photography books, illustrated general reference resources, the Photobase CD-ROM series and free internet access.

There are both black & white and colour photocopying facilities within the building.

Find Art & Design websites using Westminster's gateway to websites.

Exhibition spaces in Westminster Libraries

Both Paddington Library and Westminster Reference Library have exhibition spaces available to artists wishing to publicise their work. More information is available on the Westminster Reference Library news and events page and the Art at Paddington page.

Other key art & design resources in London

Please telephone before visiting any of the following libraries, as some institutions have restrictions on public access.

Arts Council: Aims to provide resources for those doing research on art management, funding and policy. Also information on arts economy, marketing and arts organisations.

Barbican Library: The City of London's largest lending library with a strong art section.

British Architectural Library: All aspects of architecture, also related subjects, eg: interior design, stained glass.

Chelsea Library: General reference and lending library with good art coverage; also costume and fashion.

Courtauld Institute of Art Book Library / Witt Library: The Book Library provides access to a significant art historical collection and is one of the major international research collections of art historical books, periodicals and exhibition catalogues in the country. The Witt Library is a collection of reproductions after paintings, drawings and prints, of western art, coverting the period 1200 to the present day.

Goldsmiths College London: Collection designed for practising artists and therefore strong on recent art. Also covers textiles, ceramics, crafts, design, cinema, television and radio.

Heinz Archive & Library (National Portrait Gallery): The Archive holds extensive files of engravings, photographs and reproductions of portraits in collections worldwide.

Hyman Kreitman Research Centre (Tate Gallery): The Library covers the same areas as the Tate Collection (British art since 1500 and international art from 1900).

London College of Fashion Library: Costume and related textile arts.

London Metropolitan University Commercial Road Library: Good collections on fine and applied arts; furniture; interior design; architecture; jewellery; musical instruments and conservation.

Middlesex University: Collection covers art and design in general; computing in art and design; film; photography; fashion; illustration; architecture and textiles.

National Art Library: The largest art library in Great Britain; no charge; reference only; closed access.

St Bride Printing Library: All aspects of printing covered including graphic arts, illustration, posters etc.