Art Department
| Sunday | Closed |
| Monday | 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. |
| Tuesday | 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. |
| Wednesday | Closed |
| Thursday | 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. |
| Friday | 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. |
| Saturday | 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. |
Upcoming Closures
- Thu., Nov. 28 : Closed Thanksgiving Day
- Fri., Nov. 29 : Closed Thanksgiving Friday
- Wed., Dec. 25 : Closed Christmas Day
Facilities
- Computers for public use
- Photocopier (black/white)
- Printing (black/white)
- Scanner
- Study rooms
- Wireless internet access (wi/fi)
Upcoming Events
Sew What?! Evening Sewcial-Needle Crafts
Sew What?! Is a clever and creative get together for crafters who do crochet, knitting, sewing, embroidery, quilting, felting, and more. Want to share what you're making with other…
Comix Club
This month we'll gather in Room 108 instead, on the Parkway Central Library's first floor , to read, talk and draw comics.If you're new to the club: simply stop by and bring…
Artist talk and book launch: Theodore Harris
Join Theodore Harris for a reading from the new and expanded edition of his book, Our Flesh of Flames: Collages by Theodore A. Harris and Captions by Amiri Baraka (2024). The reading will be…
Exhibition Opening Reception: Our Flesh of Flames by Theodore Harris and Amiri Baraka
Join us for an opening reception with the artist. The exhibition of artwork by Philadelphia-based artist Theodore Harris will be on display in the hallway galleries of the Art…
The Art Department maintains a comprehensive reference and circulating collection of over 60,000 books on the fine arts, architecture, garden design, interior design, fashion, graphic arts, crafts, collectibles, and photography. Books are available for loan on all these topics, including a large circulating collection of instructional books on all aspects of arts and crafts, including drawing, painting, sculpture, knitting, crochet, embroidery, papercrafts and photography.
The private library of John Frederick Lewis (1860-1932), an important Philadelphia collector and bibliophile, comprised of books on the arts from the 17th century until the early 20th Century is housed at the Regional Operations Center and available through the Art Department.
Take a video tour of the Art Department with a closer look at some materials from its vault.
Philadelphia Comics Collection
The Art Department maintains a growing collection of locally published comics with a focus on Philadelphia-based artists. Most of the comics in this collection are small press productions or self-published by the artists themselves. Head here to browse the collection in our catalog. Artists who would like their comics included in this collection can contact us via ErefArt@freelibrary.org. Anyone can browse and use it in the library by accessing it from its location near the Art Department reference desk. Past programs to promote local comics artists' work included an exhibition and artist talk by Henry Crane and a musical performance by Colin Pezzano.
In addition to the Philadelphia Comics Collection, the Art Department holds many historic examples that document the sequential arts; look here for some examples. Teachers who would like to incorporate these collections in their lessons can use this guide developed in collaboration with UArts' TPS program or contact us by email to plan a visit.
Research files
The Art Department also holds an extensive selection of files on artists, architects, designers and collectors, and the art & architecture of Philadelphia. These include article clippings, gallery announcements, artist statements, exhibition catalogs, and other ephemera related to artists and art subjects. Please consult Art Department librarians for access. Below is a list of folders in this collection; please be advised it is a work in progress and may not be completely up to date:
Databases
A broad selection of databases is available to all Free Library patrons. The following have a close focus on art and architecture subjects:
- Art Full Text: A comprehensive resource for art information featuring full-text articles dating back to 1995, high-quality indexing and abstracting dating as far back as 1984 as well as abstracting of over 13,000 art dissertations. Available to: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
- Art Index Retrospective 1920-1984: Bibliographic database that cumulates citations to Art Index volumes 1-32 of the printed index published between 1929-1984. Available to: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
- AskART: Extensive information about over 120,000 artists from around the world, including auction results and records, artwork prices, appraisers, signatures and artist biographies.. Available to: All Free Library locations. Please consult Art Department librarians for full access.
- JSTOR: Full text database of hundreds of academic journals, including 170 titles covering Art & Art History and 42 titles covering Architecture & Architectural History. *Chrome browser not supported. Available to: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
- Philadelphia Architects and Buildings: database that provides authoritative information on three centuries of Philadelphia buildings and designers, incorporating data and images from the collections of more than 25 Philadelphia-area repositories. Available to: All Free Library locations and online. Please consult Art Department librarians for full access.
Periodicals
The Art Department currently subscribes to over 70 periodicals and retains their majority for public reference use.
List of current periodicals in the Art Department by subject
Please consult Art Department librarians for access to current and recent issues of periodicals that are not on the magazine rack.
Among these is small selection of additional copies of popular magazines that are available to borrow for up to three weeks and renewed. Current circulating titles are: American Craft, Aperture, Architectural Digest, Art in America, Artnews, Martha Stewart Living, Metropolis, School Arts, Quilting Arts, This Old House, Threads.
Exhibitions and workshops
Exhibitions of work by local artist groups or material from our collections are always on display in our hallway gallery. The Art Department regularly hosts workshops with a focus on the book arts and an annual artists' book fair in partnership with the Philadelphia Center for the Book.
Teacher resources and Book Lists
Are you an educator interested in bringing a class to the Art Department? You may contact us in advance by emailing ErefArt@freelibrary.org and let us know what kinds of library materials would best support your course and we will work with you to help you gather books and other materials on a given subject. Take a look at our growing number of topical book lists:
https://know.freelibrary.org/Community/users/Art/
Our online book and art making club series started meeting in May 2020 around changing topics. Art instructors may be interested in using our club summaries, linked below, as resources for their virtual classrooms.
The University of the Arts here in Philadelphia is a member of the Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) Educational Consortium and they have created several guides that teachers can use to prepare a class using digital resources made available by the Library of Congress along with physical materials in Philadelphia libraries and archives. They can be browsed and freely downloaded from the TPS-UArts site:
https://www.uarts.edu/tpsresources
Pictures Worth Reading: A Teacher's Guide to Comics was developed in collaboration with the Art Department here at the Parkway Central Library. Take a look and contact us if you would like to bring your class and want us to gather these materials in advance for you:
https://www.uarts.edu/sites/default/files/2018-10/Comics%20Guide%20Web.pdf
Contact
Email eRefArt@freelibrary.org for research or information requests. Sign up from the blue newsletter icon above to receive monthly email notifications of Art Department events.