Library & Research Center

Two books, Fired Up! Ready to Go and I Was Their American Dream, rest on a tabletop, along with a small vase of pink and lavender flowers.

Information about the Library and Research Center

About the LRC

The Betty Boyd Dettre Library and Research Center (LRC) at the National Museum of Women in the Arts holds a special collection of research material on women artists. The mission of the LRC is to facilitate knowledge creation about the history and achievements of inspirational women artists worldwide. It is the first major repository in the world for information about women artists. The museum’s founders, Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay, understood from the moment of its inception the importance of creating a research center for the study of art by women.

The LRC serves researchers of all ages and levels of expertise.

Our Reading Room is closed during the building renovation. The LRC will offer a robust range of services to the public after September 5, 2022, when projects related to the renovation are completed. For reference inquiries and research requests, contact us via the form on this webpage or email at lrc@nmwa.org, and you will receive a response after September 5.


Photo credit: Cameron Robinson

Contact Us

Library & Research Center

Library Exhibitions

Exhibitions at the Betty Boyd Dettre Library and Research Center illustrate the accomplishments and history of women in the arts through the display of primary source materials. Exhibitions showcase artist correspondence, sketches, ephemera, photographs, posters, rare books, museum archival material, and artists’ books.

View Past Exhibitions
An open artist’s book that is teardrop-shaped with two open flaps that resemble wings. The interior is an earthy red color with veiny brown lines. Inside the open teardrop shape is a tiny circular book with navy half-moon shaped pages.
Julie Chen, Chrysalis, 2014; Courtesy of the artist; © Julie Chen

LRC Resources

Online Catalog

Search the online catalog for books, periodicals, reference materials, artist books, zines, exhibition catalogues, and more.
Search Online Catalog , opens in new tab 

Artists’ Books

From above, a partial view of a star-shaped carousel book with blue and white pages.
Learn about the LRC’s collection of nearly 800 unique artists’ books in a variety of mediums and formats.
Learn about Artists’ Books

Resources for Research

The LRC offers access to online databases as well as research guides on topics such as Latin American women artists, women sculptors, and women artists of the Dutch Golden Age. For help in accessing these resources, contact LRC@nmwa.org.
View Resources

Archives

The LRC archives serve as a locus of primary source research for curators, scholars, and students performing research on women’s contributions to the arts and the history of the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
View Archives

Rights & Reproductions

A partial view of an art gallery with four artworks on display, including a painted portrait of a young, pony-tailed medium-dark skinned girl in a yellow flowered dress against a pink background; a smaller portrait; and large abstract works with colorful shapes and gradients.
Find out how to order and reproduce images from the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
Request Images

Contact Form for the Library and Research Center

Ask a Librarian

Please enter a valid email address so that we can reply to your question. A reference librarian will respond to you via email shortly after September 5, 2022.

*Asterisk indicates a required field.