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Welcome
About the Art Library
The Vassar College Art Library is a rare example of a complete modernist interior from the pre-World War II period in the United States.  Built in 1937, the interior was designed by
John McAndrew
, an architect as well as educator, who taught architectural history and design in the Vassar College Department of Art from 1932 to 1937.
The clarity, openness, and textured warmth of the space is in keeping with the American or what McAndrew termed a "naturalized" version of the machine aesthetic, which he would go on to promote in his role as Curator of the Department of Architecture at the Museum of Modern Art between 1937 and 1941.
The vivid colors of the library interior draw on Le Corbusier’s purist principles and their relationship between color and space.
McAndrew's Art Department colleagues referred to this dynamic and forward-looking space as the expression of a new functionalism in architecture.
As a learning environment it was exactly that, an elegantly-crafted machine in which every surface, volume, and design element was shaped and illuminated for the efficient appropriation of a knowledge of the history of art through group and individual study.  McAndrew's space has now been carefully renovated to recover its original function through a restoration of the original interior on designs by another architect/educator, the late
Paul Spencer Byard
, and his partner
Charles A. Platt
, of the New York-based firm of
Platt Byard Dovell White
For a beautifully illustrated historical account of the life and work of John McAndrew, his design of the Vassar College Art Library, and the contribution of McAndrew and Vassar to the development of modernist art and architecture in the United States, see the architectural historian Mardges Bacon's monograph,
John McAndrew's Modernist Vision: From the Vassar College Art Library to the Museum of Modern Art in New York
, published in 2018 by Princeton Architectural Press, and available through
Amazon
.  For the
Library Cafe
interview of Mardges Bacon by
Art Librarian Thomas Hill
about the book, click
here
. For contemporary images of the Art Library taken for Bacon's book by Andrew Tallon after the Platt Byard Dovell White renovation, click
here
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About the Art Library >>
FINDING AIDS
Vassar Library Search
WorldCat
Trusted source of information about materials held and catalogued by OCLC member libraries worldwide. Includes books, journals, audio and video, archival material, and more. There are two interfaces:FirstSearch: powerful advanced search options, but won't allow requests from off-campus for non-Vassar material via Interlibrary Loan (ILL)WorldCat Discovery: simplified search options, intuitive search facets, can be used for ILL requests on or off campus  
Art Discovery Group Catalogue
Launched in May 2014, the Art Discovery Group Catalogue (ADGC) offers an art-focused research experience within the OCLC WorldCat environment.
Bibliography of the History of Art
Covering European and American art from late antiquity to the present, the Bibliography of the History of Art indexes and abstracts art-related books, conference proceedings and dissertations, exhibition and dealer's catalogs, and articles from more than 2,500 periodicals. BHA is updated quarterly and covers 1973 to the present. BHA includes and extends the coverage of its two predecessor art indexes: RAA (Repertoire d'Art et d'Archeologie) from 1973 to 1989 and RILA (International Repertory of the Literature of Art) from 1975 to 1989.
International Bibliography of Art
IBA is the successor to the Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA), and retains the editorial policies which made BHA one of the most trusted and frequently consulted sources in the field. The database includes records created by the Getty Research Institute in 2008-09, with new records using the same thesaurus and authority files.
Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals
International coverage of scholarly and popular periodicals in architecture, architectural sculpture, city planning, and landscape architecture.
Artbibliographies Modern
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1972- Abstracts of journal articles, books, essays, exhibition catalogs, dissertations and exhibition reviews.The scope of ARTbibliographies Modern extends from artists and movements beginning with Impressionism in the late 19th century, up to the most recent works and trends in the late twentieth century. Photography is covered from its invention in 1839 to the present.
Art and Architecture Source
Indexing and abstracts for peer-reviewed journals, books, dissertations, podcasts and more. Covers fine art, decorative art, commercial art, folk art, photography, film, and architecture. Date range: 1865-present
Art Index Retrospective
Index to scholarship in 600 (primarily English language) art and architecture periodicals. Covers the visual arts, including fine art, decorative art, and commercial art. Date range: 1929-1984
Includes art reproductions, which provide examples of styles and art movements and related artists. Topics include folk art, photography, film, art history, graphic design, industrial design, interior design, studio art, and art exhibitions. A database-specific thesaurus is also available.
Oxford Art Online
Access to Oxford’s art reference works, Grove Art Online, and Benezit Dictionary of Artists.
ARTstor
With approximately 300 collections composed of over 2.5 million images (and growing), scholars can examine wide-ranging material such as Native American art from the Smithsonian, treasures from the Louvre, and panoramic, 360-degree views of the Hagia Sophia in a single, easy-to-use resource.
Requires Flash Player 6 or higher. Pop-up blocking software must be disabled or set to allow pop-up windows from www.artstor.org and cookies must be enabled.
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NEWS & EXHIBITS
Spring 2026 Art Library Exhibition
OPENING RECEPTION WITH A DISCUSSION OF THE OBJECTS AND MEDIUM BY ART LIBRARIAN THOMAS HILL IN THE ART LIBRARY THURSDAY MARCH 26 @ 4:30-5:30 PM  REFRESHMENTS
For a virtual copy of the catalog
click here
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Apr 20, 2026 12:30 PM
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