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The library’s collection of more than 400,000 volumes of art history, theory, architecture, and criticism focuses on Western art since the Middle Ages. The rare books collection is an invaluable resource for scholars and researchers.

The library's department of image collections is a study and research center for images of Western art and architecture and is one of the largest of its kind, numbering over 16 million photographs, slides, negatives, microforms, and digital images.

Study prints, drawings, and illustrated books from a collection of almost 120,000 works on paper, dating from the 12th century to the present. Consult curatorial files for drawings only.

Study the Gallery’s photography collection, which includes 20,000 works spanning the history of the medium. 

Consult the files of any painting, sculpture, or work of decorative art in the Gallery’s permanent collection. Files include official documents, provenance information, correspondence, and other materials.

The Gallery Archives is the primary source for the history of the National Gallery of Art. The archives collects, preserves, and makes available documentation relating to the museum's past and development, including its exhibitions, acquisitions, scholarly and educational programs, and buildings.